Ever-present scaffolding plagues the sidewalks of New York, erected and seemingly never removed. Happily, there are three solid bills stuck in the City Council that will end this hindrance to the daily lives of millions. Speaker Adrienne Adams must let the bills move forward, as her colleagues will surely pass them.
While officials at City Hall call them sidewalk sheds, all the regular New Yorkers we know call them scaffolding (sidewalks sheds sound like outdoor dining structures, the subject of another editorial) and the only good thing about them is when you don’t have an umbrella in the rain. Although put up for the commendable purposes of inspection or repairs, they stay and stay and stay.
Reform can happen, if the Council acts and if Speaker Adams let it.
One bill will change the building code regarding the removal of construction-related equipment. That bill has 19 sponsors. A second amends the building code in relation to scaffolding design requirements. That bill has 20 sponsors. A third adjusts the city’s administrative code concerning the timeline of façade examinations for new construction and coordinating all façade examinations on every block. That bill has 21 sponsors.
The three bills were considered at a hearing of the Housing and Buildings Committee on June 25. How long ago was that? That was two days before the Joe Biden/Donald Trump debate, where Biden did so poorly he later dropped out of the race. In politics, that’s a very long time. So why no movement?
Some speculate that the Speaker Adams is mad at Mayor Adams, but the scaffolding bills are not from the mayor, and a big backer of the scaffolding package is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is now prosecuting the mayor’s closest and longest serving aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin.
This is an election year for all 51 Council members and every other city elected office and petitioning for the ballot starts in just a few weeks. Then it will be campaign season, when there will be even more reasons not to advance legislation. The speaker should not wait. Reducing scaffolding is supported by everyone. Put the bills on the floor and let the members debate and vote.
And then start getting the eyesores off our sidewalks.
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