The Big Apple claims it is cracking down on the tragedy of the sidewalk hut, but according to public data, there are scaffolding in about 500 city-owned buildings.
One nasty building has been scaffolding for over a decade.
City-owned facility sheds account for 5% of the 8,600 sheds standing in all five districts. This is long enough to reach from Manhattan to Cleveland, and when combined for about 400 miles.
Despite that incredible count, city council members are proposing the bill. 0393 – This suggests taking over the city from private property that cannot handle work in a timely manner.
This has been just one of several changes since Mayor Eric Adams announced his “Get Sheds Down” initiative in the summer of 2023. City Hall says it helped remove hundreds of scaffolding, including 18, in the city-owned building.
But in light of the 500 still there, many New Yorkers are skeptical that the city has a business that locks its nose into personal work until it proves it can take care of its own shed.
“I think they should clean their home first,” said Sandy Rocks, 70. “This is really pathetic.”
“They have to organize themselves first,” added Michelle, 54, an entrepreneur who lives on the Upper West Side.
“I don't think the city is going to help with that situation. If they can't get their own building together, I don't know why it would be helpful to take on a building owned by an additional landlord,” she said.
The pair had been passed by 2720 Broadway, an Upper West Side building that has been surrounded by footing since around 2012. This building has been owned by the Ministry of Homelessness for a long time.
It currently houses a homeless shelter that has been left empty for the past few months due to fire alarm issues, but the building has undergone facade repairs for more than a decade. Meanwhile, the sidewalk under the shed has become devastated in the neighbourhood, often covered in trash and junk along with people sleeping in dirty blankets.
“I was a resident of Manhattan Village for 25 years. [scaffolding] Anthony Kurutz said.
“People are drunk, whatever you can imagine. It's a shelter for people. We've seen the people who live there, people wandering around on drugs and drinking,” he added.
Located at the corner of 104th Avenue, this building is located 1 block east of West End Avenue. This was previously exposed as one of the most dense scaffolding extensions in all five wards.
Kurutz recalls how the Shed went up around 2012 and finally came down around 2017. It was only reverted again in a day, and prevented the true age of Shed from appearing on the official scaffolding tracker of the city.
“It wasn't good. It's an eyesore on the block. It attracts negativity. It's a devastation within the block and isn't very useful for business,” Kurtz added.
Other nearby business owners agree.
“They use drugs outside of business, and customers see that,” said 23-year-old Willie Gomez, who cuts hair at a barber shop at a haircut factory under the scaffolding. “There are kids passing by and they see it all. They have to remove it because it was too long in one place.”
The mayor's office supports complaints from these business owners. His Get Sheds Initiative released a survey in August when Scaffolding Sheds found that they cost businesses that are covered by more than $9,500 a month.
For businesses near 2720 Broadway, it's more than $1 million lost in businesses across the ongoing life of the city's scaffolding.
City Hall said the 2720 Broadway Shed is currently scheduled to go down by June 2025, but it did not answer questions about why it had happened for more than a decade.
“Mayor Adams has made it clear that there are bureaucratic rules behind us, standing in a way that takes down unsightly huts, and our 'Get Sheds Down' initiative has already contributed to the removal of more than 320 huts,” a City Hall spokesperson said.
“We have been focusing on continuing our momentum to tackle the ubiquitous sidewalk sheds that have plagued New Yorkers for decades and bring valuable sidewalk space back to the public.”
Councillor Keith Powers, one of Int's sponsors. 0393 said cities need to start leading by example.
“We are proud to lead our efforts at City Council to remove the footholds that are overtaking our neighborhood, but our own city buildings need to be set by example,” Powers said. “It's time for New Yorkers to bring back the streets and skylines.”
But those affected by the city's sheds said that when they saw the sun again they would believe those words.
“If the scaffolding goes, it will completely change the complexion of this block,” said one employee at Befit NYC, a gym on the second floor, which was no longer visible due to the city's 2720 Broadway scaffolding.
“Someone is dropping the ball.”
