Sidewalks are a precious resource in New York City—so precious that their obstruction can lead to boxes and boxes of wasted fresh food—and they're apparently quite the moneymakers. As the New York Times reports, the city takes in about $60 million annually by essentially renting the public space to businesses and homeowners alike. Most New Yorkers dutifully pay their yearly fees for any building elements that take up sidewalk space, but of course there are the usual delinquents, and it seems Donald Trump may be one of them.

The Times could get neither the Trump Organization nor the city to confirm that Trump Tower has paid its yearly fee for the 16-foot clock that sits outside its entrance on Fifth Avenue. That wouldn't be the first time Trump Tower ignored the distinction between private and public space: earlier this year, it was reported that the kiosks in the lobby were selling "Make America Great Again" hats, a no-no in what is technically a public space.

That said, the fee for that clock is pretty minimal—$300 a year, according to the Times—and some buildings are paying way more for features that don't even obstruct the sidewalk. The second-story restaurant at the Grand Hyatt New York protrudes out over the sidewalk at East 42nd Street, costing the hotel $300,000 a year, and Columbia University's overpass at Amsterdam and 116th Street makes the city over $80,000 each year. Pedestrians can still easily pass beneath these structures, with a little UV ray-protection to boot.

There's also a yearly fee attached to the privilege of owning a multimillion townhouse with a stoop: homeowners must pay the city about $1,000 a year (unless in a historic landmark district) or lose the stoop. In the past, the city actually tried to force some homeowners in Greenpoint to get rid of their stoops and fences so that the Department of Design and Construction could make sidewalk improvements, but as of 2011, that plan was on hold.

Now a similar controversy is brewing in Downtown Brooklyn, according to the Times, where several townhouse owners are suing the city over the possibility that their front entrances could be rendered inaccessible if they were ever forced to get rid of their stoops. Meanwhile, one of the owners paid $1,154 this year for the privilege of keeping his stoop, which its designers described as an "amphitheater" for street life.