For more than half a decade, unsightly sidewalk construction shed and scaffolding have created an eyesore around the Queens County Supreme Court building on Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica. On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a pilot that will remove the structure and replace it with safety netting as part of his new “Get Sheds Down” initiative, a sweeping overhaul of rules governing construction sheds that are a blight on public spaces.
“Look at the Supreme Court building in Queens County,” Adams said. “We are going to run a pilot and use netting. That shed has been up for six years. So don’t let anyone make you believe, we must make the forced choice between safety and scenery. We could have them both. For too long, bureaucratic rules have stood in the way of progress, but today, we are turning the page and overhauling these rules from the ground up with our ‘Get Sheds Down’ plan. This plan will flip the script so that property owners are incentivized to complete safety work and remove sheds instead of leaving up these eyesores year after year. This is how we reimagine our city, revitalize our business districts, and build a safer, more welcoming city for all.”
