Across New York City, miles of sidewalk sheds and scaffolding have been up for so long that they are making their surrounding communities unsafe. Ask any New Yorker about scaffolding and you’ll get the same answer: it is out of control. And clearly dangerous. With nearly 400 miles of sheds stretching above New York sidewalks, it is not hyperbole to say they are ubiquitous in the day-to-day experience of our city. And the impact on daily lives is real. Some sidewalk sheds have been up so long that residents don’t remember a time without them. At 133 Third Ave., a shed that has been up for at least a decade stands at the base of the now apparently abandoned construction site of a 16-story residential building. At 2724 Broadway, another decade-old shed languishes as a Department of Homelessness Services building goes without critical repairs. In Hell’s Kitchen, a shed spanning 41st St. between Dyer and 10th Ave. that has been up for more than 13 years has led to illegal activity under the shed on the sidewalk and has prompted the closure of a neighboring playground for debris seen falling off of the building’s façade. At 124th St and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., the shed that’s been up for years at the base of a new building under construction has made the sidewalk unwalkable. On 42nd St. between Seventh and Eighth Ave., a shed that’s been up since 2018 at the former Times Square Theater has caused major problems, drawing criminal activity to the block. This handful of stories are just from Manhattan but tell a story of a city that is groaning under the weight of sidewalk sheds, and are just a few of the thousands of sheds that have been up for years across every corner of our city. Each instance is an example of a policy failure by our city leading to genuine quality-of-life issues and illegal activity growing under their awnings. Scaffolding has become the equivalent of a “dark alley” where crime can flourish and safety is severely compromised. There are numerous examples, from robberies to shootings, where the presence of sheds hindered law enforcement investigations because it often becomes much harder to get unobstructed footage of the offense from surrounding video cameras. Our government can and must do better. We know what happens when these sheds finally come down. There is more space on the sidewalk for pedestrians and travelers. More light on the street. More visibility along the block. And public safety incidents go down. One such example occurred on the corner of 36th St. and Eighth Ave., where sheds wrapped around the street for years and became a magnet for drug sales, discarded syringes, and public defecation. After coordination between community groups, the Manhattan district attorney’s office, local elected officials, the NYPD, and other city agencies, the sheds were removed and the conditions improved for the surrounding neighborhood. Even solutions as simple as adding lights underneath existing sidewalk sheds can make the entire neighborhood safer. Research has shown that installing lighting in high-crime areas reduces serious nighttime crime where the lights are present by 60%, and in the entire community by 36%. Measures to make streets more walkable and increase pedestrian traffic similarly reduce crime. Better lighting and accessibility under sidewalk sheds is a win-win. To help get our city back on track with sheds, the City Council in partnership with the Manhattan borough president’s office have introduced legislation that will make it easier to complete work to get sheds down in a timely fashion, while simultaneously making sheds that are up safer and less disruptive when they are needed. These bills will change the design and appearance of sheds; adjust regulations on how often they are potentially needed; increase height and lighting standards to ensure adequate visibility beneath them; increase penalties for leaving them up too long; and reform the outdated laws that govern building façade repair. We all know the feeling when a sidewalk shed that’s been up for years finally comes down. It changes the entire block — light is finally allowed down to the sidewalk, ground-floor businesses that were previously darkened look more inviting and draw more customers. The neighborhood can breathe easier, knowing that they are safer and their quality of life has been improved. We don’t have to take the status quo for granted. We can and must act now to shed the sheds and bring the light back to our streets. Bragg is the Manhattan district attorney. Powers is a Council member from the East Side. Levine is the Manhattan borough president.