The City of New York has an ordinance that makes owners and occupants responsible for cleaning up the sidewalk in front of their establishments and their homes. What is the halachic obligation concerning snow hazards and the like?
Answer:
It is not permitted to cause a hazard in the public domain, as the Talmud discusses concerning taking out one’s waste and other matters.
However, snow is a “natural hazard,” and formal halachah does not see it as the responsibility of a homeowner to clear it from the sidewalk.
Yet, in places where this is the law (and therefore the custom, too), of course a person has to act responsibly and keep to the law in clearing the sidewalk.
Best wishes.
