The sidewalk grate is everywhere in NYC. Can you walk on it?

Question: Is it safe to walk on the metal sidewalk grates in NYC? I don’t see many people doing it.

— Cautious in Kips Bay

Dear Cautious:

Good question! My high heel-wearing women friends tell me that the trick is to stay on your toes, literally, as you pass over a sidewalk grate, so your heel won’t be caught in it.

But that’s probably not your main concern. Incidents are rare, but every now and then you hear about some freak accident involving one of the city’s 39,000 or so sidewalk grates.

As all lovers know, sparks can fly on the sidewalks of New York, where one moment you’re tripping the light fantastic and the next you could light up like a Times Square billboard. There is actually some small level of danger on sidewalk grates in the winter, when melting snow can sometimes cause electrical problems below the sidewalks.

There are numerous reports of dogs being shocked, for instance. And in the winter of 2004, an East Village woman was electrocuted and died when she stepped on the metal cover of a utility box (OK, technically not a grate, but close enough for our purposes here). ConEd found the problem to be a partially exposed wire inside the box that had been improperly insulated.

In 2007, another woman fell 10 feet into mud at the bottom of a utility trench in Midtown after the grate above it gave way. She landed close to a live transformer, surging with 13,000 volts. She was lucky and only sustained slight injuries.

In all, there appears to be one sidewalk grate incident every 18-20 months, which puts the odds of any one New Yorker being killed or injured way down in the infinitesimal range — far less likely, even, than being hit by a car or being the victim of a crime.

So don’t sweat it. You’re OK walking on the grate. But if it makes you feel better, go ahead and step around it.

David Crook is a veteran journalist and author of The Complete Wall Street Journal Real-Estate Investing and Homeowner’s Guidebooks. Do you have a question about anything real estate-related in NYC? Write him at askus@streeteasy.com. For verification purposes, please include your name and a phone number; neither will be published. Note: Nothing in this column should be considered professional legal advice. If you have a legal issue, consult an attorney.
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