Scaffolding: Uniquely New York
Whether you’re an industry veteran, common pedestrian, or tourist, you know that sidewalk sheds are everywhere in New York City. Colloquially known by the misnomer “scaffolding,” they are found in all five boroughs, but particularly widespread where buildings are taller; it is said that at least one is visible from every street corner in Manhattan.
It was not always this way. When Local Law 11, the principal driver of sidewalk scaffolding installation, was enacted (as Local Law 10) in 1980, an estimated 250 sheds graced the city’s sidewalks. The law, as many of you are aware, stipulates the quinquennial inspection and maintenance of all façades over six stories tall. As of March 10th, 2022, those same sidewalks boasted a whopping 9,120 sheds— a 3500% increase. It’s clear that the New York City scaffolding market is big, but just how big is “big”? How does it compare to other scaffolding markets around the globe?
According to the New York City Department of Buildings’ (DOB) “Active Sidewalk Sheds” database, New York’s streets are presently covered in approximately 330 miles of shedding. As it turns out, this is an underrepresentation. Sidewalk scaffolding units installed on properties owned or maintained by certain governmental agencies are often listed by the DOB as zero feet or one foot in length; this is to indicate that said ownership agencies, rather than the DOB, are primarily responsible for them. In January 2021, this practice led to a 40,000-foot (7.5-mile) DOB undercount. Further, there are a good number of inactive sidewalk sheds citywide (dormant with lapsed permits, abandoned, etc): For every active shed listed by the DOB, there are 0.055 inactive ones. If 9,000 are listed as active, the total installed could approach 9,500. When adjusted, this meant that the January 2021 extent of sidewalk shedding in New York City swelled from 343 miles to 378, with two miles installed every week. If these were laid end to end, they’d reach the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
New York City is home to the most lucrative sidewalk scaffolding market in the world. Monthly rent and installation costs yield a revenue between $300M and $400M each year. In 2019, the combined revenue made by every single American sidewalk shed erection company outside the New York Metro Area was equivalent to the revenue made by all metro-area shed companies in the first half of the first quarter of 2019. The most revenue is made in the Local Law 11 sector, understandably so; roughly five to six thousand buildings are eligible for façade inspection each overlapping two-year FISP subcycle, meaning up to 12,000 may be eligible simultaneously. In this neck of the woods Local Law 11 sidewalk shedding brings in roughly $150M annually, compared to $100M brought in by construction shedding and $50M by sidewalk scaffolding installed for miscellaneous repair-work.
In fact, New York City was the first city in the world to enact a municipal code stipulating the regularized inspection and maintenance of building façades. Other cities have implemented similar laws in recent years, many of them based on New York’s, however none are nearly as stringent or govern nearly as many buildings. Why was New York the first city to pass such a law? One only needs to look its history and growth trajectory: No other municipality in the world grew at the rate that New York did, to the degree that New York did, as early as New York did.
The Big Apple is regularly ranked as one of the top-five cities worldwide with the most high-rises and tallest buildings. Whereas most high-rises in other top-five cities such as Hong Kong and Seoul were built after 1970, a significant portion of New York’s were built decades earlier, between 1900 and 1940. These, like the Empire State Building, reached heights only breached by other cities since 2000. Having an older, taller building stock means that nowadays more repairs are due; between 1900 and 1940, many façades utilized materials like terra cotta and stucco that require maintenance after a century or so… which is right about now. Going forward, the number of buildings needing maintenance will only increase.
Local Law 11 ensures repairs to New York’s aging buildings are conducted, necessitating scaffolding. Many newer structures built with Post-War haste are also beginning to require repairs because the in vogue materials utilized across their façades, like glazed masonry and coated concrete, have shorter lifespans. At the same time the Five Boroughs have enjoyed a construction boom as of late (particularly concerning high-rises) and, symbiotically, a demolition boom. In terms of new construction, New York City was one of the fastest growing cities in North America over the past decade. These new projects, of course, always necessitate scaffolding as well. These synergistic processes have made certain that New York City’s scaffolding market is and will continue to be the largest in the world.