Pursuant to Administrative Code of the City of New York § 7-201(c)(2), commonly known as the Pothole Law, no civil action may be maintained against the City for personal injuries resulting from an alleged dangerous condition in the roadway unless written notice of the defective condition was actually given to the appropriate person authorized to receive such notice, or there is a written acknowledgment from the City of the defective condition, and the City failed to repair it within 15 days of the notice. The prior written notice is a condition precedent which a plaintiff must plead and prove. The only recognized exceptions to the statutory notice requirement involve situations in which the municipality created the defect or hazard through an affirmative act of negligence, or where a special use confers a benefit upon the municipality. The affirmative act of negligence exception is limited to work that immediately results in a dangerous condition.
Caballero v. City of New York, NY Slip Op 05540 (2d Dep't October 13, 2021)
