Tighter Regulations for New York City’s Construction Sheds Signed into
As part of the Adams Administration’s commitment to its “Get Sheds Down” Plan, several pieces of legislation implementing heightened regulations on New York City’s construction sheds were signed into law by Mayor Adams on Thursday, April 17 — Intro. 393-A, Intro. 391-A, Intro. 394-A, Intro. 660-A, and Intro. 661-A. The long overdue much-needed changes have been applauded by several of the city’s business improvement districts (BIDs). Each of the bills gives the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) new tools to “remove unnecessary, unsightly scaffolding and create more appealing designs for sheds that are still needed.” In addition, new penalties have been established intended to incentivize property owners to complete building repairs in a timely manner and remove sheds more quickly, further promoted by the establishment of a reduction in the duration of shed permits from one year to three months. The remaining bills focus on shed design and security, expanding allowable colors from the current standard hunter green to include metallic gray, white, or a color matching the building, while the newly required level of lighting under sidewalk sheds will increase to 90 lumens from the current 45 lumens along with the provision that lighting be provided specifically by LED lights. While acknowledging the importance of sidewalk shed installations, which serve as a valuable public safety tool that protects pedestrian from overhead construction, at the same time, sidewalk sheds can create their own problems when allowed to “languish in place for years,” such as negatively impacting ground level business owners and causing unnecessary crowding along the sidewalks and streets.