ALVARADO v. CITY OF NEW YORK (2019)

Defendant made a prima facie showing of its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, by submitting evidence that plaintiff frequently played basketball on the subject outdoor basketball court, which has an open and obvious crack which runs the length of the court and has a marked tar surface (Wallace v. City of New York, 138 A.D.3d 509, 28 N.Y.S.3d 313 [1st Dept. 2016], lv. denied 27 N.Y.3d 911, 2016 WL 3582592 [2016] ).  The court correctly rejected plaintiff's contention that grass growing out of the crack concealed its depth, finding instead that the grass served to highlight the defect, which was also one of the risks assumed by plaintiff when he chose to play basketball at this location (see Trupia v. Lake George Cent. School Dist., 14 N.Y.3d 392, 901 N.Y.S.2d 127, 927 N.E.2d 547 [2010] ).