NEW YORK STATE MULTIPLE DWELLING LAW, TITLE 2, SECTIONS 50-59

TITLE 2

FIRE PROTECTION AND SAFETY

Sec. 50. Entrance halls.

Every entrance hall in every multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall be at least four feet in clear width from the entrance to the first stair, and beyond that shall be at least three feet eight inches in clear width. If such an entrance hall is the only entrance to more than one flight of stairs, the required width of such hall shall be increased in every part, for each such additional flight of stairs, by one-half the width required for one flight of stairs.

Sec. 50-a. Entrances: doors, locks and intercommunication systems.

1. Every entrance from the street, passageway, court, yard, cellar, or similar entrance to a class A multiple dwelling erected or converted after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, except an entrance leading to the main entrance hall or lobby which main entrance hall or lobby is equipped with one or more automatic self-locking doors, shall be equipped with automatic self-closing and self-locking doors and such doors shall be locked at all times except when an attendant shall actually be on duty. Every entrance from the roof to such a dwelling shall be equipped with a self-closing door which shall not be self-locking and which shall be fastened on the inside with movable bolts, hooks or a lock which does not require a key to open from inside the dwelling.

2. Every class A multiple dwelling erected or converted after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight containing eight or more apartments shall also be equipped with an intercommunication system. Such intercommunication system shall be located at an automatic self-locking door giving public access to the main entrance hall or lobby of said multiple dwelling and shall consist of a device or devices for voice communication between the occupant of each apartment and a person outside said door to the main entrance hall or lobby and to permit such apartment occupant to release the locking mechanism of said door from the apartment.

3. On or after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, every class A multiple dwelling erected or converted prior to January first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, shall be equipped with automatic self-closing and self-locking doors, which doors shall be kept locked except when an attendant shall actually be on duty, and with the intercommunication system described in paragraph two of this section, provided that tenants occupying a majority of all the apartments within the structure comprising the multiple dwelling affected request or consent in writing to the installation of such doors and intercommunication system on forms which shall be prescribed by the department, except that in the event a majority of tenants in occupancy request or consent on or after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, to the installation of such doors or intercommunication system such installation shall be started within ninety days, but need not be completed until six months after the owner's receipt of requests or consents by a majority of the tenants, except that in any such multiple dwelling owned or operated by a municipal housing authority organized pursuant to article thirteen of the public housing law, such installation need not be completed until one year after the owner's receipt of requests or consents by a majority of the tenants. If the dwelling is subject to regulation and control of its residential rents pursuant to the local emergency housing rent control act, the local city housing rent agency shall upon the filing of executed forms containing the required requests or consents, prescribe the terms under which the costs of providing such doors and intercommunication systems may be recovered by the owner from the tenants. In any multiple dwelling built pursuant to the provisions of the redevelopment companies law in which residential rents are limited by contract, the costs of providing such doors and intercommunication systems may be recovered by the owner from the tenants. The terms under which such costs may be recovered shall be the same as those prescribed by the local city housing rent agency in the city in which the multiple dwelling is located for dwellings subject to regulation and control of rent pursuant to the local emergency housing rent control act. Such costs shall not be deemed to be "rent" as that term is limited and defined in the contract.

4. All such self-closing and self-locking doors, and intercommunication systems shall be of a type approved by the department and by such other department as may be prescribed by law and shall be installed and maintained in a manner prescribed by the department and by such other department.

5. Every owner who shall fail to install and maintain the equipment required by this section, in the manner prescribed by the department, and by such other department as may be prescribed by law, and any person who shall willfully destroy, damage, or jam or otherwise interfere with the proper operation of, or remove, without justification, such equipment or any part thereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor as provided in subdivision one of section three hundred four of the multiple dwelling law and shall be punishable as provided therein.

Sec. 50-c. Rights of tenants to operate and maintain a lobby attendant service.

1. Tenants of every class A multiple dwelling containing eight or more apartments shall be entitled to maintain and operate a lobby attendant service for such multiple dwelling at any time or times when an attendant hired or furnished by the owner thereof shall not be on duty. Such lobby attendants so maintained by such tenants shall be engaged solely for security purposes and shall perform no acts or duties other than those which shall be directly related to the safety and security of occupants and visitors to such building while in and about the public portions thereof and no owner shall unreasonably hinder, interfere with, obstruct or prohibit the maintenance and operation of such service, provided that each attendant so engaged by tenants shall at all times when on duty be stationed at and remain in the entrance halls or public lobbies of the building adjacent to the main entrance thereto, and provided further that no owner of such building shall be in any manner liable or responsible for any injury to any such attendant or for any damage or injury arising out of or resulting from any act or omission of any such attendant or for the payment of any wages or other compensation to such attendants. The lobby attendants furnished, operated or maintained by tenants pursuant to this section may consist of or include tenants or other occupants of the multiple dwelling and may include either volunteer or paid personnel or a combination thereof.

2. Any agent, owner or other person who shall unreasonably interfere, hinder, obstruct or prohibit the installation, maintenance and operation of any such lobby attendant or shall unreasonably hinder or interfere with the performance of the duties of such lobby attendant engaged pursuant to this section, shall be guilty of a violation with a maximum fine not to exceed fifty dollars.

Sec. 51. Shafts, elevators and dumbwaiters.

1. Every shaft constructed after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, in any multiple dwelling shall be enclosed on all sides with fireproof walls and shall have fireproof doors and assemblies at all openings, with the doors self-closing. Dumbwaiter shafts, except those adjoining public halls, may be constructed with walls of gypsum plaster blocks approved by the department, at least two inches thick if solid and at least three inches thick if hollow.

2. All dumbwaiter doors constructed after such date shall be fastened by an interior lock in the shaft operated and controlled from a central point in the cellar or lowest story if there be no cellar.

3. The doors of every elevator shaft constructed after such date shall be provided with an automatic device approved by the department to prevent the normal operation of the elevator unless the hoistway door at which the car is standing is closed and locked, or unless all hoistway doors are locked in a closed position. Such doors may have a vision panel of wire glass not exceeding one square foot in area.

4. Every elevator installed after such date shall be equipped with a gate with an automatic device approved by the department to prevent the normal operation of such elevator unless such gate is closed.

5. When any elevator or dumbwaiter constructed after such date opens into more than one stair, elevator vestibule or other public hall on any floor, such elevator or dumbwaiter shall be placed in a separate shaft. Not more than three elevators or two dumbwaiters shall ever be placed in the same shaft.

6. Every dwelling erected after such date which exceeds six stories or sixty feet in height shall be equipped with one or more passenger elevators, operative at all times, at least one of which shall be accessible to every apartment above the entrance story.

7. In every multiple dwelling, elevator shafts, not previously enclosed to the satisfaction of the department, shall be enclosed with fireproof walls and shall have fireproof doors and assemblies, with the doors self-closing.

Sec. 51-a. Peepholes.

In every multiple dwelling the owner shall provide and maintain a peephole in the entrance door of each housing unit. Such peephole shall be located, as prescribed by the department, but shall be so located as to enable a person in such housing unit to view from the inside of the entrance door any person immediately outside of the entrance door to such housing unit. The provisions of this section shall not apply to hotels or apartment hotels or to college or school dormitories.

Sec. 51-b. Mirrors in connection with self-service elevators.

In all multiple dwellings in which there are one or more self-service passenger elevators, there shall, pursuant to such regulations as the department shall prescribe, be affixed and maintained in each such elevator a mirror which will enable persons prior to entering into such elevator to view the inside thereof to determine whether any person is in such elevator.

Sec. 51-c. Rights of tenants to install and maintain locks in certain entrance doors.

Every tenant of a multiple dwelling, except a tenant of a multiple dwelling under the supervision and control of a municipal housing authority, occupied by him, except as a hotel or motel, or college or school dormitory, shall have the right to install and maintain or cause to be installed and maintained in the entrance door of his particular housing unit in such multiple dwelling, a lock, separate and apart from any lock installed and maintained by the owner of such multiple dwelling, not more than three inches in circumference, as an ordinary incident to his tenancy, provided that a duplicate key to such lock shall be supplied to the landlord or his agent upon his request; and every provision of any lease hereafter made or entered into which reserves or provides for the payment by such tenant of any additional rent, bonus, fee or other charge or any other thing of value for the right or privilege of installing and/or maintaining any such lock, shall be deemed to be void as against public policy and wholly unenforceable.

Sec. 52. Stairs.

1. In every multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, every interior stair, fire-stair and fire-tower and every exterior stair in connection with any dwelling altered or erected after January first, nineteen hundred fifty-one, shall be provided with proper balustrades or railings and all such interior and exterior stairs shall be kept in good repair and free from any encumbrance. Every such stair, fire-stair and fire-tower more than three feet eight inches wide shall be provided with a handrail on each side.

2. The upper surface of every balustrade or railing placed in any stair after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall be at least two feet six inches and at most two feet eight inches above the front edge of the stair treads, and at any stair landing shall be at least two feet eight inches and at most three feet above the level of such landing.

3. The treads and risers of every stair, fire-stair and fire-tower constructed after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, in any multiple dwelling shall be of uniform height and width in any one flight. Each tread, exclusive of nosing, shall be not less than nine and one-half inches wide; each riser shall not exceed seven and three-quarters inches in height; and the product of the number of inches in the width of the tread and the number of inches in the height of the riser shall be at least seventy and at most seventy-five.

4. No winding stairs shall be constructed in any multiple dwelling.

5. a. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph b of this subdivision, every stair constructed after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, leading to a cellar or basement from the first story above shall be entirely enclosed with fireproof walls and be provided with fireproof doors and assemblies at both top and bottom, with the doors self-closing; except that, in a non-fireproof multiple dwelling erected before such date, where such a stair is permitted such enclosing walls may be fire-retarded.

b. When the first floor or a part thereof, in a fireproof multiple dwelling, is used for business purposes, a stair leading to a cellar or basement from such business space shall be enclosed in fireproof walls having a fire-resistive rating of at least three hours and be provided with a fireproof door and assembly at the bottom, with the door self-closing. No opening shall be permitted between such business space and the remainder of the dwelling.

6. The department shall have the power to make supplementary regulations relating to fire-towers.

7. In every multiple dwelling erected under plans filed with the department after January first, nineteen hundred sixty, on every story above the entrance story every door opening into such stair shall be so hung and arranged that in opening and when opened it shall at no point reduce the clear and unobstructed required width of the stair or stair landing.

8. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a stair within an apartment provided that each level of the apartment is provided with required means of egress complying with the provisions of this article.

Sec. 53. Fire-escapes.

Every fire-escape erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall be located, arranged, constructed and maintained in accordance with the following provisions:

1. Access to a fire-escape shall be from a living room or private hall in each apartment or suite of rooms at each story above the entrance story, and such access shall not include any window of a stairhall.

a. Such room or private hall shall be an integral part of such apartment or suite of rooms and accessible to every room thereof without passing through a public hall.

b. When one or more living rooms of any apartment are rented to boarders or lodgers, every such room shall be directly accessible to a fire-escape without passing through a public hall, and for separately occupied living rooms access to fire-escapes shall be direct from such rooms without passing through a public hall or any other separately occupied room, except as may be permitted for dormitories in section sixty-six.

c. Access to any fire-escape shall not be obstructed by sinks or kitchen fixtures or in any other way. Iron bars, grilles, gates, or other obstructing devices on any window giving access to fire-escapes or to a required secondary means of egress shall be unlawful unless such devices are of a type approved by the board of appeals and are installed and maintained as prescribed by the board; provided, however, that in a city having a population of one million or more, such devices shall be of a type approved, installed and maintained as prescribed by the fire commissioner, or as previously approved and prescribed by the board of standards and appeals of such city, except as otherwise provided by said commissioner.

d. Every such fire-escape shall be accessible to one or more exterior doors or windows opening from the room, apartment, suite of rooms or other space which it serves as means of egress, and such window or door shall be two feet or more in clear width and two feet six inches or more in clear height. The sill of any such window shall be within three feet of the floor.

2. A required fire-escape may be erected in any of the following places:

a. On a wall facing a street or yard;

b. In a court of a non-fireproof multiple dwelling to serve an apartment or suite of rooms which does not contain any room fronting upon a street or yard, or in any inner court thirty-five feet or more in its least horizontal dimension, provided the fire-escape does not project more than four feet from the wall of the dwelling and is directly connected at the bottom of such court with a fireproof passageway at least three feet wide and seven feet high leading directly to a street unless the court itself leads to a street;

c. In any outer court eighteen feet or more in width and thirty feet or less in length;

d. In any outer court more than eighteen feet in width the length of which does not exceed its width by more than seventy per centum;

e. In any outer court ten feet or more in width at every point and situated on a lot line;

f. In any outer court seven feet or more in width at every point which is situated on a lot line and extends from a street to a yard;

g. In a recess on the front wall of a multiple dwelling, provided the recess does not exceed five feet in depth, is used solely for fire-escape purposes and has seventy-five per centum or more of its area open to the street, and is otherwise unenclosed and open at the top. No such recess shall be counted as a part of the unoccupied area of the premises or be construed as a court unless its entire area is open to the street.

3. No fire-escape may project more than four and one-half feet into a public highway from the lot line of the multiple dwelling it serves. Every part of such fire-escape shall be at least ten feet above any sidewalk directly below.

4. a. Every fire-escape shall be constructed of open balconies and stairways of iron or stone capable of sustaining a load of at least eighty pounds per square foot. The use or reuse of old materials or cast iron in the construction of fire-escapes shall be unlawful.

b. Balconies for fire-escapes shall be three feet or more in clear width except that a party-wall balcony as permitted by paragraph f of subdivision one of section one hundred eighty-seven may be two feet in clear width.

c. Every stairway shall be placed at an angle of sixty degrees or less with flat open steps at least six inches in width and twenty inches in length and with a maximum rise of nine inches. The opening in any balcony for such a stairway shall be at least twenty-one by twenty-eight inches.

5. a. There shall be provided from the lowest balcony a drop ladder fifteen inches in width and of sufficient length to reach to a safe landing place beneath. Such ladder shall be constructed, located and arranged so as to be held in proper position at all times and, unless properly counter-balanced, shall be placed in guides so that it can be easily lowered.

b. The distance from the lowest balcony to the ground or safe landing place beneath shall be not more than sixteen feet, except that the department may permit such lowest balcony to be up to eighteen feet above a public sidewalk because of structural conditions in any multiple dwelling erected before April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine.

c. No drop ladder shall be required where the distance from the lowest balcony to a safe landing place beneath is five feet or less.

6. The balcony on the top story shall be provided with a stairway or a gooseneck ladder from such balcony to and above the roof and securely fastened thereto, except that no such stairway or ladder shall be required:

a. On multiple dwellings two stories or less in height erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine; or

b. Wherever there is a peak roof with a pitch in excess of twenty degrees;

c. When the fire-escape is on the front of the dwelling, in a recess on the front of the dwelling, or on an outer court opening to a street.

7. Every fire-escape if constructed of material subject to rusting shall be painted with two or more coats of good paint in contrasting colors; in the case of a new fire-escape the first coat before erection, and the second coat after erection. Whenever a fire-escape becomes rusty, the owner shall repaint it with two additional coats of good paint.

8. a. Whenever a non-fireproof multiple dwelling is not provided with sufficient means of egress in case of fire, the department may order such additional fire-escapes or balconies as in its judgment may be deemed necessary.

b. The owner of a multiple dwelling shall keep and maintain every fire-escape thereon in good order and repair.

c. No person shall at any time place any encumbrance of any kind before or upon any fire-escape, or place or keep a cover of any kind over the stairway opening in a balcony of such fire-escape. An occupant or tenant of a multiple dwelling who shall violate or assist in the violation of the provisions of this paragraph shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as provided in section three hundred four.

9. No fire-escape shall be removed from or constructed on any existing multiple dwelling without permission from the department. No fire-escape shall be removed from any apartment without due precaution against leaving occupants of such apartment without adequate means of egress in case of fire. A wire, chain cable, vertical ladder or rope fire-escape is an unlawful means of egress. Every such fire-escape, if required as a means of egress, shall be removed and replaced by a system of fire-escapes constructed and arranged as provided in this section.

10. The department shall have the power to make supplementary regulations relating to fire-escapes.

Sec. 54. Cellar entrance.

There shall be a direct entrance to the cellar, or to the lowest story if there be no cellar, from the outside of every multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, except that in non-fireproof multiple dwellings erected after such date which are three stories or less in height and occupied by not more than two families on any story, any stair leading to such cellar or lowest story may be located inside the dwelling provided it is enclosed in fireproof walls and fireproof doors and assemblies with the doors self-closing, at both the level of such cellar or lowest story and that of the story above. No such outside entrance existing in any multiple dwelling on April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall be obstructed.

Sec. 55. Wainscoting.

1. Whenever the surface of walls, partitions or ceilings in any apartment or suite of rooms of any non-fireproof multiple dwelling is covered, sheathed or wainscoted wholly or in part after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, such covering shall be backed solidly with plaster. In fireproof multiple dwellings such covering shall be backed solidly and continuously or filled with incombustible material. In the case of walls and partitions in fireproof dwellings, such backing and filling shall extend to the fireproof floor construction and in non-fireproof dwellings to the floor beams. All such backing and filling shall be fire-stopped.

2. No wood wainscoting other than fireproofed wood complying with the provisions of section fifty-eight shall be erected in any public hall, stair or shaft of any multiple dwelling.

Sec. 56. Frame buildings and extensions.

1. Except as provided in section one hundred ninety-three and subdivision seven of this section, no frame multiple dwelling shall be erected and no frame dwelling not used as a multiple dwelling on April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall be altered or converted to such use or occupancy.

2. No existing frame multiple dwelling shall be increased in height nor shall it be altered to permit a greater occupancy on any story than provided for on April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine; except that, if the walls of such a frame dwelling are faced with brick veneer or with another material or combination of materials having a fire resistive rating of at least one hour, and the entrance story thereof is occupied by not more than one family, such entrance story may be altered so that it may be occupied by not more than two families.

3. No frame building of any kind whatsoever shall be placed or built upon the same lot with any multiple dwelling.

4. No multiple dwelling shall be placed or built upon the same lot with any frame building.

5. No frame multiple dwelling, no wooden structure of any kind or class on the same lot with any frame dwelling or with any multiple dwelling, and no other building on the same lot with any frame dwelling, shall be altered or converted so as to be enlarged, extended or increased in height or bulk or in the number of rooms, apartments or dwelling units therein; except that:

a. An extension seventy square feet or less in ground area the side walls of which are of frame and brick filled or of masonry construction may be added to any existing frame multiple dwelling if used solely for bathrooms or water closets; and

b. An extension constructed with fireproof walls may be made to a frame building if the first story of such extension is used solely for business not prohibited by any local law or ordinance, or if such extension contains not more than one living room on any story. No yard or court shall be diminished by such extension so that its area or least dimension is less than required by this chapter for a yard or court of a multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine.

6. None used as a store or other non-residential use to no more than one additional dwelling unit; provided, however, that:

(a) such space has been vacant for at least one year, and

(b) such space has a minimum of three hundred square feet of floor area, and (c) the conversion must be for a class "A" use, and (d) said unit shall contain a cooking space and a complete bathroom, and (e) all walls and ceilings of the new dwelling unit shall be fire-retarded with one hour rated fire-retarding materials, and (f) the height and bulk of the dwelling shall not be increased, and (g) the dwelling will be in full compliance with this chapter and other related and local ordinances, except that the owner of said dwelling shall be entitled to consideration for variances permitted in subdivision one and subparagraph five of paragraph a of subdivision two of section three hundred ten of this chapter for multiple dwellings and buildings existing prior to November first, nineteen hundred forty-nine.

Sec. 57. Bells; mail receptacles.

1. Whenever bells are installed at the entrance to any multiple dwelling or at any door of an individual apartment in a multiple dwelling, they shall be kept in good working order.

2. Whenever the owner of a multiple dwelling has not arranged for mail to be delivered to occupants thereof by himself, his agent or employees, arrangements shall be made for the delivery of such mail in conformity with regulations of the post office department.

Sec. 58. Incombustible materials.

Except as may be specifically provided otherwise in this chapter, all required incombustible materials, including fireproofed wood, shall be capable of withstanding successfully standard fire tests as prescribed by the building code. In the absence of any such prescribed requirements, the department shall have the power to make supplementary regulations relative to standard fire tests for incombustible materials.

Sec. 59. Bakeries and fat boiling.

1. It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain a bakery or a place of business where fat is boiled in any non-fireproof multiple dwelling or upon the lot on which such dwelling is situated, unless the ceiling, side walls and all exposed iron or wooden beams, girders and columns within the said bakery or business place where fat is boiled, are covered with fireproof materials.

2. There shall be no door, window, dumbwaiter shaft or other opening between such a bakery or business place where fat is boiled and any other part of the dwelling, except that:

a. There may be access to the public parts of the dwelling from any bakery maintained therein if the product of such bakery is consumed exclusively within such dwelling.

b. In a fireproof hotel where a retail bakery is maintained therein, there may be access to the public parts of the hotel, provided the door openings leading thereto from such bakery and the door assemblies are fireproof with the doors self-closing, and provided the public parts of such bakery premises are protected by one or more sprinkler heads. c. In bakeries in which no fat is boiled and on the premises of which there is no apparatus for fat boiling, a dumbwaiter communicating between the place where the baking is done and a bakery store above may be maintained if entirely enclosed in a brick shaft with walls eight inches or more in thickness, without any openings whatever except one door opening into the bakeshop and one into the bakery store. Every such opening shall be provided with a fireproof door and assembly so arranged that when one door is open, the other is entirely closed.

3. Every part of a bakery, its plumbing, and the yards and open spaces adjoining shall be kept in good repair, in sanitary condition and free from rodents and vermin.