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New York City’s newly designed sidewalk sheds are getting roasted online for their oddly sloped roofs — but a design expert says the bigger problem is who’ll pick up the tab.
The Adams administration-era redesign will work, but building owners and contractors aren’t likely to spring for better looking sheds while cheaper green plywood versions remain an option, said David Burney, a Pratt Institute associate professor and former city construction commissioner.
“They’re a huge improvement of the crap that we put up now, but who’s going to pay for it?” Burney said. “Unless they make it mandatory, it’s hard to see who’s going to pay for it.”
The designs, unveiled under former Mayor Eric Adams last November, were offered as alternatives to the familiar hunter green pipe-and-plywood structures.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has installed two prototypes outside Department of Buildings headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
The two prototypes were designed by architecture firm Practice for Architecture and Urbanism.
One has a slanted, transparent roof of polycarbonate decking to brighten the sidewalk.
Another uses rockfall netting to catch debris while letting sunlight through.
The unusual angles had critics questioning where the rain would go.
“Wait a second…did that stupid communist pitch the roofs to drain INTO the buildings??” reality star and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt posted.
“They want everything slanted to the far left,” quipped former City Councilman Justin Brannan.
Burney brushed off the drainage concerns.
“They can easily handle the draining. I don’t think it’s a problem.”
He was less sold on the rock netting that would leave pedestrians without protection from rain and sun.
“One benefit you do get is when it’s raining or really sunny you can walk under the shed and get some protection,” Burney said. “So if they take that away that will be one more reason to hate sidewalk sheds.”
But his biggest concern was cost.
The conventional plywood sheds run about $125 to $180 per linear foot, according to contractor Prime Scaffold.
A DOB spokesperson wouldn’t say the estimated price of the new models except to say the designs prioritize affordable, readily available materials and can be reused.
Still, the spokesperson acknowledged the new sheds will require more upfront investment than the conventional models.
Burney said an earlier effort to dress up sidewalk sheds failed to catch on because owners weren’t required to use the pricier alternative — and he expects the same problem this time.
“The owners don’t want to pay for it,” Burney said. “The contractors don’t want to pay for it.”