Q: I live in a small, family-owned brownstone on the Upper West Side. Every day, the doormen from the large co-op adjacent to our building water down the sidewalk area for at least 20 minutes. The deluge of water pools, flooding in front of the neighboring buildings. There is no time for it to dry before the next morning’s washing, and there is no way to push it down the block with all the debris and cars in the way. Is there anything we can do to stop this?

A: An owner is required to maintain the sidewalk that surrounds his or her property. That means keeping the area free of dirt, debris, snow and ice, which might explain why the doormen are such avid street washers.

However, the city limits when you can wash the sidewalk. The practice is prohibited from November 1 through March 31. During the rest of the year, washing is forbidden from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sidewalk washing is also prohibited during a drought.