{"id":36604,"date":"2025-04-18T14:27:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T14:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/?p=36604"},"modified":"2025-04-18T14:27:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T14:27:20","slug":"mayor-adams-signs-historic-legislation-to-get-sheds-down-remove-unsightly-scaffolding-across-five-boroughs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/archives\/36604","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Adams signs historic legislation to \u2018get sheds down,\u2019 remove unsightly scaffolding across five boroughs"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed several pieces of legislation to address the city\u2019s long-standing scaffolding shed epidemic, giving the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) new tools to remove unnecessary, unsightly scaffolding and create more appealing designs for sheds that are still needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The legislation establishes new penalties, compelling property owners to complete building repairs in a timely manner and remove sheds more quickly; reduces the duration of sidewalk shed permits; increases the cycle of fa\u00e7ade inspection requirements; expands the variety of sidewalk shed colors; improves lighting requirements for sheds; and more.<\/p>\n

Many of the reforms in this legislative package were first proposed by Mayor Adams in July 2023 when he launched \u201cget sheds down\u201d the city\u2019s comprehensive initiative to remove long-standing construction sheds on city sidewalks and create more aesthetically-appealing alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our administration came into office, we said the days of letting scaffolding sheds languish on our streets were over. We launched our \u2018Get Sheds Down\u2019 initiative, removed hundreds of long-standing sheds, and proposed ambitious legislation to make sure property owners actually finish safety work and take sheds down rather than just leave them up year after year,\u201d said\u00a0Mayor Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese revitalized rules will help the city remove unsightly scaffolding as well as make sure that sidewalks sheds are more visually appealing when they go up for a limited amount of time. Above all, they will allow us to reclaim valuable space for the public and let the light back onto our sidewalks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I worked in the Mayor\u2019s Office nearly 20 years ago, everyone was focused on fixing the scourge of sidewalk sheds. At long last, two decades later, the Adams administration and our partners in the City Council have finally done it,\u201d said\u00a0<\/strong>Deputy Mayor for Operations Jeff Roth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a momentous day that will bring sunlight to our city once again, ensure fa\u00e7ade work gets done in a timely manner, and keep New Yorkers safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since the \u2018Get Sheds Down\u2019 plan was first introduced, our administration has made significant progress compelling hundreds of building owners to make needed repairs, so they can remove their sidewalk sheds from our neighborhoods,\u201d said\u00a0DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to Mayor Adams and our partners in the City Council, this new legislation puts us on the cusp of a meaningful reduction in long-standing sheds across the city, improvements to the design of pedestrian protection equipment, decongestion of our sidewalks, and the first major reforms to Local Law 11 fa\u00e7ade inspection regulations in decades. There is still a lot of game left to play towards fixing the city\u2019s sidewalk shed problem, but these new tools will go a long way in delivering New Yorkers the uncluttered public streetscapes they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rare New Yorkers agree totally on anything, but on long-standing sidewalk sheds, the feelings are unanimous \u2014 they\u2019re dank, they\u2019re dark, and they do a great disservice to one of our true shared assets: our public realm,\u201d said\u00a0Chief Public Realm Officer Ya-Ting Liu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Adams administration is laser focused on improving quality of life for New Yorkers in partnership with the City Council, our city\u2019s BIDs, and many New Yorkers who stood up to say enough. We are doing just that and \u2018Getting Sheds Down!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNYCHA is committed to the safety of our residents and ensuring protection of our walkways and grounds as we carry out needed repairs to our buildings,\u201d said\u00a0New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why we\u2019re intent on keeping the scaffolding we need and removing what we don\u2019t. We\u2019re glad to see a broader reform to the city\u2019s scaffolding regulations that will do away with unnecessary shedding and diversify design options, while opening up space on our properties with a reduction of unnecessary shedding that improves lighting and safety for New Yorkers, including the one in 17 who call NYCHA home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, our city has been covered in over 400 miles of ugly, dingy scaffolding that impacts the experience of everyday New Yorkers, small business owners, and people coming to visit our city. It doesn\u2019t have to be this way, and this package of legislation puts forward reforms to fundamentally change our approach to scaffolding while ensuring safety is still the top priority,\u201d said\u00a0New York City Councilmember Keith Powers. \u201cI am proud to have led the charge to shed the sheds, and I look forward to bringing the light back to New York City!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers have lived under a forest of scaffolding for far too long\u2014and it\u2019s time we cut it back. This legislation is about saying goodbye to the endless sidewalk sheds that block our light, hurt our small businesses, and make our streets feel like construction zones with no end,\u201d said\u00a0New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful to Mayor Adams, Commissioner Jimmy Oddo, Council Member Keith Powers, and Borough President Mark Levine for helping us finally take the city out from under the scaffolding and into the sunlight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen scaffolding goes up above a restaurant, business often plummets. When it stays up year after year, it blights the block and can have a devastating impact on small business sales, including harming restaurants and jobs,\u201d said\u00a0Andrew Rigie, executive director, NYC Hospitality Alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we commend Mayor Adams for signing into law this important scaffolding reform legislation that will keep pedestrians safe, while giving these ugly structures a face lift, putting them up less frequently, and getting them down faster. We\u2019re also grateful to\u00a0our fellow advocates, the Adams\u2019 administration, and the City Council for passing these essential reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe congratulate the Adams Administration and City Council for enacting this comprehensive approach to improved regulation of sidewalk sheds,\u201d said\u00a0Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for NYC. \u201cThis legislation will make the city safer and more attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo often, sidewalk sheds overstay their welcome and become barriers to business, walkability, and the energy that makes New York\u2019s streets so dynamic,\u201d said\u00a0Julie Stein, executive director, Union Square Partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this step, Mayor Adams is embracing a smarter approach \u2014 one that prioritizes safety without sacrificing street life. These laws will significantly modernize how we build, maintain, and ultimately remove these structures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, Business Improvement Districts have struggled to address the unsightly and unsafe conditions caused by construction sheds that have darkened our commercial corridors for years at a time,\u201d said\u00a0Erin Piscopink and Bob Benfatto, co-chairs, New York City BID Association.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud the City Council and the administration for creating these new strategies to both ensure timely completion of much needed safety projects and to develop new prototypes for sheds that brighten and beatify the sidewalks around the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud the city for advancing this much-needed legislation to address the long-standing issue of sidewalk sheds. These structures have imposed significant challenges on small businesses, particularly those still recovering from the economic impacts of COVID-19. By reducing storefront visibility, inviting quality-of-life issues that deter foot traffic, and creating environments that feel unsafe for both customers and employees, sidewalk sheds have hindered our neighborhoods\u2019 vitality and economic growth,\u201d said\u00a0Scott Hobbs, executive director, Village Alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis marks a critical step forward to restore our streetscapes, enhance public safety, and support local businesses. We commend Mayor Adams and the City Council for prioritizing these reforms to ensure a brighter, more accessible future for our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud the city\u2019s move to expand the toolbox beyond traditional pipe\u2011and\u2011plank sheds. By explicitly embracing lighter alternatives like safety netting and clarifying the code around their deployment, the legislation strikes a smart balance between public safety, neighborhood aesthetics, and construction efficiency,\u201d said\u00a0Carlo A. Scissura, Esq., President and CEO, New York Building Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support its intent and are committed to collaborating with our government partners and industry peers to shape clear, practical rules that ensure a seamless rollout and lasting success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NYCSRA applauds Mayor Eric Adams, DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo, and the City Council for addressing public concerns and tackling the complex issue of getting sheds down more quickly,\u201d said\u00a0Veronika Sikorski, president, NYC Special Riggers Association (NYCSRA).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud of our engagement in the negotiations on this legislative package. These new laws will streamline the permitting process, expedite necessary work, and ensure sheds are removed once fa\u00e7ades are repaired and deemed safe. This collaborative effort between industry professionals, the administration, and lawmakers has produced meaningful solutions to longstanding challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLong-standing sidewalk sheds detrimentally impact the economy and quality of life of this city,\u201d said\u00a0Fred Cerullo, president and CEO, Grand Central Partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud the mayor and City Council for taking action to create better designs and more vigorous enforcement weapons to get building facades repaired and sheds down expeditiously, and have our sidewalks in our business districts returned to our pedestrians and to our retailers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s \u2018Get Sheds Down\u2019 initiative is critical to business improvement districts like Third Avenue aka \u2018The Hub,\u2019 where improving quality of life issues has a direct impact on small businesses and the overall shopping experience of residents and visitors,\u201d said\u00a0Pedro Suarez, executive director, Third Avenue Business Improvement District.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe South Bronx deserves better, and we applaud the new legislation\u00a0and hope to see long-standing construction sheds removed so that the full beauty of our neighborhoods can be seen and appreciated.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor far too long, sidewalk sheds have cast a literal and figurative shadow over our streetscapes by dimming the vibrancy of our neighborhoods and placing an unfair burden on small businesses that rely on foot traffic and visibility,\u201d said\u00a0James Mettham, president, Flatiron NoMad Partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud City Hall and our elected officials for advancing the kind of forward-thinking, street-level reform our business districts need, and reclaiming Flatiron and NoMad\u2019s sidewalks as safe and dynamic spaces for commerce, culture and everyday connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passage of these sidewalk shed regulations is a big win for Downtown Brooklyn and all of New York City,\u201d said\u00a0Regina Myer, president, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cFar too often, sidewalk sheds are a blight on neighborhoods, impinging on public space, affecting the ability of our retail to do business, and ultimately impacting quality of life. These policies will address those challenges head-on, and we applaud the\u00a0City Council for its leadership and commitment to making our public realm more vibrant and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSidewalk sheds were never meant to stay up as long as they often do,\u201d said\u00a0Dan Biederman, president, 34th Street Partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith sheds coming down faster in Midtown, we are already seeing the benefits of brighter, wider, and cleaner sidewalks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate the administration\u2019s commitment to\u00a0bringing down ugly sheds in a safe yet timely manner,\u201d said\u00a0Jessica Lappin, president, Downtown Alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u00a0legislation will help make our central business districts more attractive\u00a0and\u00a0welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sidewalk sheds help protect pedestrians from overhead construction sites, building repairs, and unsafe building fa\u00e7ades. However, these valuable public safety tools can create their own problems when property owners allow building repair projects to stall and sheds to languish in place for years, sometimes even decades. These long-standing sheds crowd city streets and darken sidewalks, negatively impacting tenants, pedestrians, and business owners.<\/p>\n

Mayor Adams launched his get sheds down\u00a0plan in July 2023, a sweeping overhaul of rules governing sidewalk construction sheds and scaffolding to remove these eyesores from city streets more quickly while redesigning and reimagining those that are needed.<\/p>\n

Since the launch of Mayor Adams\u2019 Get Sheds Down initiative, DOB has helped remove 330 long-standing sheds across the city.<\/p>\n

All sidewalk sheds in the city that are over five years old are enrolled in DOB\u2019s Long-Standing Shed program, subjecting the property owners to stronger enforcement scrutiny, greater outreach, and court actions when the owners refuse to make repairs. More than 100 separate properties have been brought into litigation by the city related to this initiative.<\/p>\n

Intro. 393-A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 sponsored by New York City Councilmember Keith Powers \u2014 reduces the duration of a sidewalk shed permit from one year to three months and strengthens oversight of sidewalk shed permit renewals, requiring property owners to regularly update DOB on the remaining repairs needed to remove sidewalk sheds. This bill also creates new penalties for property owners who fail to conduct timely fa\u00e7ade repairs on sheds in a public right of way.<\/p>\n

Intro. 391-A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 sponsored by Councilmember Powers \u2014 gives DOB new tools to improve the design of sidewalk sheds. The bill calls on DOB to recommend new shed designs and expands the number of acceptable colors for sidewalk sheds from the current hunter green to also include metallic gray, white, or a color matching the building. Additionally, the bill increases the minimum height of sidewalk sheds to 12 feet, allowing more sunlight to reach the sidewalk, and reduces the size of required sheds for tall buildings set back from the street as well as campus style properties, such as New York City Housing Authority buildings. Finally, the bill requires DOB to issue new rules on the use of containment netting as an alternative to sidewalk sheds.<\/p>\n

Intro. 394-A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 sponsored by Councilmember Powers \u2014 extends the cycle for required fa\u00e7ade inspections of buildings taller than six stories from five years to between six and 12 years. The bill also empowers DOB to improve the Fa\u00e7ade Inspection & Safety Program, which will be informed by an ongoing study launched by DOB.<\/p>\n

Intro. 660-A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 sponsored by New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher \u2014 doubles the required level of lighting under sidewalk sheds from 45 lumens to 90 lumens and requires that lighting under sidewalk sheds be provided specifically by LED lights. Additionally, this bill would require lighting fixtures within a 20-foot radius of a window of a dwelling unit to be adjustable or shielded to stop the light from negatively impacting residential tenants.<\/p>\n

Intro. 661-A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 sponsored by Councilmember Bottcher \u2014 empowers DOB to issue penalties to buildings over six stories tall that fail to meet specific fa\u00e7ade repair milestones for filing repair plans, obtaining DOB work permits for the repair project, and completing all fa\u00e7ade repairs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed several pieces of legislation to address the city\u2019s long-standing scaffolding shed epidemic, giving the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) new tools to remove unnecessary, unsightly scaffolding and create more appealing designs for sheds that are still needed. The legislation establishes new penalties, compelling property owners […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1469,31,1378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","category-news","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36605,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36604\/revisions\/36605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}