{"id":464907,"date":"2022-06-18T17:39:53","date_gmt":"2022-06-18T14:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/tear-down-nycs-scaffold-jungle\/"},"modified":"2022-06-18T17:39:53","modified_gmt":"2022-06-18T14:39:53","slug":"tear-down-nycs-scaffold-jungle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tear-down-nycs-scaffold-jungle\/","title":{"rendered":"#Tear down NYC&#8217;s Scaffold Jungle!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26264d90d2a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26264d90d2a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tear-down-nycs-scaffold-jungle\/#%E2%80%9CTear_down_NYCs_Scaffold_Jungle%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Tear down NYC&#8217;s Scaffold Jungle!&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CTear_down_NYCs_Scaffold_Jungle%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Tear down NYC&#8217;s Scaffold Jungle!&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/steve-cuozzo.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Steve Cuozzo\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/steve-cuozzo.png 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/steve-cuozzo.png?w=38 38w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/>      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>If Mayor Eric Adams means business about \u201csupercharging\u201d the city economy, he can start by tearing down the Scaffold Jungle.<\/p>\n<p>Not with bulldozers \u2014 but by drastically \u00a0overhauling the Koch-era laws that spawned the monstrosities in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSidewalk bridges\u201d \u2014 an Orwellian term for sidewalk tunnels \u2014 darken doorfronts, ruin businesses, harbor drug addicts and enable crime.<br \/>No other city in America \u2014 or anywhere \u2014 suffers such a blight. Today\u2019s 9,000-plus sheds are <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>le as many as \u00a0twenty years ago, according to the Office of Management and Budget.<\/p>\n<p>The Manhattan Institute\u2019s City Journal this year cited New York\u2019s \u201cunique and unusually costly requirements for inspecting and maintaining building facades\u201d even for \u201cbuildings that pose little risk of facade disintegration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet there\u2019s no political impetus to \u00a0minimize the harm the sheds \u00a0bring while preserving their core safety mission.<\/p>\n<p>Too many in government are chicken to demand wholesale alterations to the sheds-spawning diktats known as Local Law 10 and Local Law 11. They\u2019re afraid they\u2019ll be accused of letting \u00a0innocent pedestrians die under an imaginary avalanche of tumbling debris.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-2.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"The Department of Buildings says the scaffolding in necessary to protect New Yorkers from falling debris and other hazards.\" class=\"wp-image-22716547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The Department of Buildings says the scaffolding in necessary to protect New Yorkers from falling debris and other hazards.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Helayne Seidman for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Others are deeply invested in growing the shed business, which has done for scaffold merchants what Thanksgiving did for turkey farmers. Culprits include City Council members, \u00a0the Department of Buildings, some landlords, construction unions, and legions of contractors, engineers and consultants.<\/p>\n<p>Only the mayor has the clout to push for meaningful change.<\/p>\n<p>The DOB calls the sheds a \u201cnecessity to protect New Yorkers from falling\u00a0debris and buildings that have been allowed to fall into disrepair.\u201d In fact they protect what\u2019s become an $8 billion shed supply-and-enable sheds racket.<\/p>\n<p>Other large cities don\u2019t have anything like Gotham\u2019s miles-on-end of sidewalk tunnels.\u00a0 Yet \u00a0emergency rooms in Chicago, Philadelphia and London aren\u2019t \u00a0overwhelmed with victims of falling debris.<\/p>\n<p>The DOB claims \u00a0the majority of sheds are not for facade repairs, but \u201crelated to \u201cconstruction and maintenance operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Actual construction work \u2014 to put up a \u00a0new building, for example, or major renovation to an existing one \u00a0\u2014 certainly calls for sheds to protect the public.<\/p>\n<p>But in every residential neighborhood, most sheds are there for routine facade-fixing jobs \u2014 whether or not any work is actually done.\u00a0 Some\u00a0 stand for years on end. They \u00a0 pose their own dangers.\u00a0 An audit last year by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that of 74 sheds surveyed, 45 percent had a total of 47 safety violations.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 The DOB says it regularly inspects sheds that are up for five years \u2014 as if it\u2019s perfectly normal for a shed to be in place for so long.\u00a0 Thanks for nothing!<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Most scaffolding is for routine repair work, not major construction jobs.\" class=\"wp-image-22716550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Most scaffolding is for routine repair work, not major construction jobs.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Helayne Seidman for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Local Law 10, passed in 1980, followed a falling-debris accident that cost a Barnard student her life. It mandated inspections of every city building more than six stories high every five years. A later update, Local Law 11, \u00a0toughened \u00a0the requirements.<\/p>\n<p>The five-year rule was the brainstorm of the \u00a0all-powerful \u00a0 \u00a0Board of Estimate. It \u00a0consisted \u00a0 of zero engineers with actual knowledge of building dangers \u2014 but rather \u00a0the mayor, comptroller, City Council president and five borough presidents, eager \u00a0to convince the public they were taking action in the tragedy\u2019s wake. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Estimate Board \u00a0 was \u00a0declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in \u00a01989 and forced to cede \u00a0most of its authority to the Council. Why must the Big <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le\u2019s entire streetscape be hostage to rules set down by a long-defunct, discredited governmental body?<\/p>\n<p>The laws don\u2019t require sidewalk bridges \u00a0for inspections. But the DOB requires them while any \u201cconstruction\u201d or \u201crepairs\u201d are in progress after inspections find \u201chazardous\u201d conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that \u00a0almost every inspected building of brick, masonry or terra cotta \u00a0soon falls under \u201crepairs\u201d \u2014 and under a sidewalk bridge.<\/p>\n<p>The cruelest stroke is that all buildings more than \u00a0100 feet tall \u00a0must extend bridges 20 feet in each direction beyond the property. This creates nightmares for \u00a0neighbors who aren\u2019t even party to the work.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/eric-adams-12.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Mayor Adams previously vowed to promote economic growth.\" class=\"wp-image-22716570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/eric-adams-12.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/eric-adams-12.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/eric-adams-12.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Mayor Adams previously vowed to promote economic growth.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The \u00a0frustrated owner of a townhouse at 114 E. 62nd Street fruitlessly sued \u00a0the adjacent co-op \u00a0at 555 \u00a0Park Ave., claiming its shed extension, which covered part of the townhouse windows, made it impossible to rent out apartments there.<\/p>\n<p>The laws must be scrapped and rewritten to \u00a0include at least three bold \u00a0strokes.<\/p>\n<p>First: dump the only-in-New York, iron-clad schedule that requires inspections and \u201crepairs\u201d every five years irrespective of how old buildings are or what \u00a0materials they\u2019re made from.<\/p>\n<p>The one-size-screws-all rule ignores common-sense lessons of other cities which have different requirements for different types of buildings depending on their \u00a0ages and materials.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Chicago has four classes; those in the safest class need be inspected only every twelve years. Why can\u2019t New York?<\/p>\n<p>Number two: forbid rows of consecutive sheds when several buildings on a block are under repair at \u00a0the same time \u2014 as on the east side of Park Avenue between East 61st and 62nd streets and many other sidewalks buried under \u00a0endless, dark pedestrian tunnels.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-3.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"There should be punishment for landlords who let sheds stand indefinitely.\" class=\"wp-image-22716580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/building-scaffolding-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>There should be punishment for landlords who let sheds stand indefinitely.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Stefan Jeremiah for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yes, allowing only one shed on the same side of a block at one time would mean postponing work on a second \u00a0building until the first job is finished.<\/p>\n<p>But the world won\u2019t end.\u00a0 And delays won\u2019t be long if the city kicks landlords\u2019 butts to finish repair work promptly.<\/p>\n<p>That means severely punishing\u00a0landlords who let sheds stand indefinitely, rather than perform repairs. Current \u00a0fines of $1,000 a month for leaving a shed up while no work is being done are peanuts compared to actual repair cost which can be up to $300,000.<\/p>\n<p>City Council Member Ben Kallos launched a bill in 2016 that would have required landlords to finish repairs within six months \u2014 or make them pay the city to finish the job. It \u00a0never came to a vote.<\/p>\n<p>But even if the fines were multiplied by ten, the \u00a0DOB is too under-staffed and under-funded to enforce them.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Adams vowed that to promote economic growth, he would tackle \u201cdysfunction and contradictions in zoning and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Getting rid of Local Laws 10 and 11 would be a great place to start.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/06\/18\/tear-down-nycs-scaffold-jungle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Tear down NYC&#8217;s Scaffold Jungle!&#8221; If Mayor Eric Adams means business about \u201csupercharging\u201d the city economy, he can start by tearing down the Scaffold Jungle. Not with bulldozers \u2014 but by drastically \u00a0overhauling the Koch-era laws that spawned the monstrosities in the first place. \u201cSidewalk bridges\u201d \u2014 an Orwellian term for sidewalk tunnels \u2014 darken&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":464908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/newspress-collage-22509239-1655559895934.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1655545526&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[130472,73233,66147,21774,80026],"class_list":["post-464907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-6-18-22","tag-construction","tag-eric-adams","tag-nyc","tag-scaffolding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}