"Rampant Illegal Scaffolding Plagues New York City"

New York City is plagued by illegal scaffolding, with 500 unpermitted sites identified by computer scientists using AI to analyze dashcam footage. The city's abundance of scaffolding stems from a 1980 policy mandating façade inspections every five years, resulting in over 8,000 current permits for scaffolds. The researchers aim to share their findings with city officials and create an interactive map for residents to track scaffolding locations, permit status, and duration.