Concrete Driveway Repair in Midtown, Manhattan

Does Midtown Have Driveways at All?

Nothing like a house driveway. Midtown is a business district of office towers, hotels and stores, with a few residential towers and some older walk ups. What it has instead are garage entrances, hotel porte cocheres, loading docks and service ramps. Those are the concrete surfaces we repair.

A garage entrance has the same weak points as a driveway, only under heavier use. The apron over the sidewalk is thin, the ramp takes braking loads and the threshold at the door collects water.

We also look at the neighbors of the entrance. The sidewalk flags, curb edge and any vault cover nearby are part of the same crossing, and damage in one often spreads to another.

If you manage a building, think of the vehicle entrance as part of your sidewalk frontage. Pedestrians cross it all day, so its condition matters for safety as well as for vehicles.

What Rules Apply to Garage Entrances and Curb Cuts?

The apron crosses public sidewalk, so work on it generally needs a DOT permit. Changing a ramp or a curb cut can also involve the Department of Buildings. We do not say who is responsible for any given curb, so check with the city. Confirm current rules before work.

A broken apron can end up in a sidewalk violation, and owners are expected to keep the sidewalk next to their property in repair. The city can repair and bill you. After you repair, you can request dismissal. See sidewalk violations for how that works.

Entirely private work, such as a dock inside your building line, does not need the DOT sidewalk permit. Structural slabs and ramps can still need Department of Buildings permits.

Does Local Law 11 affect entrance work?

It applies to buildings taller than six stories and concerns facades. Entrance work is separate, but a crew working on a facade may share the sidewalk with your job, so we coordinate the schedule.