MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The celebrated plan to transform a building at the heart of Times Square will actually endanger pedestrians, thanks to a new sidewalk shed that funnels them into a narrow space ripe for criminal activity, according to a new lawsuit filed by the owners of a next-door skyscraper.

The suit centers on the upcoming renovations to One Times Square, the iconic site of the New Year's Eve ball drop, which is set to receive a glassy makeover creating a viewing deck and new access to its interior.

As part of that work, building owner Jamestown Properties hired a contractor to design a plan to set up sidewalk sheds — commonly known as scaffolding — around One Times Square, to protect pedestrians as required by city law. The sidewalk sheds were set up in recent weeks, according to Google Maps imagery.

That was unwelcome news to the Durst Organization, a real estate giant that owns 4 Times Square — a 1,100-foot skyscraper that sits right across from One Times Square, separated by a pedestrianized stretch of Broadway.

To Durst's outrage, the new sidewalk shed stretches across the Broadway pedestrian mall, all the way to the edge of 4 Times Square. To accommodate construction equipment, much of that 100-foot-wide area will now be closed to the public, channeling pedestrians into a narrow, 30-foot-wide area.

"Pedestrians and tourists caught under the enclosed sidewalk shed will be at greater risk for assault, theft and other serious crimes. Criminals will have victims cornered, with nowhere to escape and no way for emergency personnel to reach them or even realistically observe from a distance," Durst's attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on July 25.

"The sidewalk shed will provide an area ripe for homeless encampments and lewd behavior," Durst added, calling the area a likely locale for "muggings, theft, assault, drug use, and other criminal activity."

Delivery cyclists, food carts, artists, vendors, panhandlers, and tourists taking group photos with costumed characters would worsen the congestion even further, Durst said.

Durst's suit was filed against the Department of Buildings, which approved the new sidewalk sheds over Durst's repeated objections. Durst is now asking a judge to force the city to reverse its prior approvals.

"Sidewalk sheds are a vital tool to protect public safety from the potential hazards associated with active construction work," DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky said Tuesday. "We are currently reviewing the lawsuit."

One Times Square's ownership also defended the plans, saying through a spokesperson that the sidewalk shed "follows city-mandated safety protocols."

"Safety is our top priority, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe environment at the site throughout the construction period," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The upcoming renovations to One Times Square were announced in May in a ceremony attended by Mayor Eric Adams, who said the project was a key step in the city's pandemic recovery.

Durst's demand could be called ironic, since 4 Times Square has its own faulty construction history.

In 1998, while construction was underway on the skyscraper — then known as the Condé Nast Building — a temporary elevator tower collapsed to the ground below, killing an elderly woman, raining down tons of steel and "creating a day of chaos" in Times Square, as the New York Times reported.

The 85-year-old victim was a resident of the Woodstock Hotel, a nearby home for the elderly, and was crushed on her building's 12th floor when her ceiling collapsed after being pierced by a chunk of the new tower.

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