The Department of Buildings has introduced two innovative sidewalk shed designs aimed at transforming the dreary 360 miles of scaffolding that currently clutter the city’s streets.
While these designs are a visual improvement over the bulky steel-and-green structures that dominate the landscape, they are not the ultimate answer to the pervasive scaffolding issue.
Although prototypes were showcased last year, these new designs have now been physically installed outside the DOB headquarters at 280 Broadway. Leila Bozorg, the deputy mayor for housing and planning, expressed that the new designs will allow New Yorkers to enjoy views of the sky while still ensuring pedestrian safety from potential overhead hazards.
Two of the six proposed designs, known as the “rigid” and “flex” sheds, have been crafted by the architectural firm Arup. These are notably less oppressive than the traditional structures and offer an improvement over the Urban Umbrella style, which features tall, tree-like columns.
Both Arup and the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism have contributed to these modestly progressive designs, which the DOB hopes to finalize later this year pending City Council approval. Yet, despite the refreshing color palettes and partially transparent roofs made of artificial glass, these designs do not tackle the root issue — the infamous Local Law 11. This law mandates extensive facade repair and maintenance, necessitating these structures on a scale unmatched by any other city globally.
The 30-year-old law still stands, despite tweaks under former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration’s “Get Sheds Down” initiative. It slightly reduced the required frequency of periodic inspections and repairs — although final decisions at any particular building are still up to the DOB.
Nor do the new rules touch the law’s most pernicious provision — that scaffolds must extend 20 feet in either direction beyond the actual job site, thus ruining businesses and entrances that aren’t part of the work.
For a look at how much better our streets would look with many fewer sheds, city planners should have a look at Chicago and Philadelphia — both of which have many old and very large buildings but hardly any sidewalk eyesores of the kind New Yorkers hate.
New York’s shed laws were enacted in the name of protecting passers-by from falling debris. Yet, somehow, hospitals in Chicago and Philadelphia are not overwhelmed by victims of such rare accidents.
But neither city has laws which mainly were written to enrich scaffold rental companies — a scandal that’s Only in New York.