Sidewalk protection for co-op and condo owners

From Douglaston Patch:

State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, and northeast Queens co-op owners are calling on the city to include co-ops and condos in its program to inspect sidewalks damaged by trees.

Currently, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation will inspect to determine whether a sidewalk has been damaged by a tree.

If the agency finds significant damage, it will enroll private homeowners in a program in which the city would repair the sidewalk for free.

But co-op and condo owners are not eligible for the service and are frequently left to repair the damage themselves.

Avella has proposed a bill that would codify the city’s tree program, which is currently just a policy, into law as well as extend it to co-ops and condos.

“Co-ops and condos are individually owned, so why should they be treated differently?” Avella said. “The city should pay for it. It is, after all, the city’s fault. We’d go a long way to save co-ops and condos some money since they are always hard pressed financially.”