Scaffolding Installers Oppose New Rules; Summer Grid Warning

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Hi there, let’s get into today’s news at the intersection of policy and real estate:

• Sidewalk shed operators are pushing back on new rules to rein in the structures.
• The City Council is looking for new levers of power over development as its land use authority wanes.
• Summer heat waves could push the state’s power grid to the brink, an independent operator warns.
• The State Senate has passed the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) Act, aiming to narrow the energy gap.

In this edition we mention: Spring Scaffolding President Will Laffey, City Council Speaker Julie Menin, New York Independent System Operator Vice President of Operations Aaron Markham, State Sen. Pete Harckham, New York Solar Energy Industries Association Executive Director Noah Ginsburg and others.

We Heard

• Scaffolding saga: Sidewalk shed companies are pushing back on proposed rules aimed at clearing the structures off city streets faster, warning they could bog the system down instead. At a Department of Buildings hearing Monday, Spring Scaffolding President Will Laffey testified that new reporting requirements are “a recipe for systemic delays.” Shed installers, typically hired to set up structures to protect pedestrians during facade work, don’t handle repairs, but under the rules, they’d be tasked with chasing updates from owners and contractors and filing progress reports. “That mismatch will slow down filings, delay renewals and ultimately prevent the system from working as intended,” said Laffey. Industry players also flagged ramped-up enforcement of a City Council law passed last year, which went into effect in January, that slashed shed permits for facade repairs from one year to 90 days. Combined with the proposed rules, they argue that the more frequent permit renewals could strain staff and drive up costs. “You’re looking at us to renew 300 to 400 permits a year — that’s a staffing issue,” said Access Solutions Group COO Sunny Singh. “Our clients are going to have to pay for it.” The Buildings Department said it will assess the feedback it received before the rules are intended to take effect this summer.
• A “proactive” housing agenda: City Council Speaker Julie Menin said Friday that modest tweaks to the city’s construction code could unlock up to 35,000 apartments on small lots across the five boroughs, as TRD first reported. Menin and Land Use Chair Kevin Riley cast the plan as the opening salvo in the City Council’s more “proactive” housing strategy rather than the body’s typical “reactive” role on proposed development projects going through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Left unsaid: the Council’s leverage over land-use approvals has significantly eroded since voters passed three November ballot measures that create alternate paths to greenlight projects, in some cases challenging or sidestepping the body altogether. With its grip on ULURP loosening, the Council is hunting for new ways to exert its influence on development. The small-lot push zeroes in on as-of-right building projects that don’t require a rezoning — avoiding future political fights between local members and the Mamdani administration. “This Council knows that we cannot sit back and wait,” said Menin. “We have our own ideas, our own vision on how to improve things.”
• Summer power grid warning: New York’s power grid is heading into summer with its thinnest reliability cushion in recent memory, according to a new report from New York Independent System Operator published Friday. The buffer between supply and demand is projected at just 417 megawatts — and it shrinks fast in a heatwave. A three-day stretch of 95-degree weather could leave the grid short by 1,679 megawatts. If temperatures hit 98, the deficit spikes to 3,300 megawatts. NYISO can tap emergency reserves to stave off blackouts, but its operations chief Aaron Markham warned of “the challenges of the grid in transition.” The state has shuttered some of its dirtiest peaker plants, while renewable projects have stalled amid federal headwinds — leaving less slack in the system as extreme heat becomes the norm.
• Solar boost: To shrink the energy gap the State Senate last week passed the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power, or ASAP, Act sponsored by State Sen. Pete Harckham. The measure seeks to scale up the deployment of rooftop and community solar throughout the state, streamline grid hookups for projects and revive the NY-SUN program, making solar more accessible to property owners. A January 2026 Synapse Energy Economics study found ramping up solar and storage to 20 gigawatts by 2035, from about 13 today, would cut wholesale power prices by $1 billion a year, a target backed by the ASAP Act. Energy industry experts say the bill is a bright spot amid Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget push to roll back timelines for the state’s climate laws. “The conversation positions affordability on one side and clean energy on the other, and the ASAP Act is something that really does advance both,” said Noah Ginsburg, executive director of the New York Solar Energy Industries Association. Backers say they want it in the state budget, but if not, the measure appears to have broad support in the Assembly.

Have a tip or feedback? Reach me at caroline.spivack@therealdeal.com. 

Bill Tracker

The Catch-Up

Landlord group New York Apartment Association is pushing the Rent Guidelines Board to apply different rent increases to apartment buildings constructed before 1974, reports Crain’s New York Business. 

After the arrest of a city lawmaker outside of a Bed-Stuy brownstone last week, members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to impose a moratorium on evictions for city properties where there is a possibility of deed theft and fraud, reports City & State.

Mayor Mamdani may delay his executive budget proposal while he awaits billions of dollars in potential Albany aid. The state is weeks late in approving its own budget, leaving a multibillion-dollar question mark for the city, reports New York Focus.

The Kicker

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