The City of Essex Fells NJ REQUIRES all homeowners to fix their sidewalks! See below.
Chapter 247 Section 20 (ecode360.com)
“Maintenance and repair of sidewalks and curbs shall be the responsibility of the abutting property owner. Sidewalks and curbs installed by the Borough must be maintained and repaired in kind as installed by the Borough. Should the abutting property owner or owners fail to maintain and repair the sidewalks and curbs which are their responsibility, and should such failure be reported to the Borough Engineer by the Borough official having jurisdiction of the matter, then, in such event, the Borough Engineer or his/her designee shall, by notice, direct that the sidewalks, curbs or any parts thereof be repaired by and at the cost of said abutting property owner or owners, within 30 days of a receipt by such owner or owners of the notice. Repairs of said sidewalks and curbs require a permit, which is to be obtained from the Department of Code Enforcement and Inspections. There shall be no fee charged for the issuance of said permit.”
Sidewalk repair along with maintenance in the State of New Jersey is the responsibility of the abutting home proprietor. Many home owners are not aware of this ordinance and they assume that their city or state is liable for repairing defective sidewalks. In many cases, the home proprietor will hire contractors to make the repair or their city will hire the work but will assign the home owner for 100% of the job cost. In 2012, the borough of Highland Park in New Jersey launched a program that required home owners to preserve damaged sidewalks in front of their homes. Your city or borough can be next!
A lawsuit waiting to happen…
Estate owners in Essex Fells are liable for maintaining the sidewalks in front of their buildings. When they fail to adequately maintain their sidewalks, they become liable for the grievances that pedestrians suffer. These pedestrians that hurt themselves because of your broken sidewalk have the legal right to sue you since you are the property proprietor. There are also many of lawyers that love to follow through with these kinds of premise liability cases, which will cost you a lot of money in the long run. Thousands of house proprietors in the state of New Jersey have been taken to court due to their laxity or the lack of knowledge in regards to sidewalks and liability.
Your city or borough may also send you a notice requiring you to re-construct your sidewalk. Failure to conform within a limited time frame will result in fines. Spare yourself a lawsuit and fines by hiring a sidewalk repair company ASAP!
Types of Sidewalk Defects
There are many types of defective sidewalks that can prove dangerous for Essex Fells pedestrians.
- Tree roots: When sidewalks go too long without repair, tree roots may cause them to become uneven.
- Collapsed sidewalks: Severely damaged sidewalks may have large parts caved in or separated from the rest of the walkway. This type of a situation certainly poses a serious fall hazard.
- Trip hazards: It is easy to trip and fall on large cracks that cut across poorly maintained sidewalks.
- Improper slope: Uneven sidewalks may have large portions that do not line up with the rest of the walkway.
- Patchwork: In an effort to save money on repairs, it is common to see inadequate patchwork jobs on specific locations that make the sidewalk surface uneven.
- Missing cobblestones and bricks: It is necessary to properly maintain walkways that are not made from concrete to ensure the safety of pedestrians.
Essex Fells NJ Sidewalk Repair Contractors
Employing a contractor to repair your defective sidewalk is the best solution to avert any lawsuits or fines from your city. HOLESSolutions, a Clifton based infrastructure repair company, specializes in sidewalk repair. With plenty of crews working throughout Northern New Jersey, HOLESSolutions is highly capable of re-constructing your sidewalk within a few hours which in turn will reduce liability and enhance the look of your property’s aesthetics vastly. Available 24 hours a day/7 days a week, you can dial 973-779-4653 to get your sidewalk fixed expertly!