FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 26th, 2025
CONTACT: Emma Johnson
ejohnson@council.nyc.gov
347-864-4925
Council Member Keith Powers Passes Scaffolding Reform
NEW YORK – Today the New York City Council unanimously passed a package of bills sponsored by Council Member Keith Powers to reform the city’s archaic scaffolding laws. Sheds are a blight on our communities, attract crime, and obscure daylight for the people living in the buildings covered in scaffolding that remains up for far too long. It’s time to change the system, and these bills do just that.
A poll conducted this spring found that 77% of New Yorkers feel that scaffolding negatively affects their everyday lives. Just 6% of those polled thought that scaffolding laws are fine the way they are. The data is clear: New Yorkers are sick of their streets being overwhelmed by the scourge of ugly sheds, some of which remain in place for months or even years.
The bills passed today update design requirements, establish removal timelines, and enhance the efficiency of façade repairs. Over a third of the sheds that remain in New York City are classified under Local Law 11 and could be removed sooner under the reforms.
Council Member Keith Powers said, “For 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’t 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.”
Photo credit: William Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit
“Across the city there are hundreds of examples of sidewalk sheds and scaffolding that have been up for years on end, a reflection of regulatory requirements that have not kept up with the times and building facades that are not being repaired quickly. Sidewalk sheds that are up for long periods of time impact neighborhood quality of life and have a significant safety and financial consequence. The reforms the City Council passed today are a huge step towards ensuring that sheds are up only as long as they need to be to keep New Yorkers safe,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “Strategies like allowing design changes, increasing enforcement and civil penalties, encouraging buildings to make progress on facade repair, and lengthening the period between regular facade inspections will make a stark difference in our neighborhoods. I’m grateful to Council Members Keith Powers and Erik Bottcher for their leadership on this issue in the City Council.”
“Sidewalk sheds have been a pervasive problem in our city for far too long, covering our streetscape and negatively impacting public safety,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “The Council is proud to advance these reform laws that will improve our residents’ quality of life, make our streets more vibrant, and hasten the removal of these blights from our neighborhoods. I’m proud that, under the leadership of this Council, we are finally taking action to address these challenges.”
“For too long, our neighborhoods have been blanketed by scaffolding that turns our streets into dark, dangerous corridors”, said Council Member Christopher Marte. “This legislation is about finally holding landlords accountable, pushing them to complete repairs, and giving our streets back to the people. New Yorkers deserve safe, vibrant sidewalks—not permanent sheds that linger for years.”
“Sidewalk sheds and scaffolding are meant to keep New Yorkers safe, but too often sheds are left in place longer than they need to be, creating quality of life, public safety, and economic concerns. Today the Council passed a suite of legislation to respond to the concern of New Yorkers in a safe way, and I commend my colleagues for stewarding these important bills,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-02).
Council Member Yusef Salaam said, “For too long, scaffolding has cast a shadow over our streets—literally and figuratively. Walk down 125th Street or Lenox Avenue, and you’ll see what we all know—these sheds, meant as temporary protections, have become permanent fixtures, blocking sunlight, stifling our small businesses, and creating spaces where crime can thrive. This bill ensures that scaffolding serves its true purpose—safety—not stagnation. I’m proud to stand with Council Member Keith Powers to bring stronger accountability, brighter streets, and real progress to our communities.”
“Scaffolding sheds stretch for miles across our city blocks with no end in sight,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “I’m proud to co-sponsor Council Member Powers’ package of bills aimed at expediting the removal of sheds and enhancing their appearance in our cityscape. These bills will help mitigate the negative effects of prolonged scaffolding on businesses and public spaces, while ensuring stronger compliance with regulations and enhancing street safety and quality of life.”
Council Member Lincoln Restler said, “It’s time to shed the sheds! In Downtown Brooklyn, we have scaffolding that’s been up for almost two decades. I’m grateful to Council Member Powers for prioritizing this important legislative package to get scaffolding down and improve our neighborhood safety and quality of life!”
Lori Gold, sister of Grace Gold, said “Grace was a brilliant, talented and beautiful young woman; her death at only 17 y.o. cut short a life of vast potential. Grace’s legacy instead turned out to be saving other peoples’ lives from the tragic fate she suffered, by inspiring NYC’s façade and building laws which protect the safety of NY’s streetscape and its people. Today’s bills are significant because they go the next step: they integrate actual learned experience and identified needs into the next iteration of safety reforms.”
Portrait of Grace Gold.
“The NYCSRA applauds NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilmember Keith Powers for finding ways to address the public’s concerns and find solutions to a very complex problem,” said NYC Special Riggers Association President Veronika Sikorski. “Our organization is proud to have worked closely with the Council and Department of Buildings on this legislation. This legislation will get sidewalk sheds down faster while maintaining safety and improving the overall aesthetics – color and lighting – of sidewalk sheds. Finding new ways to improve the overall approval process, get the work completed and remove the sheds once the building façade is repaired and deemed safe is the goal. The actions taken today will do just that while taking into consideration a multiplicity of issues that arise when façade work is need to protect the public from harm.”
“Too much of our vibrant city is hidden behind ugly scaffolding, which presents safety concerns as well as aesthetic concerns,” said Rob Byrnes, president of the East Midtown Partnership in Manhattan. “It’s time to open up New York City, and the East Midtown Partnership commends Council Member Keith Powers and his colleagues for moving this measure forward.”
“Addressing the proliferation of unsightly street sheds is key to reducing the high rate of storefront vacancy in Manhattan,” said Jessica Walker, President and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. “This is a major accomplishment that has been years in the making, and which will have a huge impact on small businesses trying to be found by customers. We applaud Lead Sponsor Keith Powers and his colleagues for bringing us to this critical point.”
“When scaffolding goes up above a restaurant, business 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 the jobs that rely on outdoor dining. That’s why we commend Councilmember Powers, Speaker Adams, Manhattan Borough President Levine, Councilmember Bottcher, and the rest of the City Council for passing this important scaffolding reform legislation.” said Andrew Rigie, Executive Director, NYC Hospitality Alliance.
Cordelia Persen, Executive Director of the NoHo Business Improvement District, said: “As a BID, we constantly hear about the negative impacts of scaffolding. Businesses report lower foot traffic, property owners spend months in limbo, and all the while it feels like more and more of our neighborhood is covered. The passage of these bills is an exciting moment for NYC, with common sense, practical solutions that will make a better, brighter City for all of us without compromising building safety.”
“Sidewalk sheds protect pedestrians, but those left up too long can hurt local businesses, make streets feel less safe, and dull our public spaces,” said Julie Stein, Executive Director of Union Square Partnership. “I commend the City Council for looking at global best practices to find workable solutions that New York City can implement now to speed up shed removal, improve their design, and tackle underlying issues to reduce our reliance on them.”
“Thanks to the council for championing the efforts to rid the city of ugly sidewalk sheds while keeping us all safe,” said Tom Harris, President of the Times Square Alliance. “Improving the aesthetics and holding landlords accountable for quicker repairs will go a long way to reduce the negative impact these sheds have for businesses and neighborhoods.”
“This package of legislation will rid New York City sidewalks of hundreds of miles of unsightly scaffolding by reducing the length of sidewalk shed permits, making the sheds more attractive, and changing the timetable for façade inspections requiring sheds,” said Grand Central Partnership CEO Fred Cerullo. “These are all welcome changes to return our hidden sidewalk spaces to pedestrians.”
Madelyn Wils, Interim President of the Hudson River Park Trust, said “New York has always been a walkable city. Yet sidewalk sheds add to the myriad of obstructions on our sidewalks, which prevent people from easily walking our streets. The Fifth Avenue Association is grateful to Speaker Adams, Councilmember Powers and Borough President Levine, for this suite of legislation which allows for timely, lawful inspections and construction, while protecting neighborhoods and pedestrians from those who take advantage of the system.”
Barbara Blair, President of the Garment District Alliance, said “The Garment District Alliance applauds CM Powers, members of the council and MBP Mark Levine for getting this done. The sheds have had a deleterious impact in so many ways, from an aesthetic, safety, and quality of life perspective for far too long. We look forward to this legislation passing and the quick enactment of all it contains. The Garment District had 10,000 linear feet of sidewalks covered in these dilapidated, dark, and ominous sheds in January 2025. They must go.”
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