Putting up a sidewalk shed around a vacant lot makes no sense – unless you’re profiting by blighting the city with gigantic illegal advertising signs.
A year ago, a 250-foot sidewalk shed went up around the grassy lot at 363 Lafayette St. in the East Village in anticipation of construction of a six-story residential building.
But although neighborhood opposition and zoning problems delayed the project, the shed remained – and while it hasn’t protected any pedestrians from construction work, it has displayed illegal ads.
In May, land owner Olmstead Properties was fined $1,600.
In August, Olmstead paid up. But it also kept the signs up – the scaffolding today sports a gigantic ad for iPods.
Sign opponents say property owners can reap tens of thousands of dollars a month from illegal shed ads.
Ad agencies can be fined up to $25,000 – but the fines against shed owners are smaller.
That’s going to change soon. New rules will soon also allow $25,000 fines against shed owners, said Buildings spokeswoman Jennifer Givner.
Samuel Rosenblatt, president of Olmstead Properties, said only that the shed will come down next month.