Behind the Revived Effort to Reform Scaffolding Law

The scaffolding and sidewalk sheds encrusting New York City are because of Local Law 11, which was enacted after 17-year-old Grace Gold was killed in 1979 by falling debris. The Laken Riley Act was passed by Congress this month after another young woman was killed, in that case by an undocumented immigrant.

Both laws seek to prevent a horrific tragedy from happening again. But in each case, critics say lawmakers went too far.

Sen. Cory Booker said he voted against the Laken Riley Act because it “mandates the indefinite detention of any noncitizen of any age for even the most minor of infractions — even if charges are dropped and even if the subject is a child.

“This will command billions of taxpayer dollars to be used in ways that countless law enforcement officials agree is a waste. Our resources should be better spent, targeted toward threats to public safety.”

New Jersey’s senior senator also cited the potential for abuses. But his economic and efficacy arguments are more relevant to Local Law 11, which has cost the real estate industry billions of dollars.

Crain’s wrote in 2018 that building owners were spending $1.2 billion a year on sidewalk sheds and scaffolding, which not only prevent hazards but also create them. Surely those funds could be better spent, but it’s not public money, so politicians don’t care much about that.

Some do care, however, that sheds are ugly, hurt small businesses and conceal crime.

Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist and former Mike Bloomberg adviser, wrote an op-ed in the Daily News last week promoting City Council member Keith Powers’ three-bill package to reduce the amount of scaffolding and sidewalk sheds cluttering New York City. It would, for example, allow netting, streamline permitting and space out inspections.

Tusk made a fortune from Uber and now runs Tusk Strategies and also a foundation to reduce hunger and promote mobile voting. His motivation to fix the scaffolding problem is personal; he has no client on the issue.

Tusk is outraged that Council Speaker Adrienne Adams hasn’t pushed the Powers legislation forward, but didn’t speculate in his op-ed about why.

One possibility is she doesn’t want Mayor Eric Adams to get credit. But that is not likely a major factor, or even a minor one. She just passed City of Yes — a mayoral initiative. And the mayor is not pushing Powers’ bills; he is waiting for recommendations from a Thornton Tomasetti study of the city’s Façade Inspection & Safety Program.

The more likely reason that sidewalk-shed reforms have for years failed to pass is politicians’ hesitance to change a safety law, lest a single death result.

But good governing does not mean preventing every single bad outcome — and Local Law 11 hasn’t even done that. An architect was killed in Times Square by falling debris in 2019, for example, and another woman lost her life a few weeks later in Queens.

We may never know the full economic impact of Local Law 11, how many deaths it has prevented (or caused) and how alternatives would have fared.

We do know New Yorkers are sick of scaffolding and sidewalk sheds. Tusk did a poll showing the proposed reforms have strong public support. It’s easy for strategists to rig such polls, but that probably wasn’t necessary in this case.