2023 New York Laws › MRE - Multiple Residence › Article 1 - Introductory Provisions; Definitions › 4 - Definitions.

§  4. Definitions. Words and terms used in this chapter shall have the
  following meanings:
1. "Alteration." Any  change  in  the  structural  parts  or  existing
  facilities  of  any  building  or  the  moving  of any building from one
  location or position to another.
2. "Apartment," or "suite." That portion of a dwelling  consisting  of
  one or more living rooms, and occupied by the members of a family, which
  group of rooms is separated from all other groups within a dwelling.
3. "Basement." A story partly below the curb level but having at least
  one-half of its height above the curb level. A basement shall be counted
  as  a  story in determining height, except as otherwise provided in this
  chapter.
4. "Boarding house,"  "furnished  room  house,"  "rooming  house,"  or
  "tourist  house."  A  multiple  dwelling,  in  which there are less than
  thirty sleeping rooms occupied primarily by transients  who  are  lodged
  with  or without meals, and in which there are provided such services as
  are incidental to its use as a temporary residence. Also a dwelling  two
  or more stories in height, occupied by one or two families and with five
  or  more  transient  boarders,  roomers or lodgers residing with any one
  family.
5. "Cellar." An enclosed space in a dwelling having more than one-half
  of its height below the curb level. However, where  a  dwelling  is  set
  back from the curb level in such a manner that the enclosed space in the
  dwelling  is above the curb level but at least one-half of its height is
  below the land immediately adjacent to the dwelling, such space shall be
  deemed a cellar. A cellar shall not be counted as a story.
5-a. "Child caring institutions."  Institutions  for  the  residential
  care  of  children  operated  by  authorized  agencies as defined by the
  social welfare law.
6. "Commission." The state building code commission in  the  executive
  department of the state of New York.
7.  "Converted  or  conversion." A change from non-dwelling or private
  dwelling use to multiple dwelling occupancy after July  first,  nineteen
  hundred fifty-two.
8.  "Court." A space, other than a yard, on the same lot as a dwelling
  and open to the sky. "Inner court." A court not extending to a street or
  yard. "Outer court." A court extending to a street or yard.
9. "Curb level." The level of the curb at the center of the  front  of
  the  building, for the purpose of measuring the height of any portion of
  a building; except that where a building faces on more than one  street,
  the  curb  level is the average of the levels of the curbs at the center
  of each front. Where no curb elevation has  been  established  the  mean
  level  of  the  land  immediately  adjacent  to  the  dwelling  shall be
  considered the curb level, unless the municipal engineer shall establish
  such curb level or its equivalent.
10. "Department." The department, bureau, division, agency  or  person
  charged with the enforcement of this chapter.
11.  "Dining  bay,"  "dining  recess"  or "dinette." A recess used for
  dining purposes off a living room, foyer or kitchen.
12. "Dormitory." Any room occupied for sleeping purposes  by  five  or
  more  persons. A "cubicle" is a small, partially enclosed sleeping space
  within a dormitory, with or without a window.
13. "Dwelling." A building or structure which is occupied in whole  or
  in part as the home, residence or sleeping place of one or more persons.
14. "Family." One or more persons with whom there may be not more than
  four  boarders,  roomers  or  lodgers  all  living  together in a common
  household. A boarder,  roomer  or  lodger  residing  within  the  family

  household  is  a  person  who  pays  a  consideration  therefor and such
  residence is not an incident of employment therein.
15.  "Fire  alarm system." An approved system of sounding a fire alarm
  or alarms installed in such a manner that it can  be  operated  manually
  from any story.
"Fire-detecting   system."  An  approved  system  which  automatically
  detects a fire or an abnormal rise in temperature and  actuates  a  fire
  alarm.
16.  "Fire-escape."  A  combination of outside balconies and stairs of
  incombustible materials, providing an unobstructed means of egress  from
  a building.
17.   "Fireproof."  Made  of  incombustible  materials  with  standard
  fire-resistive ratings not less than  those  required  for  a  fireproof
  multiple dwelling.
18.  "Fireproof  multiple  dwelling." One in which the walls and other
  structural members are of incombustible materials or assemblies  meeting
  all  of  the  requirements  of  the  local  building  code for fireproof
  construction, if any, and if there be none, then of the  state  building
  construction  code  for  fireproof  construction  applicable to multiple
  dwellings.
19. "Fire-retarded." Covered with metal lath  plastered  with  two  or
  more  coats  of  cement or gypsum plaster or otherwise protected against
  fire with materials of standard fire-resistive ratings of at  least  one
  hour.  Fireproof  or fire-resistive material shall always be accepted as
  meeting any requirement for fire-retarding.
20.  "Fire-resistive."  Covered  or   protected   with   incombustible
  materials  of  standard  fire-resistive  ratings  of  at least one hour.
  Fireproofing or fire-retarding shall always be accepted as  meeting  any
  requirement for "fire-resistive" materials.
21.  "Fire-stair."  A  fireproof  stair,  enclosed in fireproof walls,
  within the body of the building which it serves, to which access may  be
  had only through self-closing fireproof doors.
22.  "Fire-stopping."  The  closing  of  concealed draft openings with
  brick or other incombustible materials to form an effectual fire barrier
  between stories, and between the ceiling of  the  upper  story  and  the
  space under the roof.
23.  "Foyer." A space within an apartment or suite used as an entrance
  hall directly from a public hall.
24.  "Frame  dwellings."  A  non-fireproof  dwelling  of   which   any
  structural  member of its exterior walls is of wood. A structural member
  shall not be deemed to include the veneer or facing of any such wall.
25. "Height." The vertical distance of a dwelling from the curb  level
  to  the level of the highest point of the roof beams, except that in the
  case of pitched roofs, it is the vertical distance from the  curb  level
  to  the mean height level of the gable or roof above the vertical street
  wall. An attic not used or arranged to be used for human occupancy shall
  not be considered in measuring the height of a dwelling.
26. "Hotel." A dwelling in which there are  thirty  or  more  sleeping
  rooms  in one building or structure occupied primarily by transients who
  are lodged with or without meals; and there are provided  such  services
  as are incidental to the use thereof as a temporary residence.
27.  "Kitchen." A space, fifty-nine square feet or more in floor area,
  used for cooking or warming of food.
28. "Kitchenette." A space, less than fifty-nine square feet in  floor
  area, used for cooking or warming of food.
29. "Living room." Any room in a multiple dwelling except:
a.  A  public hall, public vestibule, public room or other public part
  of a dwelling;
b. A hall, corridor or passageway  entirely  within  an  apartment  or
  suite;
c.  A  foyer, the floor area of which does not exceed ten percentum of
  the total floor area of the apartment or suite;
d. A kitchenette;
e. A dining bay, dining recess or dinette fifty-five  square  feet  or
  less in area;
f. A bathroom or water-closet compartment.
30.  "Local  building  code."  The  building  code, if any, adopted or
  enacted by a city, town or village and which is in force in  such  city,
  town  or  village, or in such town or portion thereof outside the limits
  of any village or city, respectively, or the state building construction
  code where applicable with respect thereto.
31. "Lodging house." A dwelling, other than a hotel, in which  persons
  are  housed  in a dormitory or dormitories, whether or not the space for
  sleeping accommodations therein is divided into cubicles, for  a  single
  night or for less than a week at one time.
32.  "Lot."  A  parcel  or  plot of ground which is or may be occupied
  wholly or in part by  a  dwelling,  including  the  spaces  occupied  by
  accessory or other structures and any open or unoccupied spaces thereon,
  but not including any part of an abutting public street or thoroughfare.
a.  "Corner  lot." A lot of which at least two adjacent sides abut for
  their full length upon streets or public places not less than forty feet
  in width. Any other lot is an "interior lot." That portion of  a  corner
  lot  in  excess  of one hundred feet from the widest street on which the
  lot abuts shall be considered an interior lot.
b. "Front of a lot." That boundary line which abuts on the street, or,
  if there be more than one street abutting, on the street  designated  by
  the owner. "Rear of a lot" is the side opposite the front.
c.  "Depth  of  a  lot." The distance from the front of the lot to the
  extreme rear line of the lot. The depth of an  irregular-shaped  lot  is
  its mean depth.
d.  "Lot running through from street to street." A lot where the front
  and rear lines abut for their entire lengths upon streets or open public
  places. When either of such lines exceeds the other in  length  by  more
  than  twenty  per  centum, that part of the lot contiguous to the excess
  length of the longer line shall be deemed an interior lot.
e. "Back to back lots." Lots or portions of lots which are on opposite
  sides of the same part of a rear line common to both  and  the  opposite
  street  lines  on  which  the lots front are parallel with each other or
  make an angle with each other of not more than forty-five degrees.
33. "Multiple dwelling." A dwelling which is  either  rented,  leased,
  let  or  hired  out,  to be occupied, or is occupied as the temporary or
  permanent  residence  or  home  of  three  or   more   families   living
  independently of each other, including but not limited to the following:
  a tenament, flat house, maisonette apartment, apartment house, apartment
  hotel,  tourist  house,  bachelor  apartment,  studio  apartment, duplex
  apartment, kitchenette apartment, hotel, lodging house,  rooming  house,
  boarding house, boarding and nursery school, furnished room house, club,
  sorority   house,   fraternity  house,  college  and  school  dormitory,
  convalescent, old age or nursing homes  or  residences.  It  shall  also
  include a dwelling, two or more stories in height, and with five or more
  boarders, roomers or lodgers residing with any one family.
34.  "Non-fireproof  dwelling."  A  dwelling  which  does not meet the
  requirements for a fireproof dwelling.
35. "Occupied" or "used." Such terms shall be construed as if followed
  by the words "or arranged, designed,  or  intended  to  be  occupied  or
  used."
36. "Owner." Owner or owners of the freehold of the premises or lesser
  estate  therein, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee of rents,
  receiver, executor, trustee, lessee, agent, or any other person, firm or
  corporation, directly or indirectly in control of a dwelling.
37.  "Premises."  Land,  improvements  and  appurtenances  or any part
  thereof.
38. "Private dwelling." A dwelling occupied exclusively for  residence
  purposes  by one or two families and having not more than four boarders,
  roomers or lodgers residing with any one family.
39. "Public hall." A hall,  corridor  or  passageway  not  within  any
  apartment  or  suite  of  private  rooms. "Public vestibule." A hall not
  within any apartment or suite or private rooms  providing  access  to  a
  stair  or  elevator  and not wider than seven feet nor longer than twice
  the width of the stair or elevator shaft opening upon such hall.
40. "Public part" or "public room." A space available for common usage
  or used exclusively for storage purposes or for mechanical equipment  of
  the dwelling.
41.  "Section."  A part of a multiple dwelling other than an apartment
  or suite, separated as  a  unit  from  the  rest  of  such  dwelling  by
  fireproof construction.
42.  "Shaft."  A  space  extending  through  one  or more stories of a
  dwelling connecting a series of openings therein or any story or stories
  and the roof, and includes exterior and interior shafts whether for air,
  light, elevator, dumbwaiter or any other purpose.
43. "Shall." The word "shall" is always mandatory.
44. "Single-room occupancy." The occupancy by one or two persons of  a
  single  room,  or  two or more rooms which are joined together separated
  from all other rooms within an apartment in a multiple dwelling so  that
  the occupant or occupants thereof reside separately and independently of
  the other occupant or occupants of the same apartment.
45.  "Sprinkler  system."  A system of piping connected to one or more
  sprinkler heads with fusible struts which will be constructed to fuse at
  a specified temperature so as to discharge an effective spray  to  cover
  the  area  to  be  sprinkled. Such system may be either an automatic wet
  pipe type in which all pipes and sprinkler heads are at all times filled
  with water when the building is occupied, or a dry pipe system in  which
  the  pipes and sprinkler heads are filled with air, either compressed or
  at atmospheric pressure,  and  the  water  supply  is  controlled  by  a
  dry-pipe valve.
46.  "Stair."  A flight or flights of steps including any landings and
  parts of public halls through which it is necessary  to  pass  in  going
  from one level to another.
47.  "Stair  hall."  A  part  of  a  public  hall  through which it is
  necessary to pass in going from the end of one flight of  steps  to  the
  beginning  of another but shall not include an area that is also used to
  provide direct ingress to and egress from an apartment or suite.
48. "Story." A space between the level of one finished floor  and  the
  level  of  the  next higher finished floor, or, if the top story, of the
  space between the level of the highest finished floor and the top of the
  highest roof beams, or, if the first story, of  the  space  between  the
  level  of the finished floor and the finished ceiling immediately above.
  For the purpose of measuring height by stories of dwellings  erected  on
  or  after  July  first, nineteen hundred fifty-two, one additional story
  shall be added for each twelve feet or fraction thereof that  the  first
  story  exceeds  fifteen  feet  in  height,  and  for each twelve feet or
  fraction thereof that any story above the  first  story  exceeds  twelve
  feet in height.
49.  "Street  wall."  A wall of a building, at any level, nearest to a
  street line abutting the property.
50.  "Suite."  That  portion  of  a dwelling consisting of one or more
  living rooms and occupied by the members of a  family,  which  group  of
  rooms is separated from all other groups within a dwelling.
51.  "Window  dimensions." The measurements between the stop-beads or,
  if there are no stop-beads, between the sides and the head and  sill  of
  the sash opening.
52.  "Yard." An open space on the same lot with a dwelling between the
  extreme rear line of the lot and the extreme rear wall of the dwelling.