Gus Saltonstall

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Member Ben Kallos made appearances at the mock anniversary and gave remarks. Brewer recently penned a letter to the Department of Buildings to apply pressure on Weinreb Management to take down the scaffolding, and Kallos has authored legislation not yet passed that would stop landlords from keeping scaffolding up for extended periods.

"We were livid. And we still are," one resident of 51 West 86th Street told Patch on the condition of anonymity. "The disregard for the concerns of tenants and for the city laws concerning facade inspections and repairs is staggering."

WEST VILLAGE, NY — The day a sidewalk scaffolding shed first went up over part of a West 9th Street block, Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York City, "Shakespeare In Love" had recently won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and Britney Spears had just earned her first No. 1 hit.

It's still there.

The shed of wood and metal first went up outside 24-26 West 9th St. on Nov. 7, 1999. Though official records show it came down briefly in 2004 and again in 2007, it quickly returned both times, making it a 22-year blight, frustrated local residents said.

"Manhattanites are so sick of this nonsense: sidewalk sheds go up and decades later they are still up. It is frankly embarrassing for us as a City that we cannot get these repairs done and get the sheds down," Kallos told Patch.

"My legislation would force the building owner here to make the necessary repairs for the facade to be safe and then take the scaffolding down all within 90 days. If they don't want to, the city would get it done, and the landlord would have to deal with the bill. With over 300 miles of scaffolding crowding City sidewalks, hurting local businesses, and ruining quality of life, the time is now to enact this reform."