For the past 15 years, tenants at 51 West 86th Street had to live in a sidewalk shed outside their building. This trouble first appeared in public view in late June.

Soon after the situation was announced, the chairman of the Manhattan District, Gale Brewer, wrote to the DOB to put pressure on the landlord, Weinreb Management. A representative from the 51 West 86th Street Tenants Association also told us that Helen Rosenthal has stepped in and started contacting DOB on their behalf.

The tenant also told us that Weinreb has sidewalk sheds in 10 of its buildings, including 5 West 86th Street, 255 West 88th Street, 777 West End Avenue, 420 ​​West End Avenue, 276 Riverside Drive and some in the Upper East Side. building.

The Tenants Association wrote a letter to Weinreb on July 14, which partly stated that "Although the shed and scaffolding have existed for a long time, our building has not done any work for many years. As far as the shed is concerned, there has been almost a period of time in the scaffolding. In this case, it is one year."

The letter outlines the problems caused by sheds and scaffolding—including light obstruction; using sheds as bathrooms to attract dirt, dust, pigeons, insects, and dogs; and safety issues, including easier access from the shed roof to lower-floor apartments, And the aging of the structure causes materials to fall and hurt pedestrians.

The letter finally requested a specific timetable in which all issues will be resolved and the work on the building will be completed. The tenant asked Weinreb to provide this timetable within 15 days.

Get the Upper West Side Newsletter

Weinreb wrote back on July 26, stating that the estimated completion date is 18 to 24 months. The letter stated that due to the necessary approvals for New York City landmarks, certain delays may have occurred and that appropriate applications have been submitted.

Regarding the nature of the work required at 51 West 86th Street, Weinreb determined that the aging terracotta needed to be replaced, and further stated that certain measures had been taken to allow professionals to inspect the exterior walls up close.

Weinreb wrote that updates will be provided as the work progresses, but tenants are not satisfied with the landlord's response.

According to the tenants, this July 26 letter was the first and only time Weinreb had communicated with them about the shed and scaffolding-this letter was delivered "at random," some residents found it under the door, others It must be copied from the guard, some people never received it.

The tenant replied on August 2. The second letter accused Weinreb of failing to resolve their health and safety issues. Tenants also asked for more specific work completion timetables and a commitment to transparent communication. (According to reports, Weinreb gave DOB an 18-month timetable in July, which has recently been extended to 18-24 months).

Read more: According to the 2020 annual report, the 6 worst landlords in the Upper West Side

"We remind you that the fifteen-year existence of sidewalk sheds and the nine-month existence of pipe scaffolding are affecting the livability of our apartments. Under the guarantee of habitability, the Weinreb management company is responsible for ensuring that our apartments and buildings are always safe Livable," the tenant's second letter said.

They also called on Weinreb to obtain the license more than four years ago, only to let it expire before completing any work-and to show that it had made a "diligence" effort. "As we have noticed, the sidewalk shed in our building has been in use for 15 years and is the longest in the city. You are not diligent enough."

Although the tenants expressed interest in finding a friendly solution with the landlord, they said that if necessary, they are "ready to explore other options."

Mike is a native of the Upper West Side. He lives in Lincoln Center, Morningside Heights, and almost everything in between. You can often see him eating at many great restaurants in the Upper West Side, or awkwardly taking pictures with his iPhone. After successfully turning iLovetheUpperWestSide.com into a household name, he decided to expand his digital empire by launching EastSideFeed.com.

Scaffolding in New York absolutely must stop now! ! !

The scaffolding chaos in New York City must be the primary concern of the mayor and all his subordinates!

This is fancy, devaluation of property, a breeding ground for all kinds of pests (including humans, including!), and a complete scam! !

Let your construction experts place a large net on their platform more frequently, and never put this terrible scaffolding up again! !

I bet that the mob will run this program! !

Weinrib is one of the worst landowners in the city. They have a history of such pranks. There is no reason why this work should not be done. The maximum time required to obtain an LPC license is one year-this is the rare maximum period. Therefore, it is a lie to claim that they are waiting for permission. It is true that it is difficult to obtain terracotta, but it does not take 15 years.

They DOB and the court, if necessary, should require them to complete the work within 10-12 months. Maximum. Alternatively, tenants should have the right to sue for incompetence, malfeasance, and "quality of life", which are guaranteed in their lease or contract.

Scaffolding seems to be a corrupt system in New York. All buildings submitted for review eventually had to be reworked. They are everywhere and cost millions of dollars.

Has anyone studied and studied what happened here, because it seems that the people involved have made a lot of money and are able to charge the tenants thousands of evaluation fees for the building. Obviously, for those who cannot afford it, scaffolding has always existed. Think about it if the cost is always in the range of 3-5 million US dollars (this is our average size building, we have to pay an additional evaluation fee of 1000 US dollars per month for more than a year), who can afford it? rise?

This is a corrupt system. Yes, we need to ensure the safety of the building, but the current local scaffolding law 11 I has no meaning in the current procedure. When you go to other places, such as some towns in Westchester, similar to the chicken coop buildings or brick structures in New York City, you will not see scaffolding everywhere.

The local government is required to provide transparency in the system. Gale Brewer of UWS and the Manhattan District Chairman and Mayor must resolve this issue for NYC. It is a trouble that hinders city life, and people living in the city cannot afford it.

... this kind of scaffolding cancer is a perfect metaphor for the United States: people are trapped in permanent prisons of greed, unreality, corruption, and incompetence; more and more dark veils hang over us until we can't see the sky, even Can't see the way out.

Well, the possibility of investigations and further fines has caused some landlords to fear God. Within five days of the first report, at least three sidewalk sheds and/or scaffolding were demolished in the West in the 1980s—most of which have been built for two, three years or more. This is a truly refreshing change.

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Thank you for registering! Please check your email to verify your subscription.