Mar. 26, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
The City Council approved a legislative package Wednesday afternoon to reduce the number of scaffolding structures on New York City streets.
The package of five bills takes aim at the temporary steel and wooden scaffolding structures – known as scaffolding sheds – that line and darken thousands of sidewalks throughout the five boroughs of New York City while keeping members of the public safe from falling debris.
Sidewalk sheds typically adorn the side of city buildings for more than a year, obscuring famous structures and creating significant lighting issues on countless city streets and sidewalks. In July 2023, for example, QNS reported that scaffolding structures were consistent features at prominent courthouses throughout Queens for almost five years, including the Queens County Criminal Court at 125-01 Queens Blvd. and the Supreme Court of Queens County at 88-11 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica.