Century 21 Contracting Corp hangs suspended scaffolds from the roof or setback of taller buildings in all five boroughs. We’re Bronx-based and have been at it since 2004, and one of our recent Manhattan jobs was 2155 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd in Harlem.
A suspended scaffold is a platform that hangs from supports on the roof or a setback and travels up and down the facade on hoists. You’ll also hear it called a swing stage. It’s the usual choice when a building is too tall, or the sidewalk too crowded, for a scaffold built up from the ground.
DOB recognizes three support types: outrigger beams, C-hooks and davit structures. The platform needs a roof or setback to hang from, and it works best in three situations:
| Part | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Platform | Holds the crew and materials along the facade. |
| Hoists | Raise and lower the platform on wire rope. |
| Roof Supports | Hold the whole system. Outrigger beams project past the roof edge, C-hooks hook over the parapet, and davit structures stand on the roof as swiveling arms. |
| Tiebacks | Anchor the roof supports so they cannot shift. |
| Lifelines | Connect each worker's fall arrest harness. A vertical lifeline ties off to an anchor independent of the scaffold. |
| Guardrails | Stand at the platform's edge. OSHA requires both fall arrest and a guardrail system for workers on a two-point suspension scaffold. |
Whenever the platform is in use, DOB wants one of three people on site supervising: a licensed rigger, a licensed sign hanger, or a designated foreman. Each has different credentials, listed below.
| Role | What DOB Requires |
|---|---|
| Licensed Rigger | A DOB license. |
| Licensed Sign Hanger | A DOB license. May also supervise operations. |
| Designated Foreman | A 32-hour course from a DOB-approved provider and a DOB-issued ID card. |
| Every Worker | A 16-hour course from a DOB-approved provider with a Certificate of Completion. DOB's tips page also lists a Certificate of Fitness, issued by the rigger or sign hanger overseeing the work. |
The filing. Since November 15, 2023, you file every new suspended scaffold in DOB NOW: Build under the Suspended Scaffold work type, as DOB’s service notice explains. The applicant of record can be a licensed rigger, a licensed sign hanger or a registered design professional. The installation and removal notifications also go in DOB NOW.
Ask any contractor for the rigger’s license number before you hire, including us. When you’re ready, call (347) 378-9978 and we’ll scope your building.
A board or contractor can check a suspended scaffold job on paper before anyone hangs a platform. Ask for:
A suspended scaffold fits when:
A supported scaffold stands on the ground, so it needs street-level space. Our pipe scaffolding page covers that option, and our frame scaffolding page covers flat, regular walls. Not sure which fits? Send us the address and we’ll tell you which one we’d use.
Here’s the sequence from the first roof survey to the day the platform comes down.
We check the roof type, the parapet, any setbacks and the facade, because the supports need a sound place to hang from.
The DOB NOW: Build filing and scaffold notification go in before anything is hung. The applicant of record can be a licensed rigger, a licensed sign hanger or a registered design professional.
The licensed rigger supervises as the crew hangs the platform.
Whoever is supervising stays on site whenever the platform moves. If your schedule or scope changes, tell us early, because moving a drop is easier before the crew has rigged it.
The crew takes the platform down, and the removal notification goes in DOB NOW.
If the work passes over a public sidewalk, we can supply the shed below it. Our wider service is scaffolding rental in NYC.
A licensed rigger, a licensed sign hanger, or a designated foreman who has completed the 32-hour course and holds a DOB-issued ID card.
It does, and it goes in before anything is hung. New suspended scaffolds have been filed in DOB NOW: Build under the Suspended Scaffold work type since November 15, 2023. The installation and removal notifications go in the same system, so the filing number doubles as proof the job is on record.
Each worker completes a 16-hour course from a DOB-approved provider and carries the Certificate of Completion. DOB’s suspended scaffold tips page also lists a Certificate of Fitness, issued by the supervising rigger or sign hanger. We’ll show you both for every person on the platform if you ask.
Yes. In 2017 we hung one at 2155 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd in Harlem for a 6-story facade repair. We also work in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.
Yes to all three. We hold a DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license, carry $2M general liability and are OSHA certified, and the insurance certificate comes with every quote.
Yes. “Swing stage” is the everyday name for a platform that hangs from roof supports and moves on hoists. Whichever name a contractor uses on a quote, the DOB rigging and filing rules on this page apply.
That’s the first thing we check. Outrigger beams, C-hooks and davits each need something sound to bear on, and a weak parapet can rule out one type while another still works. Send us the roof type and we’ll confirm it at the survey.
It depends on building height, facade width, the number of drops, the type of roof support, how long the platform stays up and whether a sidewalk shed is also needed. We price after a site visit, not over the phone, because the roof and facade decide most of the number.
Sometimes. OSHA prohibits work on scaffolds during storms or high winds unless a competent person has determined it’s safe and the required protection is in place. Build some slack into the schedule, especially in winter.
Suspended scaffolds are a common way to reach a tall building’s facade for inspection and repair. If your building is under FISP, tell us your filing cycle and deadline when you request a quote so we can plan around it.
Send the address, borough, building height in stories, roof type (parapet or setback, if you know it), the work planned and your start date, and we’ll call you back with what the job needs.
