Tattered Kappock Street pathway left in limbo

To the editor:

I live on Arlington Avenue between 227th and 230^th streets. Since I moved here in 2010, I've frequently walked on the Arlington path which goes from the south end of the avenue to Kappock Street.

During these 15 years the path has never been properly maintained. In, “Tattered Kappock Street pathway left in limbo,” published in The Press on Jan. 17, the photograph shows its surface contains numerous hazardous potholes. During the winter, snow and ice do not get removed from it in a timely manner. Damage to the surface of the path often takes months or years to be repaired.

The southern railing along the path was broken -- in an act of vandalism I suspect -- a couple of years ago and has not been repaired.

All of these problems make the Arlington Path hazardous for me and many other pedestrians.

New York City law unambiguously says that properties adjacent to sidewalks are responsible for maintaining those sidewalks. Although the Arlington Path is not next to a street, it is clearly a sidewalk.

New York City agrees with me. In response to a complaint about the Path that I filed with 311, they responded:

“The Department of Transportation inspected the location more than six months ago and has notified the property owner of any defective sidewalk conditions. The property owner is responsible for maintaining, repairing and installing sidewalks adjoining their property, according to Section 19-152 of the New York City administrative code.”

The two adjacent apartment buildings, 609 and 601 Kappock St., must maintain this sidewalk. If they do not do this voluntarily, the city should compel them to have that work done, just like the city compelled me to construct a missing piece of sidewalk in front of my house on Arlington Avenue.

To the owners of 601 and 609 Kappock St, now is the time for you to start maintaining the Arlington path. To the city, if these adjacent buildings fail to do what they should, now is the time for you to use your authority to force them to fix it and keep it fixed.

Arthur Goldberg