By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams recently released a new study — commissioned by the City and conducted in cooperation with Mastercard — exploring how sidewalk sheds and scaffolding negatively impact Manhattan businesses. Evaluating aggregated and anonymized spending averages from Mastercard, the study shows that cardholders spend between $3,900 and $9,500 less each month at businesses located in buildings with sidewalk sheds. Restaurants and bars are most impacted, reporting a 3.5 percent to 9.7 percent decrease in weekly transactions in the six months following shed construction.
Last year, the Adams administration released its “Get Sheds Down” plan, a wide-ranging series of nine initiatives aimed at compelling building owners to make needed repairs quickly so unsightly sidewalk sheds and scaffolding do not languish in place for years, reducing the number of unnecessary long-standing sidewalk sheds in the Big Apple and improving the design of necessary sheds and scaffolding so they’re no longer a blight to the community.
The Adams administration is partnering with the City Council on proposals that would allow for a wider variety of colors for sidewalk sheds and scaffolding, increase lighting requirements for sheds, reduce the duration of sidewalk shed permits, and introduce new penalties if building repairs are not performed in a timely manner.
“For small businesses, many immigrant-owned, [such] revenue loss could be the difference between staying open or closing for good. This lays clear the imperative to implement our ‘Get Sheds Down’ plan to reimagine shed design and speed up repairs without compromising safety,” Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven said. “Making sheds aesthetically pleasing and short-lived will unlock the beauty of our blocks while removing spots for bad apples to congregate. That translates to increased foot traffic, uplifting street-level businesses and generating millions in economic activity.”
Earlier this summer, DOB launched a comprehensive review of the city’s Façade Inspection and Safety Program, colloquially known as “Local Law 11” inspections, in partnership with international engineering consulting firm Thornton Tomasetti. Local Law 11 requires building owners to hire private inspectors to perform façade maintenance inspections, with a rigid one-size-fits-all set of regulations for all buildings over six stories tall. While the current regulations compel owners to inspect and mitigate any found buildings hazard with sheds or other protection, it doesn’t do enough to encourage repairs — resulting in sheds standing in place for years with no progress on the repairs. Recommendations from the administration will consider regulatory changes that could reduce sidewalk sheds and scaffolding that are not protecting the public.
This study of Local Law 11 is a part of the administration’s “Get Sheds Down” plan. As part of the multifaceted plan, the city is working with design firms to reimagine pedestrian safety infrastructure expected to be delivered in 2025, released technical guidance to help the industry understand when they can use safety netting in place of sidewalk sheds, launched a permanent program allowing art on sidewalk sheds, stepped up criminal court cases against the worst offenders who refuse to make needed building repairs, and increased DOB oversight over expired sidewalk shed permits.
