Adams: Sidewalk sheds cost businesses thousands of dollars, but things are looking up

August 14, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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MANHATTAN — MAYOR ERIC ADAMS said at a press conference on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue Wednesday that sidewalk sheds and scaffolding cost local businesses from $4,000-$9,500 per month. “And that’s just from spending by people using MasterCards,” he asserted. While the conference was held in Manhattan, needless scaffolding and sheds are everywhere in the city, and one reason is it’s cheaper for building owners to keep the scaffolding up than take it down. Things are changing, the Mayor said, with 173 miles of sidewalk sheds removed since the start of a program called “Get Sheds Down,” overseen by Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, which takes some building owners to court.

The Buildings Department is coming up with different scaffolding designs, and is working with an engineering firm to review Local Law 11, Joshi added.

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