Sunday, February 18, 2007

Outside My Window: The Next Morning

This is what I woke up to on Wednesday morning. The snow continued to fall until late in the afternoon. By the evening, the snow had turned into ice, which made the roads slippery and dangerous for drivers. Some above ground trains were delayed due to circuit problems from icing on the tracks. Many schools and some businesses were closed early.

The snow storm was not all bad for New Yorkers. Some entrepreneurial youngsters were charging $10 to $15 per hour to clear snow from the sidewalks and driveways.

Why do private homeowners have to shovel snow from the public sidewalks, you ask? Well, there is a New York City law that requires private homeowners and businesses to clear snow from the sidewalks abutting their properties within a reasonable time or risk getting a $50 fine. In addition, the public sidewalks have to be properly cleared because homeowners can be liable for a slip and fall suit if it was established that the sidewalks were poorly maintained.

So what do you think of all these?

10 comments:

edwin s said...

hey ming,

gong xi fatt cai! come over and have an orange on me.

JaamZIN said...

we have the same law. But even without law the neighbourhood would give a "feedback" to you if you to not clean up. Which is a bit annoying but in this case understandable.

Olivier said...

on n'a pas assez de neige pour que les jeunes se fassent de l'argent de poche ;o)


there is not enough snow so that the young people are made pocket money; O)

Dsole said...

I don't know if we had a law like this... but it seems great for kept the streets clean

Missy,Mrs and Mum said...

A very interesting law. We don't have anything like that here but maybe we should. When we get the tiniest but of snow here the whole country come to a stand still! UK isn't designed for really cold weather or really hot weather either!

Annie said...

I am happy when there is a clear sidewalk in the snow and I would thank you for clearing the space for me. You could come along for a walk with me on all the cleared sidewalks. Who knows, maybe you would find your own Amadeee, your own love whom you've been seeking.

tigerfish said...

Is it a little late for the snowstorm this year in NY ?
Gong xi gong xi, happy new year!

Anonymous said...

Well Ming, our insurance policies would tell us that the snow was an act of God, so folks had better take care!

Oya said...

We do not have such a law here but I thing it is a good thing.

kuanyin333 said...

I don't miss the snow! :-) I lived through lots of things in NY such as a trash strike one year, a black-out, and other such inconvencies. But hey, NY will always have a piece of my heart.