DOT Sidewalk violation

I received a DOT sidewalk violation and I’m asking the Brownstoner community for advice. I can hire a contractor for the repair or ask the the City to do the repair. Has anyone opted for the City repair vs. a contractor repair? What are the pros and cons?
thanks

ditmas11

in General Discussion 9 years and 1 month ago

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pepinohill | 9 years and 1 month ago

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I had a different experience than the posters above. My neighbor and I organized the work for the entire block, and we structured everyone’s contract so that the final payment was contingent on the removal of the DOT violations (our first payment was for materials). Once the work was completed, our contractor worked with DOT to ensure they inspected the work and lifted the violation. Every neighbor called DOT to ensure the violation was lifted before making the final payment. Maybe things have changed but you don’t get anything in the mail saying the violation is lifted. Also, I would not leave your sidewalk in disrepair as an outstanding violation can nullify your homeowner’s insurance.

resident2 | 9 years and 1 month ago

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First ask all the neighbors on your block to see if they have been issued with violations. In the past the City has issued entire blocks with violations (individual violations, but to the entire block) when they have a plan to unify the block; if you get your own contractor they will not clear the violation and eventually re-do your work and charge you for the City contractors to do the work anyway. If the whole block has got violations, then organize and work through the community board.
If you are the only one with a violation for whatever reason, unless it is for a major (or not so major) trip hazard, leave it alone…. many houses have sidewalk violations. On the other hand if it is for a trip hazard, then hire a contractor that can pull a permit and contract to clearing the violation.

xprometheusx | 9 years and 1 month ago

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I recommend going with the city unless you have a contractor friend. Even if a contractor does it, the violation may not get removed.

xprometheusx | 9 years and 1 month ago

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I recommend going with the city unless you have a contractor friend. Even if a contractor does it, the violation may not get removed.

pepinohill | 9 years and 1 month ago

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I am truly hating this website right now. It used to be easy to point people to links and the search function worked much better. Look under my profile. I wrote a long post on sidewalk repair. It’s three years later, sidewalk still looks good, all DOT violations were lifted. My neighbor did warn me that this is a job that you have to get done every 5+ years especially if you have a tree. We didn’t do city repair because the lead time was going to be ridiculous. Also, if I remember correctly, the price was much higher. I don’t know if things have changed since we had our DOT violation. Good luck. Oh, I’ve since used Carlos to do other work for me. His prices have gone WAAAAY UP but I think it’s still a steal compared to others. Don’t expect perfection but do expect good value (and that he will file permits and get violation lifted).

***
Sidewalk repair on Clermont
What’s the story with the sidewalk repairs on Clermont btw Dekalb and Lafayatte? Look’s like several house’s had their uneven sidewalks leveled at the same time. Was this done by the city or did t he homeowners organize this between themselves? Who did they use and how much did it cost?

pepinohill14 Feb 2013
the city was kind enough to give us all DOT violations at the same time, but they most definitely did NOTpay for repairs! a neighbor helped organize all homeowners. we all took out our individual landmark permits and we hired one contractor do the job for all the homes on the block – Carlos Serna of Stone R Us at 917-834-6170\. i wrote a post on this a few months ago with more details: forum.brownstoner.com/…/r-us-or-biordi-construction on average, prices ranged from about $1600 – 2800 for most homes on the block. it all depended on how much bluestone had to be replaced, whether a tree pit was needed, etc. best part is that all of the concrete was replaced with bluestone. work was completed late last year, but we are still waiting for DOT to come do their final inspection. i am just waiting on the final approval to post a recommendation. work looks good to us, but want to make sure it passes muster.

Guest User | 9 years and 1 month ago

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