5 Bed-Stuy NYCHA Buildings To Have Scaffolding Sheds Removed

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A $111 million investment will tear down unsightly scaffolding sheds that have stood at NYCHA properties for years, including in Bed-Stuy, according to the city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday that the funding will go toward fixing facades and removing scaffolding at 45 buildings across the city within 15 NYCHA developments.

Patch has learned that two of those developments are found in Bed-Stuy.

A spokesperson from NYCHA said that four buildings in Lafayette Gardens and one building in the Roosevelt Houses I will get facade repairs and scaffolding removals.

The department did not specify which buildings in each complex would be getting the repairs.

At Lafayette Gardens, which includes seven buildings, sidewalk sheds most recently lined two buildings on the Dekalb Avenue side of the complex and a building on Lafayette Avenue. Roosevelt I includes six buildings between Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Stuyvesant Avenue near Dekalb Avenue.

Other Brooklyn developments getting the sheds removed include the Ocean Hill, Whitman and Ingersoll Houses.

Sidewalk sheds are part of everyday life in New York City.

Local law requires them as a safety feature when buildings undergo facade work. The sheds help protect pedestrians from falling debris.

But the sheds can stand for years, becoming more-or-less permanent fixtures in neighborhoods. One in the West Village stood for two decades, on and off.

Council Member Ben Kallos has proposed legislation to make sure sheds stand for no more than 90 days. And de Blasio on Wednesday said the city's Department of Buildings is doing more to enforce existing time limits.

Yet still, many remain even on city property such as NYCHA buildings.

Patch reporter Matt Troutman contributed to this report.