Scaffolding in New York City could soon be in fewer places, for shorter stays, and possibly with an entirely different look. The Mayor’s Office and the Department of Buildings recently announced two packages of policy changes: one that will ensure structures go up only when necessary and another that will penalize scaffolding that is too long. For the sheds that do act, the city announced six possible designs which could replace the iconic (or notorious) hunter green plywood.
The changes could redo New York City’s building care as famous skyscrapers and everyday structures cross important landmarks. Half of all buildings in the city were built before 1930, said Jonathan Ehrlich, CEO of T2D2a software company that recently worked on facade inspection analysis for the Department of Buildings. “The city is doing a good job of realizing that these buildings are not being torn down at the rate they are being built,” he said. “They have to figure out how to maintain these buildings for another 100 years.”
Scaffolds in the five districts are generally “BSA covers,” or the green, tunnel-like designs that shelter passers-by until construction is finished or crumbling facades are fixed. When upgrades aren’t made, the structures persist: The average lifespan of the roughly 8,300 sheds citywide is 544 days. Those that have been up to three years or more are usually in city buildings.
One program that puts scaffolding first is the Façade Inspection and Safety Program, or FISP. The policy requires buildings of six stories or more to pass a facade examination every five years. Depending on the results, building owners may need to install a shed. Since it was implemented 45 years ago as Local Law 10, some FISP rules have not changed much, said Gary Mancini, CEO of Thornton Tomasetti. DOB selected his company in 2024 through an RFP to study potential upgrades to the program. The recommendations, which the city announced in November, could lead to fewer sheds being built.
The most substantial change would be for buildings to be assessed every six years instead of every five. When the standard was set, every study was in plain sight, Mancini said. “There were people with binoculars looking at these things and doing 100 a day.” However, today’s more thorough examinations mean that visits can be extended without compromising safety. Today’s FISP also says that buildings labeled ‘safe with a repair and maintenance programme’ are automatically downgraded to ‘unsafe’ and need scaffolding if changes are not made at the next inspection. Mancini and his team suggested that another inspection determine if conditions worsened and required the sheds.
The report also advised the DOB to conduct a pilot study on how drones could fit into facade inspections. About 30 percent of construction professionals interviewed said they use technology as part of their examination process, said Ehrlich, who worked with Thornton Tomasetti on the report. The DOB intends to implement the report’s suggestions, said David Maggiotto, the department’s deputy press secretary, and is drafting changes to the rules.
Image courtesy of Arup A lightweight shed that deploys quickly and moves quickly. Ideal for short term projects and emergency repairs. The design features a pitched roof with mesh, which allows natural light to enter the sidewalk.
Image courtesy of PAU
Other new DOB policies will push existing sheds to be retired more quickly. Starting in January, the DOB will implement two new fines. A monthly fee will apply to sheds longer than 180 days. The second will be “milestone penalties for FISP building owners who fail to meet specified repair timelines,” according to the department. The agency will also devote more staff to inspecting sites where sheds have been for three years or more.
DOB also hopes that any scaffolding that is installed will be much more pleasant for residents. Although the RFP sought a single firm to develop six new scaffold designs, two teams, one led by Arup and one led by PAU, were each awarded a $1.75 million contract for three models each. “We determined that both Arup and PAU were deserving, so we split the contract in two,” Maggiotto said.
DOB design requirements, such as supporting specific live and lateral loads, came with additional requests. The department didn’t want horizontal bars lower than eight feet above the pavement, for example, which all six designs managed. “Today’s sheds have many columns and many crossings. It forces you into that corral, you can’t escape,” said Mark Faulkner, PAU’s associate director. His team’s designs include a lighter, faster-to-build model, one that could be scaled up in a day, Faulkner said, a sturdier design for larger projects and a split-the-difference version.
The DOB also wanted cutlery that could be easily mass produced. As a result, the Arup-led team designed its options to be modular structural steel with standard connections and bolts, said Arup director Seth Wolfe. Two designs have parallel rows of columns and can be placed for construction or maintenance work, while the third, lighter model, does not touch the ground and is attached to the building.
Both companies are assembling prototypes of their scaffolds and working out cost estimates. The designs will be more expensive per foot compared to the current plywood approach, but are made with reusable components. Since NYCHA and public schools are some of the biggest consumers of sheds, both companies know the designs won’t catch on unless the city can afford them. “We’re really trying to achieve a high level of design for the Toyota Camry budget,” said Kevin Erickson, founding director of the KNE studio, which teamed up with Arup on the project.
All six designs could be in buildings as early as 2026. What happens to the BSA’s green sheds, whether they are phased out or left as a legal option, depends on the incoming Mamdani administration.
If and when the airy, low-key designs are installed, the old plywood models that persist years later would be very evident, said Wendy Ju, associate professor of information science and design technology at Cornell Tech, who city dashcam data study estimates that around 10% of sheds are unauthorized. But the newer aesthetic could also make scaffolding more palatable, Ju said. “Some of these designs seem to be designed to look good for longer periods of time.”
