The mayor of New York, Eric Adams presided over an event in which the city’s oldest scaffolding, which remained in front of a historic building for 21 years, was demolished in the community of Harlem..
In a city like New York, where construction is always taking place, scaffolding is common to protect pedestrians from debris.
According to data from the Mayor’s Office, By 2022 there were approximately 9,000 scaffolds with an average age of almost 500 dayswhich took up almost 400 miles, about 3% of the city’s sidewalk space.
That led Adams to reveal last July a plan to remove unnecessary scaffolding and more than 500 of these structures have already been removed.
“For 21 years, Harlem residents sacrificed public space and the beauty of a historic landmark because property managers failed to do their job” to repair the building, said Adams, who was accompanied by Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo.
The scaffolding in front of 409 Edgecombe Avenue in the Sugar Hill neighborhood, declared a historic landmark in 1991which was home to writers, musicians, intellectuals and activists, was removed after the city filed a court case against the administrators of the building due to its repeated lack of repair to the structure.
This apartment building became famous in the 1930s and 1940s because it was home to important African American figures such as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, writer and editor William Stanley Braithwaite, painter Aaron Douglas, an influential Harlem Renaissance artist, or the sculptor and engraver Elizabeth Catlett.
“Today, we return 409 Edgecombe Avenue to the hands of the Sugar Hill community and remain focused on continuing to safely remove ugly sidewalk scaffolding in all five boroughs,” Adams further noted.
While the commissioner Oddo noted that scaffolding installed as part of new construction “is a sign of economic activity.”.
“A scaffold built as part of necessary maintenance is an indication of compliance and responsible ownership”but – he added – when it is maintained for years while the necessary repairs to the building are delayed, “It is selfish and unacceptable, and we will continue to do everything we can to address these situations.”
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2023-12-24 17:42:00
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