Oldest Sidewalk Sheds in Manhattan
Manhattan’s oldest sidewalk sheds.
The following is a list of eight sidewalk sheds, among the oldest in Manhattan. Read through them and take a look at the awards they’ve won for reaching their old age!
1. 520 First Avenue
This sidewalk shed was raised just in time to see Obama’s Inauguration!
This building is owned by the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and has had a sidewalk shed since 2009. We don’t know the reason for the shed, but there were active permits in place from 2009-2016, and the shed was left in place with no active permits until November 2021 when they were reissued.
2. 116 East 17th Street
This sidewalk shed is behaving like a rebellious teen!
This landmarked residential building is in Gramercy. The shed is up for construction work but the scope of work and reason for long term shed is not clear.
3. 605 East 9th Street
This sidewalk shed is celebrating its bar mitzvah!
This building used to house PS64 and was later a community center in the East Village. It was landmarked in 2008.
4. 443 West 40th Street
This sidewalk shed is officially older than Snapchat!
This is a Hunter College owned building in Hell’s Kitchen. The scope of work and reason for the long term shed are not clear.
5. 571 West End Avenue
This sidewalk shed is older than the Second Ave Subway!
This pre-war Upper West Side residential elevator apartment building has a Local Law 11/façade inspection related shed.
6. 2139 Broadway
This sidewalk shed is older than Freedom Tower!
This Upper West Side condo building is a landmarked building and the scope of work and timeline to remove the shed are not clear.
7. 556 West 52nd Street
This sidewalk shed is older than Pokémon GO!
This vacant and boarded up building in Hell’s Kitchen has been owned by HPD since 2022. The building is formerly a school, but we don’t know the reason for the shed. Any work needed would likely be extensive given the current state of the building.
8. 22 Reade Street
This sidewalk shed just became a Kindergarten graduate!
This is the City Planning Building owned by DCAS in Lower Manhattan. It falls within the African Burial Ground and Commons Historic District. The building was originally three attached buildings that were combined into one internally, and it currently houses the Department of City Planning. The shed is up for construction or maintenance, but the scope of work and exact reason for the shed are not known.
