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

City Code § 168-13 places the primary and exclusive duty on property owners to construct, repair and maintain the abutting public sidewalk in a safe and passable condition, at the owner's own expense, regardless of whether the City has already notified the owner of needed repairs or has itself performed similar repairs in the past. 'Safe and passable' means the sidewalk meets Hoboken's own standards and the 2010 PROWAG standards to the maximum extent practicable. Failure to perform these duties constitutes negligence, and an owner is liable to any member of the public injured on or by a defective sidewalk where the owner's negligence caused the injury; the City itself is not liable for an owner's negligence.

When the City Engineer or a designated agent finds a sidewalk area not maintained in a reasonably safe condition, notice is served on the owner or registered property manager to correct the defects. If the required work is not done within 30 days of that notice, the City Engineer may have the work performed by the City, with the cost certified by the City Engineer and filed with the collector of revenue for collection according to law, drawn from the funds appropriated in the annual tax levy for maintaining City property.

If the property is unoccupied and the owner cannot be found within the City, notice may instead be mailed, postage prepaid, to the owner's address on the official tax records, specifying the work required and its completion deadline.