Why Does New York City Put Roofs Over Its Sidewalks?
New York City puts temporary roofs over sidewalks to shield people from objects that could fall from a building or a construction site. The city calls one of these structures a sidewalk shed . If a wall needs repairs or workers are doing exterior work above a busy route, the shed puts a barrier between the work and the people below. In a city where the sidewalk may also be the only practical route to an apartment entrance or a shop, that overhead barrier can keep the path open. From street level, a shed can look like the first story of a scaffold, and some installations combine the two. The roof is what gives the shed its job. A scaffold provides elevated platforms where workers can reach windows, brickwork or other parts of the building. A shed provides a covered passage at street level. The Department of Buildings’ guide to sidewalk shed terms also describes the panels around the edges of the roof as part of the protection system. You can have a shed without seeing a stack of work...
