NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The city will invest $111 million to tear down unsightly scaffolds that have been left standing at NYCHA properties for several years.
Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement at his daily press conference on Wednesday, saying the sidewalk sheds “affect the quality of life [for residents], they affect the whole feeling of life in a development.”
Local law requires scaffolding go up as a safety feature when buildings undergo façade work as the sheds help protect pedestrians from falling debris.
However, the sheds can become a permanent fixture when work drags on, the mayor said.
“They have a purpose when that purpose is needed, but sometimes they linger after that purpose, or things drag on that should be done quickly,” de Blasio said.
The city’s online sidewalk shed tracker counts more than 8,900 active sheds in the five boroughs. Some of that, according to Mayor de Blasio, is impacting 45 buildings in 15 developments.
He said stripping the buildings of the sheds will now be “better for everyone” as long-standing sheds can lead to increased crime and other quality of life issues.
WCBS 880’s Steve Burns reports the proliferation of scaffolding around the city has been a persistent issue, as building owners often find it cheaper to pay fines to the city than do the necessary repair work.
Mayor de Blasio said to remedy that, his administration is working to put pressure on owners to get the scaffolding down quicker.
“We now are working with both the [Department of Buildings] enforcement and even taking legal action when a building owner is leaving a scaffold in place or a shed in place with no purpose,” he said.
A proposed law in the City Council would also mandate that scaffolding be taken down after 90 days, as sidewalk sheds can sometimes be left standing for months or even years.
In fact, tenants of one building on the Upper West Side recently held a mock anniversary party for scaffolding that surrounded their building for 15 years.
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