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Councilman Robert Jackson Sues City After Wife's Fall at Fairway

By Jill Colvin | February 28, 2013 9:17am

HARLEM — City Councilman and Manhattan Borough President candidate Robert Jackson is suing the city and the popular Fairway Market in Harlem that sits in his district after his wife suffered a nasty fall there, DNAinfo.com New York has learned.

Jackson and his wife Faika want the city and the market to pay $25,000 after she tripped over a downed stop sign outside the Harlem location of the market back in 2010 — leaving her "severely injured" and unable to work, according to papers filed in New York State Supreme Court.

According to their complaint and papers filed with the city comptroller's office, Faika Jackson was leaving the supermarket at 10:30 p.m. on April 15 when she tripped over the broken post of a stop sign behind the store that had been knocked over by a car two weeks earlier.

The suit accuses the city and store of "negligence and carelessness" for "causing, permitting and/or allowing the pavement of the sidewalk to be and remain in an uneven, broken, depressed, unsafe, hazardous and dangerous condition without any warning to the general public" — a condition they likened to a "trap."

As a result, the Jacksons said, Faika Jackson fell at the corner of  West 133rd Street near the entrance of the Henry Hudson Parkway, sustaining "severe, serious and permanent injuries" to her head, body and limbs, which left her suffering "great mental and physical pain and bodily injury" and unable to work, according to the complaint.

In addition to needing "medical and surgical aid," the Jacksons said Faika was forced to "expended great sums of money" for her medical care, and remains unable to attend to her regular duties, and "deprived of the enjoyment of her life."

The Councilman, who launched his campaign to become the next Manhattan Borough President last month, is also suing for his own damages, saying the he was forced to take time off from work to care for his wife, and was deprived of "her services, society and companionship" because of the injuries.

"My wife suffered injuries to her head, body and ongoing complications resulting from the negligence of the defendants," Jackson said in a statement responding to questions about the case.

He and his wife declined to provide additional information, including exactly how much they are seeking in damages from the city as well as evidence of Faika's injuries, "Because the injuries are the subject of ongoing litigation," a spokesman said.

A spokesman for Fairway declined to comment, saying the company does not comment on legal matters. A spokeswoman for the city's Law Department also would not comment on pending litigation.

Lawyers for the Jacksons and Fairway also refused to comment on the pending case.

Fairway's parking lot, which is located in Jackson's district near Columbia University's Manhattanville expansion site, is owned by the city's Economic Development Corporation and leased by Fairway for approximately $30,000 a year, according to an EDC spokesman.