N.Y. MDW Law § 277 — New York Code / Act MDW / Article 7-B / Section 277
Occupancy permitted
Status: in_force

§ 277. Occupancy permitted. Any building in any city of more than one\nmillion persons which at any time prior to January first, nineteen\nhundred seventy-seven was occupied for loft, commercial, institutional,\npublic, community facility or manufacturing purposes, may,\nnotwithstanding any other article of this chapter, or any provision of\nlaw covering the same subject matter (except as otherwise required by\nthe local zoning law or resolution), be occupied in whole or in part for\njoint living-work quarters for artists or general residential purposes\nif such occupancy is in compliance with this article.  Such occupancy\nshall be permitted only if the following conditions are met and complied\nwith.\n  1. (a) The exterior walls of the building shall be non-combustible and\nhave a fire-resistive rating of at least three hours unless the exterior\nwall or walls, measured on a horizontal plane perpendicular to said\nexterior wall or walls, is a minimum of thirty feet distant in a direct\nunobstructed line from another structure, except that a wet pipe\nsprinkler system, with maximum sprinkler spacing of four feet, must be\nprovided along such wall or walls to protect exposed, unrated columns or\nbeams at the interior of the wall in non-fireproof buildings.\n  (b) Window openings in exterior walls shall conform with the\nlimitations of table 3-4 chapter twenty-six of the administrative code\nof the city of New York, unless such windows are fire protected and\nprovided with either a minimum of one sprinkler head per window or\nwindow automatic closing devices, acceptable to the department of\nbuildings.\n  2. The building (a) is of fireproof construction, as provided in\nsection one hundred one of this chapter, or is of class two\nconstruction, as provided by the requirements of the building code and\nregulations of the city of New York in effect prior to December sixth,\nnineteen hundred sixty-eight; or\n  (b) if non-fireproof, does not exceed a height of six stories, and\neighty-five feet measured to the ceiling of the highest floor in a depth\nof one hundred feet; or does not exceed a height of seven stories, and\neighty-five feet and a depth of one hundred feet and is wet sprinklered\nthroughout; and has a maximum floor area between the two hour rated\npartitions constructed in accordance with section C26-504.2 of the\nadministrative code of the city of New York of:\n  (i) three thousand square feet; or\n  (ii) five thousand square feet if the building is six stories or less\nin height and is fully wet sprinklered; or\n  (iii) five thousand square feet if the building is seven stories in\nheight and is fully wet sprinklered and has a stand pipe system; or\n  (iv) ten thousand square feet if the building is fully wet sprinklered\nand has one hour rated ceilings.\n  (c) complies with the requirements of table 3-4 chapter twenty-six of\nthe administrative code of the city of New York for J-2 occupancy.\n  3. Any part of the building may be occupied for manufacturing and\ncommercial purposes (as permitted by local zoning law or resolution),\nprovided, however, that only the second story and below may be occupied\nfor uses listed as medium fire hazard in rules of the board of standards\nand appeals implementing the labor law unless the entire building is wet\nsprinklered; in addition, high fire hazard occupancies shall not be\npermitted in any portion of the building.\n  4. All areas occupied for manufacturing or commercial purposes shall\nbe protected by an approved wet-pipe automatic sprinkler system. Such\nwet-pipe automatic sprinkler system shall extend to and include public\nhallways and stairways coincidentally serving residential occupancies.\n  5. All occupancies or tenancies shall be separated by a vertical fire\nseparation, extending to the underside of the floor above and having a\nminimum fire-resistance rating of at least one hour and conform in all\nrespects with applicable zoning regulations. No separation shall be\nrequired between the working and living portions of a joint living-work\nquarters for artists.\n  6. The building (a) complies with all requirements imposed on old-law\ntenements by sections two hundred twelve and two hundred sixteen of this\nchapter and on converted dwellings by sections one hundred eighty-five,\none hundred eighty-six, one hundred eighty-eight, one hundred\neighty-nine, one hundred ninety, one hundred ninety-one and one hundred\nninety-four of this chapter, in addition to those provided in section\ntwo hundred seventy-eight of this article and (b) complies with the\nstandards of lighting, ventilation, size of rooms, alcoves and balconies\ncontained in section C26-1205.0 through and including sections\nC26-1205.5 and C26-1205.7 of the administrative code of the city of New\nYork, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (d) of subdivision seven\nof this section.\n  7. Minimum light and air standards for joint living-work quarters for\nartists or general residential portions of lofts or manufacturing and\ncommercial buildings altered to residential use shall comply with the\nfollowing:\n  (a) Portions of such buildings which are occupied exclusively as joint\nliving-work quarters for artists as permitted by local law shall comply\nwith the following:\n  (i) The minimum size of a joint living-work quarters for artists shall\nbe twelve hundred square feet of interior space, except as otherwise\nauthorized by the zoning resolution of the city of New York, for units\noccupied for residential purposes on or before January first, nineteen\nhundred eighty-five.\n  (ii) Joint living-work quarters for artists shall conform to the\nstandards for light and ventilation of sections C26-1205.0 through and\nincluding section C26-1205.7 of the administrative code of the city of\nNew York.\n  (b) Portions of such buildings which are occupied exclusively as\nresidential units as permitted by local law shall comply with the\nfollowing:\n  (i) Every dwelling unit shall have one or more windows:\n  A. which open onto a street, a court with a dimension of fifteen feet\nperpendicular to the windows and one hundred square feet minimum area\nabove a setback or a thirty foot rear yard; or\n  B. for corner lots or lots within one hundred feet of a corner, where\nthe minimum horizontal distance between such windows opening onto a rear\nyard and the rear lot line is at least twenty feet; or\n  C. for interior lots, where the minimum horizontal distance between\nsuch windows opening onto a rear yard and any wall opposite such windows\non the same or another zoning lot is at least twenty feet and not less\nthan a distance equal to one-third of the total height of such wall\nabove the sill height of such windows; but need not exceed forty feet;\nor\n  D. for interior lots where the minimum horizontal distance between\nsuch windows opening onto a rear yard and any wall opposite such windows\non the same or another zoning lot is at least fifteen feet and the\nminimum size of such dwelling unit is twelve hundred square feet; or\n  E. in no event shall the distance between such windows and the rear\nlot line be less than five feet; and\n  F. yards and courts may be existing or may be new in buildings seven\nstories or less in height.\n  (ii) The minimum required ratio of window area opening onto a street,\nrear yard, or court to the floor area of every living room shall:\n  A. be ten percent where the floor area of such living room is less\nthan five hundred square feet; or\n  B. decrease, by one percent for every one hundred square feet greater\nthan five hundred square feet of floor area of such living room, to a\nminimum of five percent; and\n  C. in no event shall the distance between such window area and the\nrear lot line be less than five feet; and\n  D. at least fifty percent of the required window area shall be\nopenable.\n  (c) Ventilation of spaces other than living rooms, including enclosed\nwork spaces for joint living-work quarters for artists shall be either\nin accordance with this section or in accordance with the administrative\ncode of the city of New York.\n  (d) No building converted pursuant to this article shall be enlarged,\nexcept where the underlying zoning district permits residential use.\nSuch an enlargement shall be in conformance with the bulk regulations\nfor conforming residential use for new construction and shall be in\nconformance with the provisions of section twenty-six of this chapter.\nNo interior floor area enlargement shall be permitted except that a\nmezzanine with a minimum headroom of seven feet shall be allowed within\nindividual dwelling units, provided that the gross floor area of such\nmezzanine does not exceed one-third of the floor area contained within\nsuch dwelling unit. No mezzanine shall be included as floor area for the\npurpose of calculating the minimum required size of a living room or a\ndwelling unit or for calculating floor area devoted to dwellings. For\nthe purpose of this article a mezzanine may be constructed above the\nlevel of the roof of a building as long as the aggregate area of roof\nstructures does not exceed one-third of the total roof area and the roof\nstructures conform with applicable building code requirements.\n  (e) The kitchen located within dwelling units and having a floor area\nof eighty square feet or more shall have natural ventilation as\nprescribed in sections 27-749 and 27-750 of chapter twenty-seven of the\nadministrative code of the city of New York. Open kitchens shall be\nconsidered as part of the adjacent space where forty percent of the area\nof the separation between the spaces is open and without doors. If the\nfloor area of the combined space exceeds seven hundred fifty square\nfeet, a separate bedroom shall not be required. When the floor area is\nless than eighty square feet the kitchenette shall be ventilated by\neither of the following:\n  (i) Natural means complying with sections 27-749 and 27-750 of chapter\ntwenty-seven of the administrative code of the city of New York and\nfurther that the windows shall have a minimum width of twelve inches, a\nminimum area of three square feet, or ten percent of the floor area of\nthe space, whichever is greater and be so constructed that at least\none-half of their required area may be opened.  When the space is\nlocated at the top story, the window or windows may be replaced with a\nskylight whose minimum width shall be twelve inches, whose minimum area\nshall be four square feet or one-eighth of the floor area of the space,\nwhichever is greater and which shall have ventilation openings of at\nleast one-half of the required area of the skylight.\n  (ii) Mechanical means exhausting at least two cubic feet per minute of\nair per square foot of floor area. Where doors are to be used to\nseparate the space, the lower portion of each door shall have a metal\ngrill containing at least forty-eight square inches of clean openings or\nin lieu of such grill, two clear opening spaces may be provided, each of\nat least twenty-four square inches, one between the bottom of each door\nand the floor and the other between the top of each door and the head\njamb.\n  (f) When bathrooms and toilet rooms are ventilated by natural means,\nthe natural ventilation sources shall comply with sub-article 1205.0 of\nchapter twenty-six of the administrative code of the city of New York\nand shall have an unobstructed free area of at least five percent of the\nfloor area. In no case shall the net free area of the ventilation\nsources be less than one and one-half square feet. When bathrooms and\ntoilet rooms are vented by mechanical means, individual vent shafts or\nducts constructed of non-combustible materials with a minimum cross\nsection area of one square foot shall be utilized, the exhaust system\nshall be capable of exhausting at least fifty cubic feet per minute of\nair. Means shall be provided for egress of air by louvers in doors, by\nundercutting the door, or by transfer ducts, grills or other openings.\nToilet exhaust systems shall be arranged to expel air directly to the\noutdoors.\n  (g) A single station smoke detector shall be installed immediately\noutside each sleeping or bedroom area of each dwelling unit. Such device\nshall be designed and installed so as to detect smoke and activate an\nalarm, be reasonably free from false alarms and provide visible\nindication that the alarm is energized. Such device shall be directly\nconnected to the lighting circuit of the dwelling or rooming unit with\nno intervening wall switch and shall provide a warning signal clearly\naudible in all sleeping quarters with intervening doors closed. Cord\nconnected installations or smoke detectors which rely exclusively on\nbatteries are not permissible.  Such devices shall either be approved or\nlisted by an acceptable testing service or laboratory.\n  8. All openings from apartments leading into a public hall or corridor\nshall be provided with fireproof doors and assemblies with the doors\nself-closing. Partitions between apartments on each floor shall be one\nhour fire rated partitions. All windows opening on fire escapes shall be\nprovided with wire glass, unless such windows are protected by a wet\npipe sprinkler head with a minimum of one head per window.\n  9. Such buildings, in regard to egress, shall comply with the\nfollowing:\n  (a) In a non-fireproof building there shall be:\n  (i) one independently enclosed stairway and a fire escape from each\ndwelling unit; or\n  (ii) where the building is fully wet sprinklered and not in excess of\nseventy-five feet in height and not exceeding five thousand square feet\nin building area one independently enclosed stairway from each dwelling,\nand an independently enclosed hallway, of one hour fire rating where\nthere are two or more tenants on a floor; or\n  (iii) a sprinklered enclosed hallway with access to two independently\nenclosed stairs.\n  (b) In a fireproof building, there shall be:\n  (i) an enclosed hallway and two independently enclosed stairs; or\n  (ii) an enclosed hallway and one independently enclosed stair and a\nscreened exterior stair in conformance with section two hundred\nsixty-eight of the labor law with all glazed openings thereon equipped\nwith wire glass; or\n  (iii) for buildings not exceeding seven stories or seventy-five feet\nin height, egress conforming with the provisions of paragraph (a) of\nthis subdivision; or\n  (iv) egress conforming with the provisions of section one hundred two\nof this chapter.\n  (c) No more than two dwelling units shall open directly to a stair\nwithout an intervening enclosed hallway.\n  (d) Enclosed hallways shall have a one hour fire rating.\n  (e) Enclosed stairways shall be:\n  (i) one hour fire rated in non-fireproof buildings four stories or\nless in height; or\n  (ii) one hour fire rated and sprinklered in non-fireproof buildings\nsix stories or less in height; or\n  (iii) one hour fire rated in non-fireproof, fully sprinklered\nbuildings seven stories in height; or\n  (iv) two hour fire rated in all other cases.\n  (f) The travel distance to the means of egress shall comply with\n  the administrative code of the city of New York.\n  (g) Wooden stairs permitted by section one hundred eighty-nine of this\nchapter may be retained only if, in addition to meeting all of the\nrequirements set forth therein, they are within a fully wet-sprinklered\nenclosure, and the stair and landing soffit are fire retarded,\nnotwithstanding any other provisions.\n  (h) Every required stair shall extend through the roof by a bulkhead,\nexcept that a scuttle may be used if the dwelling does not exceed four\nstories and except that no bulkhead or scuttle is required where the\nroof is a peak roof with a pitch of more than fifteen degrees.\n  (i) Mezzanines shall be provided with a stair at least two feet six\ninches wide terminating not more than twenty feet from an exit door or\nfire escape, and all portions of such mezzanines shall be not more than\nfifty feet from such exit door or fire escape.\n  10. In buildings in excess of two stories in height, stairways shall\nbe provided with skylights at least twenty square feet in area, glazed\nwith plain glass with a wire screen over and under and provided with\nfixed or movable ventilators having a minimum open area of one hundred\nforty-four square inches.  In lieu of the skylight and ventilators, a\nwindow of equal area may be provided with fixed louvers having a minimum\nopen area of one hundred forty-four square inches installed in or\nimmediately adjacent to the window.\n  11. Except as otherwise provided in this article, all shafts shall be\nenclosed with incombustible material of two hour fire rating and comply\nwith the administrative code of the city of New York, provided, however,\nexisting shaft enclosures constructed in part of combustible material\nmay be retained if upgraded to obtain a two hour fire rating.\n  12. Every kitchen or kitchenette or cooking space in such building\nshall comply with the requirements imposed on multiple dwellings erected\nafter April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine by section\nthirty-three of this chapter.\n  13. Such building shall comply with all requirements imposed on\nmultiple dwellings erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred\ntwenty-nine by title three of article three of this chapter.\n  14. All interior iron columns in unsprinklered buildings shall be\nprotected by materials or assemblies having a fire-resistive rating of\nat least three hours. Where sprinklers are provided for an exterior wall\nas provided in subdivision one of this section or in a fully wet\nsprinklered building such columns shall be protected by two sprinkler\nheads located eighteen inches or more away and each on opposite sides of\nsuch column but no further than four feet.  Such sprinklers shall be\nprovided at any interior column where fire protection is omitted in\nnon-fireproof buildings.\n  15. The elevator shafts in such buildings shall be enclosed with\nincombustible material of two hour fire rating, except that existing\nelevator shaft enclosures constructed in part of combustible material\nmay be retained if upgraded to obtain a two hour fire rating; and have\nfireproof doors and assemblies with (a) the doors self-closing; or (b) a\nvestibule the walls of which shall be of non-combustible material and\nhave a minimum two hour fire resistive rating, with self-closing\nfireproof doors and be fire-stopped; or (c) where the elevator is\nmanually operated in fully sprinklered buildings have fireproof doors,\nwith approved interlock devices.\n  16. The requirements and standards prescribed in this section shall be\nsubject to variation in specific cases by the commissioner of buildings,\nor the board of standards and appeals, of such city under and pursuant\nto the provisions of paragraph two of subdivision b of section six\nhundred forty-five and section six hundred sixty-six of the New York\ncity charter.\n