Big Apple maps purportedly outline various defects in the sidewalks throughout the city and were prepared on behalf of plaintiff’s attorneys to meet the prior written notice requirement to establishing liability in trip and fall cases. In two recent decisions, however, the Court of Appeals limited a plaintiff’s ability to rely exclusively on these maps to establish notice. In D’Onofrio v. City of New York and Shaperonovitch v. City of New York, both plaintiffs relied on Big Apple maps that each had a defect symbol at the place where the accidents happened. The court scrutinized the maps and held that the symbols drawn on the maps did not sufficiently describe the actual defects that caused the injuries and, therefore, was not sufficient notice of the defect complained of.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ctapps/decisions/dec08/169&170opn08.pdf