Jan Ransom Scaffolding at three Upper West Side buildings on West End Ave. near 102nd St was dismantled recently, but it made a comeback several days later. This Upper West Side nightmare is still un(scaf)folding.
Workers erected a mishmash of metal bars and wooden beams outside of Patrick Reeves’ window earlier this month.
They hurriedly assembled a steel jail around the four-story building on West End Ave. near W. 102nd St., dimming the musician’s outlook along with his view.
“It’s uncomfortable, especially when we’re doing music,” said Reeves, who has lived in the building for seven months. “(The workers) just peek in at us.”
It was a complete reversal from the sense of relief Reeves and his neighbors felt just days earlier, after the original metal scaffolding — which they tried to overlook for three long years — was taken down.
Much to their horror, the sidewalk shed that envelopes 854, 856 and 858 West End Ave. was resurrected by a new company, only days after the first one was dismantled.
“For us in the neighborhood, it’s a terrible eyesore,” added Terence Hanrahan, the chairman of the W. 102nd & 103rd Sts. Block Association, who lives across the street and whose own building is also surrounded by the unattractive sheds.
Nine sidewalk sheds dot the stretch of West End Ave. between 98th and 104th Sts. including several that have been up for at least two years.
“I’m very tired of it,” said Peter Judd, 82, who said a sidewalk shed is slated to soon surround his Upper West Side co-op. “The city has overdone it. There should be limitations on how long it can be there.”
It’s not uncommon for the pesky wood and metal sheds to languish for years, experts say. Financial woes are often to blame and matters are further complicated when a building — such as the one Reeves lives in — is landmarked.
“I would very much doubt that anyone is intentionally trying to keep scaffoldings up for a long period of time,” said C. Jaye Berger, a Manhattan lawyer who specializes in construction law and real estate. Property owners frequently run into problems securing financing, he added.
Jan Ransom Scaffolding at three Upper West Side buildings on West End Ave. near 102nd St was dismantled recently, but it made a comeback several days later. Changes to the original project and the state’s age-old scaffolding law can also keep sidewalk sheds around for a while, said architect Ralph Beiran.
The 129-year-old scaffolding law holds contractors and owners liable if a worker is injured on the job. This can cause project delays while claims are investigated, Beiran said.
Albany lawmakers have refused for decades to make any amendment to the ancient law, and labor leaders say it is unfair.
“I don’t know that anyone wins,” said Louis Coletti, president of the Buildings Trades Employers’ Association. “The longer scaffolding is up, the more the potential exists that can be harmful for the worker, the contractor and the owner.”
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