Scaffolding in NYC stays up for way too long

I love walking in New York. You’re able to see the actual city from the sidewalk, not just those highly stylized photos on your Instagram feed. I delight in stumbling onto that hidden door that’s covered with graffiti and bumper stickers on the Lower East Side or that tiny cobblestone street in Soho. But one obstacle hinders my street-level exploration of these buried gems: the damn scaffolding that lingers everywhere and never seems to leave.

Before you start yelling at me, yes, I know that scaffolding serves a purpose—mainly, to support a work crew and protect pedestrians as they walk through dangerous construction sites.

But the flimsy green walls and haphazard iron beams are just so hideous, and the roundabout pathways are a pain in the ass. Worst of all, it’s up for months, maybe years, and when it finally comes down, it seems like nothing has changed to justify its presence.

City Council member Ben Kallos currently has a bill that would allow scaffolding to remain standing for only six months after it was first installed. For all our sakes, let’s hope this long-delayed law is somehow passed. Indeed, it seems like a crime that such a stylish city with some of the slickest architecture in the world should be endlessly covered with these green metal monstrosities.