NYC lawmakers propose a plan to speed up the removal of sidewalk sheds

New York City is home to some of the most well-known skyscrapers, including the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Plaza, and the Flatiron Building. Often, NYC's buildings also come in hand with another staple of the city – sidewalk sheds. They appear across all five boroughs, and some of them have been up for over a decade. 

Construction scaffolding protects pedestrians when a building undergoes façade work. However, some buildings have been hiding behind sidewalk sheds for far too long. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Councilman Keith Powers released a new plan to help building owners complete the repair work on time.  

“In Manhattan alone, there are over 4,000 sidewalk sheds,” Levine said. “Now, many of these are necessary to protect New Yorkers from falling debris and equipment and to protect workers on the job. But far too many are up longer than they need to be. On average, sidewalk sheds are up over 240 days, and on city-owned properties, it’s even worse. ” 

New York City has over 280 miles of scaffolding, enough to run from the Empire State Building to Montreal. The city’s oldest continually standing sidewalk shed covers a part of the building at 409 Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem. It has been in place since April 2006, according to city records analyzed by the New York Post. 

The new plan, known as Shed the Shed, proposes to create an accelerator program. It would provide property owners with access to resources that will help them plan the façade work in compliance with Local Law 11, which requires New York City buildings taller than six stories to undergo façades inspections and repairs. In addition, the lawmakers also ask the city to establish a low-interest loan program that will help landlords to finance the necessary repairs. 

The five-point plan advises New York City to make changes to Local Law 11. These changes will extend Local Law 11 cycles by two years, allowing building owners to complete major renovations all at once. In addition, the new proposal also allows the use of drones in façade inspections and more types of scaffolding. However, those landlords who fail to complete renovations in time may face higher fines and civil penalties. Moreover, under the new plan, the city would be able to step in and perform emergency work on buildings that fail to address unsafe conditions. 

Resources:

“Shed the Shed: Streamlining and Expediting Building Façade Work so Scaffolding can Come Down Faster,” (Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, 2023)

“This is how we can fix NYC's scaffolding problem,” by MBP Mark Levine (YouTube, 2023)

“Tired of Scaffolding? NYC Has New Plan to Get Rid of Long-Standing Sidewalk Sheds,” by Andrew Siff (NBC New York, 2023)

“Manhattan lawmakers propose ways to dismantle scaffolding faster,” (Spectrum News NY1, 2023)