A key feature of the New York City streetscape might be changing.
The New York Building Congress announced a competition for architects, engineers and others to design an alternative to the sidewalk shed, according to Capital New York.
“In the course of their daily lives, millions of New Yorkers are forced to encounter sidewalk sheds that can best be describe as dark, constrictive and forbidding. It’s time we stopped treating their design as an afterthought,” Tom Scarangello, chairman of the Building Congress, said in a statement cited by Capital.
Sheds span roughly 200 miles across the five boroughs.
Four winners — who will receive a total of $10,000 — will be announced in September.
Former mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to launch a competition under the name “urbanShed” a few years ago with similar goals, but the winning design was never implemented. [Capital NY] — Claire Moses