Local lawmakers seek to enforce speedy scaffolding deconstruction
Scaffolding protects New Yorkers, but it also congests sidewalks and covers iconic architecture. If you live on the second floor, like Upper West Side resident Debra Krassner, your street view could be blocked for years.
“I understand the maintenance of buildings; I don’t understand the length of time in maintaining those buildings,” Krassner said.
Property owners often leave up their sidewalk sheds and scaffolding due to the high cost of taking them down.
Tom Morris, the president of the Times Square Alliance, sees this happen all over the city.
“All too often, landlords keep sheds up as an excuse not to do the work, and that’s not okay,” Morris said.
At City Hall, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is pushing legislation to enforce speedy deconstruction.
“I’ve never worked on any policy in my two years as borough president that had more of a popular uprising in support,” Levine said.
Some street artists use long-standing scaffolding as a canvas.
“We are removing graffiti from sidewalk sheds every single day,” Morris said.
Council Member Keith Powers is sponsoring Levine’s bill. In his district, the bulky sidewalk coverings makes people feel uneasy.
“They can become havens for bad behavior, they can be scary places to walk under late at night, they can be areas where you see drug dealing,” Powers said.
According to the Department of Buildings, scaffolding and sheds cover nearly 400 miles of sidewalk across the city.
“When scaffolding goes up, it stays up,” Krassner said.
Levine’s legislation could change that.
“It’s a crowded agenda, but I hope and expect it will be heard soon,” Levine said.
While there’s hope on the horizon, New Yorkers still may be waiting a while before scaffolding is gone.
Ashley was raised in Philadelphia, PA, but soon spread her wings as a college ice hockey player, influencing her start in sports journalism. She most recently lived in Maui, HI, working with the Hawaiian Land Trust, and now thrives in the high-speed environment of New York as a political reporter for City Newsroom.
