Slipped on Wet Leaves in New York City? Who May Be Responsible

Every autumn, leaves come down on sidewalks in all five boroughs, not only in the parks. Not only can leaves hide sidewalk defects underneath, but when they get wet, the leaves themselves can be a hazard, making the walking surface slippery. If you fall, the first question is who was responsible for that stretch of sidewalk.

In New York City, the Abutting Property Owner Is Generally Responsible

With several exceptions noted below, New York City law places the duty on the "abutting" property owner, meaning the owner of the building or lot that the sidewalk runs in front of. This can seem odd, because the sidewalk itself is not part of the owner's lot. City law defines the sidewalk as "that portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines" (Administrative Code § 19-101). Even so, the abutting owner must "maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition," and is liable for injuries caused by failing to do so (Administrative Code § 7-210). While the law does not mention leaves by name, it says that this failure includes "the negligent failure to remove snow, ice, dirt or other material from the sidewalk."

Whether a layer of wet leaves made a particular sidewalk unsafe, and whether the owner should have cleared it, depends on the facts. As one appeals court put it, "[g]enerally, the issue of whether a dangerous or defective condition exists . . . depends on the facts of each case and is a question of fact for the jury" (Genutis v 555 Dekalb Ave., LLC, 241 AD3d 878 [2d Dept 2025], quoting an earlier decision).

A separate city rule requires owners, tenants, and others in charge of a building or lot next to a paved sidewalk to remove "dirt, or other material" from the sidewalk within four hours after it lands there, not counting the hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. (Administrative Code § 16-123). Section 7-210, discussed above, is the rule that makes the owner liable for injuries. Our earlier post on property owner responsibilities for uneven sidewalks covers cracked and raised sidewalk flags.

The Exceptions

• Owner-occupied one-, two-, and three-family homes. The owner's liability under section 7-210 does not apply to a one-, two-, or three-family home that is at least partly owner-occupied and used only as a residence. For those sidewalks, the claim is generally against the City instead, and the City rules discussed below apply.
• City-owned property. When the City owns the property next to the sidewalk, it is responsible as the owner, subject to the City rules discussed below.
• Tree pits. New York's highest court has held that section 7-210 "does not impose civil liability on property owners for injuries that occur in city-owned tree wells," the squares of soil around street trees (Vucetovic v Epsom Downs, Inc., 10 NY3d 517 [2008]). The court noted that the City's Parks Department controls street trees. So a claim for a fall in a tree pit full of leaves may lie against the City, with its 90-day Notice of Claim deadline. The abutting owner may still be responsible under the older rule the court described for sidewalks, for example if it created the dangerous condition, made negligent repairs, or used the tree pit in a special way for its own benefit.

Did the Owner Know, or Should It Have Known?

A property owner is generally responsible for a slippery condition only if it created the condition or knew, or should have known, about it in time to fix it. When an owner asks a court to dismiss a sidewalk case before trial, the owner must show "that it did not create the allegedly dangerous condition or have actual or constructive notice of its existence for a sufficient length of time to have discovered and remedied it." To show it lacked constructive notice, the owner "must offer some evidence as to when the area in question was last . . . inspected relative to the time when the plaintiff fell" (Genutis, quoting earlier decisions).

The law does not make owners strictly liable for every leaf that falls on the sidewalk in front of their property. The Court of Appeals has held that a "general awareness" that a dangerous condition may be present is not enough to give an owner notice of the particular condition that caused a fall (Piacquadio v Recine Realty Corp., 84 NY2d 967 [1994]). So an owner may argue that knowing leaves fall in October is not the same as knowing about the particular wet leaves in front of its building on the morning of the fall. That is why evidence about the particular sidewalk, and how long the leaves had been there, matters so much.

Outside New York City

In Westchester, Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, and the rest of the state, the general rule is different. Responsibility for a public sidewalk generally rests with the municipality, not the abutting owner. An abutting owner is liable "only when the owner either created the condition or caused the defect to occur because of a special use, or when a statute or ordinance places an obligation to maintain the sidewalk on the owner and expressly makes the owner liable for injuries caused by a breach of that duty" (Coimin v City of New York, 248 AD3d 985 [2d Dept 2026], quoting earlier decisions; see Hausser v Giunta, 88 NY2d 449 [1996]). Some local laws, like the City of Long Beach law upheld in Hausser, do make the owner liable, so the local code matters. Local governments may also have prior written notice laws, discussed below.

When the City or Another Public Entity Is Involved

Claims against the City or another public entity follow different rules, and the deadlines are short.

• Notice of Claim. A sworn Notice of Claim generally must be served within 90 days after the fall (General Municipal Law § 50-e), and the lawsuit generally must be started within one year and 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-i).
• Prior written notice. If the fall involved a defect in a City sidewalk, such as a crack hidden under the leaves, the City generally cannot be sued unless it received written notice of the condition and failed to fix it within 15 days (Administrative Code § 7-201(c)(2)). Towns, villages, and other cities may have similar laws. The Court of Appeals has recognized only two exceptions: where the municipality created the hazard through an affirmative act of negligence, and where a "special use" gave it a special benefit (Amabile v City of Buffalo, 93 NY2d 471 [1999]).

Our post on what to do after a fall on public property explains more.

What to Do After a Fall on Wet Leaves

1. Get medical care, and follow your doctor's advice.
2. If your medical condition allows, photograph the spot right away (or ask someone with you to do it), from several angles, close up and from a distance, before anyone sweeps. In our experience, by the time anyone returns to look, the leaves may be gone, and a photo may be the only proof of what was there. If the leaves hid a crack or a raised flag, photograph that too.
3. Write down the exact address, the time, the weather, and the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the fall.
4. Look for cameras on nearby buildings and stores. Surveillance video can be recorded over in a matter of weeks; see our Decision Day entry on Fernandez v Port Authority.
5. Talk to a lawyer early, especially if the City or another public entity may be involved, because of the 90-day Notice of Claim deadline. In some circumstances, your time to act may be even shorter.

If you were hurt in a fall, contact The Eskesen Law Firm for a free consultation. Calls are answered live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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