By Daniel Krieger
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, dining sheds have become a fixed feature of the cityscape since the pandemic washed over New York. And as one of Covid’s legacies, it looks like they’re here to stay, though the city is still discussing a permanent plan for them. Some are ornate, cozy and pretty, while others are functional, barebones affairs that some people may see as eyesores. Some extend from the restaurant onto the sidewalk, while others sit in the street, occupying the most competitive real estate in New York — parking spaces. For this inaugural edition of Asking Upper West Siders, WSR asked locals on a recent afternoon to weigh in on them.
What do you think about dining sheds?
Marina
Age: 60
Occupation: shiatsu practitioner
Time on the Upper West Side: over 15 years
“They’re horrible. I mean, aesthetically, I find them horrible. They have to go. Of course, they are good for the businesses, but they’re just ugly. And I don’t like sitting in them. Honestly, I prefer to sit inside or just at a table in front of the restaurant. And also they take up a lot of public space. The sheds served their purpose during the pandemic, but now they should go. In the winter they’re cold and uncomfortable, and they’re made without artistic inspiration. Like Cibo E Vino [at Broadway and 89th], it’s such a beautiful restaurant, it’s so romantic, and there’s this ugly thing in front. I think it’s just disturbing.”
Luba
Age: 36
Occupation: HR program manager
Time on the Upper West Side: 10 years
“My experience with them has been positive because they’ve expanded dining and the experience of enjoying the neighborhood outside the walls of a restaurant. And I think they add a lot of interest and creativity as well in the different ways that the owners have designed them. I also think that it’s a good option for those who are still Covid cautious. We don’t know which way that’s going to go, so it’s nice to know that there is an outdoor dining option that isn’t limited to the summer. It’s also nice if the restaurant is kind of small and loud and crowded. I do prefer the open air, and sometimes it’s easier to have a conversation outside. And also I like how it’s more of a European style, where the cafes extend into the street and are part of the city. There’s a charm to it. As you’re walking, you can see the life and vibe of the neighborhood. And you can see what looks good. It’s interesting to see the places that always have a crowd, and it piques your curiosity to see what makes them so popular.”
Elise
Age: 29
Occupation: bilingual elementary school teacher
Time on the Upper West Side: 7 years
“My husband and I enjoy dining sheds. It gives us the opportunity to be outside, and we can take the dog. It’s great for anytime when there’s nice weather out. And for a lot of restaurants that we love, they doubled and tripled their seating because of the outdoor space. So we’re happy for them. We’ve seen restaurants that would’ve otherwise really struggled. Also, we don’t have a car and we live on a residential block. If I was looking for parking or if there were a dining shed right below my apartment, my opinion might be different. But as someone who isn’t looking for parking and is just surrounded by my neighbors, those negatives of the dining sheds don’t affect me personally. Some of them are beautiful, too.”
John
Age: 68
Occupation: adult education teacher
Time on the Upper West Side: 45 years
“Well, I think their time has passed. The city seems to be sort of recovering and people don’t seem to be afraid to go into restaurants now so it seems like normalcy should resume. I used to manage a restaurant a long time ago, and we had to pay a lot of money for an extension. It seems it should go back to that. They’re taking up public space for private profit. I personally have no interest in sitting on Broadway and eating a meal in a shed. Does not seem very appealing to me. The sheds should go!”
Larry
Age: 77
Occupation: retired
Time on the Upper West Side: 40 years
“I wouldn’t call it a shed exactly, but I like them. They’re good. Good in the summer, good in the winter. I sit here outside all year. In the winter, they cover the openings with plastic and they have heat. Keeps out the bad weather. And before there just used to be a sidewalk with tables on it, but now this gives a boundary between the bar and the sidewalk. Of course, I don’t have a car so I don’t have to worry about it taking up all that space on the street. It’s more interesting to sit out here and see the people walking by. It’s fun. I’ve always done it. All these years. If the city took them away, though, I’d still come out here.”
What do you think about dining sheds? And what issues would you like to see discussed in future editions of Asking Upper West Siders?
I can’t quite get comfortable sitting on a street. Shed or no, cars are passing by 5-10 feet away with their danger or exhaust or horns. I am mildly against them.
Sounds like the danger, noise & pollution from cars are the problem…?
Outdoor dining on Columbus Ave during the Sunday open streets has been pure joy without cars around.
UWS Dad,
Worth noting that core mass transit is impacted due to the closing of Columbus – M7 and M11 buses are now diverted.
Who’d have thought NYC would ever prioritize brunch over mass transit?
There are plenty of transportation options both bus and subway, as you say those routes were diverted not cancelled…
Thank you!! UWS Dad
A lot of them are pretty and festive with the lights and plants, etc. But the streets are already crowded with cars, trucks,bikes, scooters,people. I think they are real obstacles. For safety alone, they should probably go.
If I have to choose between streets “already crowded with cars, trucks, bikes,, scooters,” I’ll choose dining sheds any day — with people, of course. Besides, for the foreseeable future, this ship has already sailed. As w/ virtually everything in NYC, you can make of it what you will.
Dining sheds are far better than the alternative – namely free storage for private vehicles.
Free? Where can you park for free on avenues?
Most of the sheds are taking up meter spots which equals revenue for the city. So, stop with the free storage for private vehicles. My issue is the crowded sidewalks. Many are down to a single lane, only allowing one person at a time to walk. At times, not even that. Because of the sheds, trucks and cars double park for deliveries, pick ups etc. , taking up a street lane. There should be one or the other for dining. Sidewalks or streets. One more thing. Every restaurant needs to close outside no later than 9:30. The noise is ridiculous. The disrespect for their neighbors is stunning. Like others have said, the rats are multiplying.
As someone frequently navigating the UWS with a stroller, I’m sympathetic to wanting wider sidewalks – but the sheds are in the street, they aren’t blocking sidewalk space. City revenue wise, meter parking is like $3.50/hr and I’ve easily seen 8-10 people eating in a shed that was previously one parking space, dining is far and away higher revenue for the city.
Lastly, close all restaurants at 9:30?? Truly laughable, this is NYC.
No, close the sheds earlier. I live near a restaurant who are so respectful to the neighborhood. I’ve talked with the waiters and management about how loud other patrons in other sheds are. They said the noise bounces off the roofs. They close the sheds early so as not to disturb us. The sidewalk tables have never been an issue.
Good for you that you can navigate the sidewalk with a stroller. The people waiting for tables, the waiters crossing to get to the kitchen/shed and the dogs with leashes spread across the walk while the owner stops to talk with their pal at an outside table are all factors in making it extremely difficult, especially for someone like my friend in a wheelchair.
Many of the sheds are also taking parking spots which are used by COMMERCIAL vehicles doing deliveries Monday through Friday. The sheds have rats living under them. Anti-car people like complaining about subsidizing car storage, but don’t really care about those who access the UWS from elsewhere for whom transit doesn’t work for. Manhattan can be a college campus style bubble and those pushing the anti-car agenda on the UWS are living proof of that.
The sales tax from diners is far greater than the lost meter revenue. Do the math. These sheds are contributing to our general city revenue far in excess of that of polluting car parking.
What about the meter revenue from delivery drivers?
Except for the perennially (daily/nightly) EMPTY ones.
I DID the math and insofar as I can see, tax revenue from a seat in the shed is the same as from a seat inside.
Would love to know whether the people who don’t like them own a car. If you’re concerned about public space the sheds, no matter what they look like, serve a lot more people per week than a parking space will (especially when drivers do that fake Alternate Side parking shuffle). Only 24% of UWS households have a car!
That’s a pretty large number.
Get rid of the adverb “only” and you’ll have a fact.
I don’t have a car, but there are 3 sheds on my street and 2 of them block the view of the bus stops. If the drivers don’t see a crowd of people waving them down (which means we have to stand in the street) they will completely bypass the stops. This morning the bus bypassed WEA and stopped in the outside lane just before Broadway and there was a near accident as people tried to cross a lane of traffic to board the bus. I would like to have that bus lane back (with a Select Service line).
And how many UWS households own restaurants? Neither cars nor private businesses should get to use public space for free. There are parking meters for cars… what abt restaurants?
Sounds fine to me, outdoor dining is great, have restaurants pay a reasonable fee.
how many UWS households ever eat in a restaurant might be the more appropriate question.
Plus— what’s all this about COVID safety? Last winter I sat in sheds that were as closed up as their restaurant counterpart. That I really don’t get.
Restaurants generate enormous sales tax revenues. Do the math.
I live on W 72nd between Amsterdam and Columbus and once it gets dark and there’s less foot traffic, the number of rats scurrying around the sheds that line the block is staggering. They served their purpose, and maybe you can even give a (capped) tax writeoff for the cost of the shed materials, but it’s time to get rid of them.
I also live on West 72nd between Amsterdam and Columbus and though I haven’t noticed an increase in rats, I have noticed that some (not all) of the restaurants are not as diligent in cleaning the sheds (either early in the morning just before they open or at the end of their day when closing). I can see why you might see more vermin around. However, I think the vermin have always been around. They definitely are plentiful in the square around the West 72nd St train entrance at Broadway and also the other nearby square on West 71st St across from McDonald’s.
Personally, I like most of the sheds and prefer them to the restaurants that only have a few tables right on the sidewalk in front of their windows. The sheds offer a bit more shelter from people who run into you or brush past you or (and yes, I’ve seen this) those who would purse snatch or pick pocket diners on the sidewalks. I would rather they keep the sheds.
I live on your block. Agree. Big rat problem.
In a shed for one of the Japanese restaurants on 72nd Street, the smell of dead rat was so awful. I insisted we sit on the other side of the shed ( there was plenty of air flow, which in this case, only made it worse) and for the price of the food (more ridiculous every month, esp. at restaurants, esp. Japanese) come on… clean it up!! Until then, I’m not going back.
I was reading to see if anyone would bring this up! As a regular bicycle rider, I’ve seen many more splattered rats on the street and in the bike lane since the sheds have gone up, especially in the early morning and usually near sheds. I’m not adamantly opposed to sheds, but the Rat Factor is real and tilts my opinion against them. A new, urban “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” may be in order …
I will not sit in a ‘dining shed’, nor will I patronize any establishment (dine-in or delivery) that blights the landscape with one. Enough is enough.
Agreed!
They attract rats. Enough said!
Yes‼️
They are contributing to the rat infestation that the city is experiencing now. Its time for them to go.
My husband and I love outside dining! Often when eating with friends, we choose to sit outside rather than inside. More European feel. Plus, no loud music so we can converse better. The sheds add a sense of protection and quiet than just sitting on a naked table on the sidewalk.
It has also added a great footprint to some of the tiny restaurants that can’t accommodate more than 20 people.
I agree!
I like many of the sheds. I think they should stay. But some restaurants have used the shed permits merely to extend their space outside, defeating the whole purpose of the shed concept by enclosing the space completely with 4 walls and a roof. If the city is going to continue permitting them, there needs to be some regulation concerning their architecture. They must be completely open on one side, otherwise they are abusing the system as well as defeating the original intent, which was to give diners a well-ventilated space..
They create a hazard when they cause foot traffic back and forth in the bike lanes; they attract rats. There are a few beautiful sheds like the one put up by Gramercy Tavern, but for the most part, I think it’s time to give us our sidewalks and bike lanes back.
The sheds have robbed pedestrian sidewalk space and created immense traffic problems. And garbage and vermin problems. Enough already.
I agree with Marina the first woman you interviewed. They are ugly. An exception is Bella Luna. Their dining shed doesn’t resemble a shed.
Most of them are quite attractive.
Love, love, love them!!!
Some are so beautiful (Cibo e Vino!) and some are simply functional but the ability to sit outside, people/doggie watch over a meal is wonderful. I hope they are permanent.
Bridget
The problem with Cibo e Vino is that there are large rat colonies living under their two street sheds. You can see the rats darting in and out of the sheds all night long — literally.
Get rid of them please..they bring rats and people are on top of each other when walking on sidewalk to get where they need to go. If they insist on having them on street and sidewalks then pay the City extra RENT so city can clean up after them and get rid of the rats that are under the sheds!!!!!!
…I want to stay a distance (even now) so I don’t get covid or flu from someone else..I wear the mask still and will for another 2 years but too many now don’t wear the masks and keep spreading covid…so with NO sheds we can distant ourselves better too!!
I love them! I’m immunocompromised and can’t eat inside, but outdoor dining means I can take part in life outside my apartment.
Many of the sheds are as enclosed as the indoor restaurants. They are no safer and probably less so because they are so tightly packed and don’t have proper ventilation.
This is true but obviously we don’t choose those ones. There are plenty that are attractive and well ventilated!
There are too many of them and they tunnel foot traffic. It is a privatization of public space.
Public space? Since when is a parking space public? It serves one person’s vehicle as opposed to outdoor dining for thousands and thousands.
What would you call the sidewalk? Many of the same restaurants have extended outdoor dining onto the sidewalk w/o the requisite license. Before covid, restaurants had to go through permitting for outdoor seating and pay to take up public space. Which you and I and everyone else walks down. In some areas, namely outside Cafe du Soleil (which also had a pedophile chef for those with short memories), there is maybe 3 feet of sidewalk left
And when you sit on a park bench, does the park cease to be public space?? If six people or twelve people or a hundred people visit the park, does that mean the park is no longer public space?
Can’t we all just get beyond the binary love /hate thing? I personally like the outdoor restaurants spaces that are decked out with flowers or strung with lights or lanterns, and I personally don’t like the naked sheds that look like plywood outhouses. Although I’d rather they stay than go, I prefer when they’re welcoming and … festive?
Liked them until I saw rats scurrying out from underneath,
Enough already!
Hopefully DOT will follow through on their plan to not allow the sheds to stay, which was mentioned earlier this year.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/02/12/dot-says-dining-sheds-not-envisioned-in-permanent-open-restaurants-plan-expected-in-2023
I like the dining sheds. They give a Parisian flavor to New York City. Also, sometimes the interior of restaurants are deliberately designed to lack a acoustics, as for some reason noisy restaurants are considered trendy. The sheds then give a quieter environment for those who’d like to chat without getting hoarse. 😉
It’s not that noisy restaurants are “considered trendy”, but that noisy restaurants turn over tables more frequently than restaurants where patrons can sit comfortably and linger with conversation. That’s why restaurant owners plan acoustics to be noisy: there’s more money in it for them.
Please don’t take offense; but have you ever been to Paris? Or I’ll take that a little farther… any European city? Our city looks like shanty town. Of course it’s just my humble opinion. I don’t know much— but I have spent many lovely afternoons and evenings in Parisian cafes. .
Love them. Great for dining with the pooch.
Covid is not over! Businesses need to recoup their losses.
We love sitting outside.
Covid is most definitely over! Biden said so!:):):)
Like all band-aids, they served a purpose but it’s time to take them down. I know the out of control rat population loves them
I’m in the love sheds group (and sidewalk tables too). Not noisy (unless a group is yelling, and of course traffic what with horns and must-be-illegal motorcyles). I object to sheds where owners make no effort to make them attractive e.g., not a decent paint job, no plants. What I hate, fear, are the too many bikes, scooters, even cars. The city should be pedestrian, outside friendly.
I’m fine with binary (love/hard) and I hate them. I lived in Europe for many years, and these temporary installations bear little resemblance to the sidewalk cafes there. Stinky exhaust fume, tacky plastic flowers decorating a shoddy 2 x 4 structure — where’s the charm? Amsterdam Avenue ain’t Les Champs-Elysées by any stretch of the imagination.
omg! I just said the same. How could anyone compare Amsterdam, Columbus to anything Parisian?? Plastic flowers? Please‼️
There are reasons why “we can’t have nice/r things.” But that doesn’t mean we can’t have anything at all!
Let’s stop the triple-loud broken muffler sounding cars and the louder and jerker sounding than a Harley motor vehicles, whatever they are. Cars should be ticketed (unlikely) for their needless, therefore, illegal use of horns.
And bicycles, when they speed and go the wrong way should NOT take precedence over outdoor dining.
We’ll be quieter. But with Covid and all, people need to relax outside as a community. Not party! Just chat and eat together. Outside!
I SAY GET RID OF THEM – IF FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN THE RATS. MOVE TO A FEW TABLES OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT ON THE SIDEWALK AS THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN.. THEY SEEM TO BE KEPT CLEANER.
I live on the block you show in your article. The quality of my life has significantly decreased since these restaurants and bars have spilled onto the sidewalks and the street. I don’t have an issue with a few tables and benches on the sidewalk. My issue is with the more than doubling of voices screaming and plates and cutlery clunking. You can’t even walk on the sidewalk peacefully anymore with all the waiters crossing back and forth and waiting clients eager to sit and consume outside. Then, the bars! Drunken patrons yelling and cheering late into the morning.
Stop giving public space to private restaurants. They are not up to building code.
Time shed the sheds.
stop giving public place to private vehicles. they pollute our environment and cause traffic violence. time to ban cars.
Those of us eat high risk for Covid need to be able to eat outside. Dining inside is not an option for me, so it’s the only way I can eat out with friends. COVID IS NOT OVER!
Covid is never going away. Ever.
The entire city should look like a shanty town because you can’t eat inside? Do you realize how many restaurants had open air cafes prior to COVID? If they haven’t gone out of business they’ll be there when the sheds come down.
Hyperbolic much? Shanty town? Personally, I like the sheds that are well maintained and pretty, but there need to be regulations and a fee to have one.
I do, however, think the city needs to remove ones that are still in front of now empty store fronts and ones that are poorly constructed. Then the city should replace that empty footprint with the new, rat proof trash containers I’ve read about. That would be a win-win.
Many car owners keep their cars in a garage (yes, they can afford it, which at last check is still not a crime) and, anyway, the main drags in this city are metered, so car ownership and where to park long term is not the issue. Street congestion has been exacerbated by these dining sheds (and bike lanes – another subject for another day). It’s not good for business that hopes for more than foot traffic, it’s not good for public buses and it’s certainly not good for the poor guy who’s waiting for an ambulance to come save him.
There’s also working class people who work on the UWS and can’t afford a garage but transit doesn’t work for them and they don’t have time to beg the MTA to do their jobs. MTA and other government agencies don’t like civically engaged people who will make them do work.
I find the sheds disruptive to the flow and equally disturbing are the rodents living under them.
Why did the City permit these outside dinning area to be built directly on top of the catch drains on my streets? Now these drains are clogged and not taking heavy rain. How stupid
They’re generally lovely, but…RATS!!!
The sooner the sheds go the better. Most are eyesores, havens for rats, pedestrian obstacles and on the major streets slow down traffic, often to one lane when delivery and service trucks park along side of them. It not a question of private cars. Watch a city bus try to navigate Columbus Avenue. Sidewalk cafes seem like a reasonable compromise . Pre pandemic outdoor dining in winter was not a New Yorker’s inalienable right.
They served their purpose. They take up valuable sidewalk or street space. There are some blocks with consecutive sheds where a cab or heaven forbid an ambulance can’t stop for a long distance.
Before there were sheds there were plenty of outdoor dining areas. It isn’t like we will go to zero.
Worst case, if they have to stay, restaurants should be taxed for the additional space. They often take up meter parking space so are taking away that revenue. And there are lots of empty store fronts. The city has a pending fiscal crisis so could use the money – we helped the restaurants through hard times – now they have to reciprocate.
Love the cottages. They are quieter than the noisy restaurant interior with the too loud music, they are great for those of us who love fresh air, and they make the city safer for women to walk home at night!
Fresh air. There is more exhaust in a shed than there are in cafes and restaurants that are positioned back from the street.
How many more things will our City
put on our streets? Let’s see we have
sheds, bikes, motor bikes motor cycles
It’s too much. How many people have
been injured or killed this year!
It’s the demise of our great City
Get rid of all of them and go back
to a safer cleaner city
yes, let’s start with getting rid of the cars that take up all of the street space, who injure and kill many more people than the sheds and bikes!
Bikes speed and do not follow traffic rules!! They are actually more dangerous than cars.
Honestly, the sheds make me feel sad. Most of them are aesthetically unappealing and I don’t like the concept of taking up all that public space. Pandemic is over. If you want Paris, make it look beautiful like Paris! Also, It’s way too dangerous to be so close to traffic!
Post crisis we should not be giving public space to private enterprises. We are subsidizing restaurants who make zero effort to keep their sheds free from garbage and rats. Sheds also constrict parking and deliveries. Amsterdam Ave can go down to a single lane with sheds and double parking.
This seems like a properly ironic thread to spread the concept of “bikeshedding.”. Agree we need to lower the use of superlatives for everything!
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Parkinsons-law-of-triviality-bikeshedding?amp=1
Love well-designed, aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces, like the magical candlelit bubbles at Cafe du Soleil. We always prefer to eat outside than in loud indoor spaces where can’t have quiet conversation. Agree there should be standards for them and sanitation regulations. Very much hope they stay so can eat in them all winter. If they go, we will cook inside at home more rather than go back to shouting to be heard in cramped indoor spaces. and love how they make public space livelier as walk down street and observe the diners.
I think the sheds are great AS LONG AS THEY ARE BEING USED. What I do not like at all is what I am seeing more and more of which is what I would describe as “derelict” sheds, sheds that are there but clearly the restaurant is not serving in them anymore. Sometimes they have chairs and tables stacked, sometimes they are totally empty. Those are a dirty eyesore and should go. The ones that are full of people dining, those can stay.
I don’t understand why the restaurants that aren’t using their sheds anymore can’t be sent a letter with a deadline to remove their shed.
It’s time to say good-bye to the sheds. The whole point of them was to have air flow to allow diners to enjoy a meal “outside” where it was safer to be during the pandemic. But now many of them are totally enclosed, with openings just large enough to attract rats.
So now we not only have the sheds we have the bike lanes, too. The lanes which appear to be used by roughly 50% of riders who breeze through traffic lights. All of this creates unbelievably narrow streets, which will now be leading to congestion pricing to eliminate crowded avenues.
Get rid of the sheds AND the bike lanes. NY is NY. It’s why one of the biggest money makers for the City is tourism. You want a European feel, go to Europe. Frankly some of avenues look more like the streets of Calcutta, than Europe.
They might be good for the restaurant owners but they are terrible for all other small businesses. They extend way past their restaurant frontage hiding other businesses from sight, make foot traffic difficult thereby dissuading clients for other businesses. They make receiving merchandise extremely difficult and the traffic congestion they cause by taking up lanes make deliveries impossible. We all know how many empty storefronts there are. They will stay empty if we make it so difficult to operate a small biz in NY. Not to mention how ugly most of them are. Take them
It’s time to get rid of them. 1) They are rat traps. 2) On Amsterdam and other avenues they block pedestrians’ view to the bike lane so you can’t see a cyclist approaching at speed as you cross the street. 3) On sidewalks they bottleneck pedestrian traffic : Café Luxemburg has two large sheds with an outdoor waiter station and waiters constantly crossing back and forth across the sidewalk, impeding the flow of foot traffic. 4) Rents per square foot are pricey in NYC,.
Why should restaurant owners benefit from significantly expanded space rent-free? Other businesses don’t get to hang a shingle on a sidewalk shack.
The shed gave us an opportunity to have a normalize social life during covid so that was terrific. I can’t imagine not being able to go out to eat for 18 months. However most restaurants are not cleaning the tables, chairs and ledges. Often times the ledges are so filthy from soot that I am won’t put a purse or jacket down other than keeping it on my lap. there should be some health standards since it is a place whee we eat. Friedman’s on West End is beyond filthy, I won’t go there again. So many places do not power wash or clean the floors, UGGG! How can we enjoy places that are getting so run down???
I love all the people complaining about rats, as if it’s
somehow the sheds and not the exact same bagged garbage piles that have always existed that cause the rat infestations.
If you’re so concerned about vermin, how about supporting proper garbage bins in street parking spaces? Oh right, because you mostly just care about having God given free parking on the most desirable land on earth.
(And yes, even on the avenues does removing meter parking remove overall free parking)
The bagged garbage itself without outdoor dining did not cause a rat problem. Outdoor dining sheds give shelter to rats, bagged garbage does not. Giving up parking when MTA has nothing but contempt for the riding public and would rather be in the real estate business isn’t a good policy decision. All it does is push “unwanted” people out of Manhattan so urbanists can have their fantasy playground to themselves.
Just to be particular…have to say, I enjoy the sheds on cross streets much more than the avenue ones (noise, more traffic right there, exhaust). Love outdoor dining generally. Plus, can’t eat indoors at current infection rates due to a v vulnerable person at home. Hope at least some will stay. Seems like a great community board level type issue.
We need to return to a pedestrian friendly city. The sheds are eyesores, rat attractors and take up too much public space. A few sidewalk tables are fine. Bye, bye sheds, please! There is no space for pedestrians with these sheds occupying sidewalks, along with dangerous two wheeled vehicles of all sorts threatening lives (another topic!). And if you need a car to commute to your job where no public transportation can take you, there is no space for those of us New Yorkers who cannot afford a garage.
Has anyone considered what a boon this is to city RATS! How they must gain easy access to these street sheds after hours in the late evening and early morning hours, feeding on food debris, leaving their droppings, etc. We have enough rat problems in this city without outdoor sheds that are sure to play a part in increasing their population.
The moment I saw a homeless man using a shed as a toilet, I knew my days of shed dining were over. You couldn’t pay me to eat in one.