New York Is Finally Trying to Make Scaffolding Less Ugly — and Sometimes Even Beautiful

Source: Squarespace/ Unsplash

The Scaffolding Problem

For decades, the sidewalk sheds of New York have been one of the city’s defining, if not exactly beloved, visual signatures. More than 8,500 of these green steel-and-wood structures currently wrap buildings across the five boroughs—ostensibly to protect pedestrians from potential falling debris during construction or façade repair. But they’ve also come to represent a kind of urban decay: slapped-together, dark, and almost always hideous, they linger for months, often years, casting shadows over sidewalks and storefronts.

Critics of traditional scaffolding point out how it deadens street life: it blocks sunlight, hurts small businesses by obscuring signage, and creates a sense of unease. The newer, design-forward sheds aim to do the opposite—allow light in, maintain visibility, and even serve as temporary canvases for public art or information.

Some neighborhoods in Manhattan are especially burdened by excessive scaffolding, with the Financial District standing out as a prime example. The area’s narrow roads and alleyways already receive limited sunlight thanks to the towering high-rises that surround them. When scaffolding is added into the mix, these streets often lose any remaining direct light entirely. In many cases, the scaffolding stretches across the entire roadway, as the sidewalks—sometimes less than two feet wide—leave little room for pedestrian passage without encroaching on the street itself.

Beyond the visual and spatial impact, long-term scaffolding brings a host of secondary issues. Structures that sit idle for months or even years often become makeshift shelters, drawing homeless individuals seeking cover from the elements. While the city’s housing crisis is a separate issue, the unintended consequence of endless scaffolding is the creation of shadowy, neglected spaces that can feel unsafe and uninviting. What was meant to be a temporary safety measure becomes a semi-permanent feature of urban decay.

Source: Squarespace/ Unsplash

What Is Being Done?

Change, it seems, is finally coming. New York City officials, alongside architects and designers, are rethinking the role of scaffolding in the streetscape—not just as a safety mechanism, but as an opportunity for visual interest, even beauty.

In spring of 2025, the New York City Council unanimously passed a new set of bills that would shorten the duration of scaffolding permits and establish new design recommendations by September, a move supporters say will increase public safety in the city.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams also signed the “Get Sheds Down” plan, the city’s comprehensive initiative to remove long-standing construction sheds on city sidewalks and create more aesthetically-appealing alternatives. “These revitalized rules will help the city remove unsightly scaffolding as well as make sure that sidewalk’s sheds are more visually appealing when they go up for a limited amount of time. Above all, they will allow us to reclaim valuable space for the public and let the light back onto our sidewalks,” said Mayor Adams.

The Louis Vuitton Store’s Scaffolding. Photo by The Empire City Wire.

Creative Solutions

A growing number of creative projects have begun to show what’s possible. Louis Vuitton, for instance, made headlines when it wrapped its Fifth Avenue storefront in scaffolding designed to resemble an enormous stack of its iconic monogrammed luggage. It wasn’t just a marketing stunt—it was a statement: even something as mundane and necessary as scaffolding can be playful, branded, and architecturally engaging. The installation drew crowds, made headlines, and proved that a little imagination goes a long way.

In 2013, when the facade of the Plaza Hotel was being cleaned, an architecturally correct rendering of the famous hotel was printed on mesh that was draped around the building to hide the scaffolding. While the mesh was removed, the sidewalk scaffolding still remains. Whether the scaffolding is being treated as a new permanent fixture of the building due to consistent maintenance of the facade of the building or whether the intention is to remove the scaffolding is yet to be determined. In the meantime, it certainly helps protect guests from the elements.

This is the direction advocates hope the city is heading in. With more designers getting involved, some sidewalk sheds are being reimagined with lighter materials, integrated lighting, transparent roofing, and even art installations. The goal isn’t just aesthetics—it’s also about reclaiming public space. When scaffolding becomes less of a blight and more of a feature, it changes how we move through the city.

An image of The Plaza Hotel with scaffolding remaining at the base of the hotel. Photo by The Empire City Wire.

Wrap Up

In a city where scaffolding can be up for years in a neighborhood and pedestrians are forced to deal with it, finding ways to incorporate it aesthetically into surrounding architecture is a very important step to alleviating the core issue of it being there in the first place.

Historical buildings or landmarks that undergo frequent or consistent maintenance to their facade stand to benefit greatly from aesthetically designed scaffolding. No New Yorker enjoys seeing a gorgeously designed building inundated with ugly scaffolding for years.

With some political will and public interest, we may soon see a New York where scaffolding doesn’t just signal construction—it signals creativity and some level of architectural and aesthetic permanence. After all, if we have to live with it, we might as well make it beautiful.