Mayor Adams Signs Bills Strengthening Fire Safety Enforcement and Education
Channel: NYC Mayor's Office
Date: 01/06/2022

Mayor Adams Signs Legislation Strengthening Fire Safety Enforcement and Education in Wake of Bronx Apartment Fire

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today signed five pieces of fire safety legislation into law, strengthening enforcement, education, and outreach efforts in the wake of the tragic Bronx apartment fire this past January. The laws include shortening the timeline of re-inspection for self-closing door violations, increasing the fine for building owners who do not cure violations, banning the sale of certain space heaters that do not meet certain safety standards, and codifying increased fire safety outreach. 

The mayor signed the following bills into law today:

Intro. 104 clarifies the definition of a self-closing door to mean a door equipped with a device that will ensure the door, when opened and released, returns to the closed position and self-latches shut.

Intro. 105 shortens the timeline for correction of self-closing door violations from 21 days to 14 days, requires HPD to reinspect a self-closing door violation no later than 20 days after the expiration of the 14-day correction period, and increases penalties for building owners who do not cure those violations. It establishes a civil penalty range of $250-$500 for the violation of the self-closing door requirement and a $250/day penalty from the date set for correction of the violation until it is corrected. The law also increases civil penalties for the false certification of corrections for Class A, B, and C violations of the Housing Maintenance Code.

Intro. 106 bans the sale of electric space heaters that do not have automatic shut off capabilities if the heater falls over or overheats, and requires that space heaters sold in New York City be labeled by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.

Intro. 131 expands fire safety education to require FDNY to provide educational materials and conduct outreach relating to the safe use of electric space heaters in residences. The law — which takes effect as FDNY continues to conduct a robust fire safety education program — also requires that such educational materials be made available to tenants in the top 10 most common languages in New York City. 

Intro. 155 prohibits the DOB from charging filing fees for a permit to repair fire damaged conditions of one-, two- or three-family homes. If construction defects are discovered at such fire-damaged locations, this fee exemption would extend to other dwellings within the same homeowner or cooperative association to correct the same construction defect. The law will diminish repair costs for owners remediating fire-damaged properties and construction defects found during the remediation process and task DOB with conducting targeted outreach showcasing the fee-exemption program.

The signing of these bills into law follow Mayor Adams’ signing of Executive Order 12 in March that strengthened fire safety enforcement and outreach to increase coordination between FDNY and HPD inspectors to identify safety violations earlier, as well as increased fire safety compliance. 

City Hall Blue Room
Lower Manhattan

June 1, 2022