City of Newburgh residents face jail or $250-a-day fines over decades-old sidewalks
Residents of Warden Heights, a small, single-entrance community built in the 1950s, told News 12 they’ve received violation notices ordering them to tear out their 3-foot sidewalks and replace them with 4-foot walkways to meet current ADA standards.
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Homeowners in one City of Newburgh neighborhood say they’re being threatened with steep fines, and even jail time, over sidewalks that have been there for decades.
Residents of Warden Heights, a small, single-entrance community built in the 1950s, told News 12 they’ve received violation notices ordering them to tear out their 3-foot sidewalks and replace them with 4-foot walkways to meet current ADA standards.
“It’s totally outrageous,” said longtime resident Dan O’Leary, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 65 years. “They think everyone’s got $15,000 or $20,000 in their back pocket. Half the people here are retired, some on disability, just trying to make ends meet.”
Neighbor Jo Epstein, who’s recently retired and lives on a fixed income, says she was given 30 days to comply or face $250-a-day fines or imprisonment.
Epstein says she and some of her neighbors have received extensions while they continue to protest the violations.
“My neighbor got an estimate for twenty thousand dollars,” she said. “He’s elderly, has cancer — his wife needs back surgery. That’s the scale of people getting these.”
Epstein and other residents brought their complaints to City Council Monday night, where she called the violations “unfair and inconsistent” and urged the city to rescind them.
Homeowners also question why the city is targeting a quiet, well-kept neighborhood while other parts of Newburgh struggle with condemned homes, violent crime, and deteriorating streets.
Adding to the confusion, federal and state ADA rules typically apply to new construction or major repairs, not older residential sidewalks built decades ago. News 12 has reached out to the City of Newburgh to clarify whether the law requires the changes or if the sidewalks could be “grandfathered in.”
So far, city officials haven’t responded to multiple requests for comment.
