After graduating with a juris doctor degree from Touro Law School, Closter, NJ, attorney Amy Goldenberg worked for several legal firms based in New York and New Jersey. Amy Goldenberg served as a staff attorney for Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., located just outside of Closter, NJ, and went on to obtain a position with Malapero, Prisco, & Klauber, focusing on premise liability defense.

Under New York State premise liability laws, property owners are obligated to install basic security measures to keep all people visiting or residing in a building safe. Some legal security requirements include well-lit entryways, properly secured doors, and possibly surveillance cameras or hired security guards. These obligations apply to most commercial buildings and multi-family residential properties.

Landlords may be liable for any assaults or crimes committed on or near their properties if similar crimes have occurred in the past and no steps have been taken to secure the premises. However, under New York law, property owners can only be held responsible for securing against crimes or instances that are predictable and foreseeable. For example, a history of non-violent criminal activity in a building doesn’t necessarily imply that the occurrence of a violent crime on the premises would be predictable.