Bayonne, NJ Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Bayonne City Code § 25-4a places the duty of sidewalk upkeep squarely on property owners: every owner or person having charge and control of property in the City must maintain and be responsible for the proper upkeep of the part of the sidewalk between the property line and the curb which abuts the property, including corner areas adjacent to corner lots whether within or without the property line, and that upkeep includes proper maintenance and repair of both the sidewalk and the curb. A related duty in § 25-4b extends the same ownership-based responsibility to the connections between the property and the City's water, sanitary sewer, industrial sewer, storm drain, catch basin or gutter lines.

Enforcement of this maintenance duty, along with the rest of Chapter 25, falls to the City Engineer, the Chief of Police, the Health Officer or the Health Officer's agents, the Director of Public Works, and the Building Division and their designated agents, per § 25-6. Where a sidewalk goes unrepaired, § 25-8 gives those officials authority, after notice and an opportunity to cure, to abate the hazard themselves, backfilling, removing debris or otherwise correcting the condition, and to certify the abatement cost to the Municipal Council, which can place it as a lien on the property collected the same way as unpaid taxes.