Title MDW, Multiple Dwelling

§ 1. Short title. This chapter shall be known as the "multiple dwelling law."

§ 10. Time for compliance. All alterations required by this chapter upon dwellings erected before its adoption by or application to any city, town or village, in whole or in part, shall, unless specifically provided otherwise in this chapter, be made not later than five years af…

§ 100. Application of article four. The provisions of this article shall apply to fireproof multiple dwellings erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, and to such dwellings only. They shall apply to all such fireproof dwellings unless their application is e…

§ 101. Requirements for fireproof construction. 1. Every such dwelling exceeding six stories or seventy-five feet in height shall be fireproof. No multiple dwelling shall be altered so as to exceed either of such heights without being made fireproof. 2. In a fireproof multiple d…

§ 102. Stairs. 1. Except as otherwise specifically provided in subdivisions three and four and in paragraphs b to j inclusive of subdivision six, every multiple dwelling which exceeds two stories in height shall have at least two fire-stairs. Such fire-stairs shall extend from t…

§ 103. Egress from apartments. 1. a. Except as provided in paragraph b of this subdivision, there shall be at least one means of egress from each apartment on each and every story of such apartment, and a second means of egress if the first means is not within fifty feet of ever…

§ 104. Bulkheads. 1. Every stair, fire-stair and fire-tower required by this chapter to extend to the level of the roof or to any terrace formed by a setback shall extend to and through a fireproof bulkhead or other fireproof enclosure in such roof or terrace approved by the dep…

§ 105. Separation and ventilation of stairs. 1. In a dwelling in which one or more passenger elevators are maintained and operated opening upon a public hall at every story, all stairs, fire-stairs and fire-towers shall be completely separated from one another and from every ele…

§ 106. Cellar and basement stairs. A cellar or basement stair may be located inside the dwelling, but shall not be located underneath a stair leading to the upper stories unless it is a basement stair leading upward from a basement which is the main entrance story of the dwellin…

§ 107. Public halls. 1. Every public vestibule or other public hall shall comply either with the provisions of section one hundred forty-nine for non-fireproof multiple dwellings, so far as applicable, or with the provisions of subdivision two of this section, except that the pr…

§ 108. Partitions. All partitions shall rest directly upon the fireproof floor construction and never upon any wood flooring, and shall extend to the fireproof construction of the floor or roof above.

§ 11. Dwellings damaged or moved. 1. If a multiple dwelling be damaged by fire or other cause to the extent of two-thirds or more of its value at the time of such damage exclusive of the value of the foundation, such dwelling shall not be repaired or rebuilt except in conformity…

§ 115. Interior water-closets and bathrooms. Interior water-closet compartments and bathrooms contained in fireproof multiple dwellings shall comply with the applicable provisions of section seventy-six.

§ 116. Water-closets in certain class B multiple dwellings. Water-closets contained in certain class B multiple dwellings shall comply with the applicable provisions of section seventy-six.

§ 117. Employees' water-closets. Water-closet compartments provided for domestic servants of tenants in multiple dwellings shall comply with the applicable provisions of section seventy-six.

§ 12. Prohibited uses. 1. It shall be unlawful to use any multiple dwelling or any part of the lot or premises thereof for the purpose of prostitution or assignation of any description. 2. It shall be unlawful to keep any horse, cow, calf, swine, rabbit, sheep, goat, chicken or …

§ 120. Use of dwelling units in a class A multiple dwelling for other than permanent residence purposes. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, within a class A multiple dwelling to which this article is applicable the use of dwelling units as a hotel for…

§ 121. Prohibiting advertising that promotes the use of dwelling units in a class A multiple dwelling for other than permanent residence purposes. 1. It shall be unlawful to advertise occupancy or use of dwelling units in a class A multiple dwelling for occupancy that would viol…

§ 13. Application of chapter to existing dwellings. Any building erected and occupied on or before April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, or thereafter, as a tenement, which is not recorded as such in the department, shall be required to comply with all the provisions g…

§ 14. Application of chapter to uncompleted dwellings. 1. The provisions of this chapter relating to multiple dwellings erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall not apply to any multiple dwelling for which plans were on file with the department or a pe…

§ 140. Application of article five. The provisions of this article shall apply to non-fireproof multiple dwellings erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, and to such dwellings only. They shall apply to all such non-fireproof dwellings unless their applicat…

§ 141. Height. Any such dwelling which is seventy-five feet or less in height above the curb level and has six stories or less may be of non-fireproof construction.

§ 142. Sub-curb uses. 1. When such a dwelling is more than eighty feet in height measured from the lowest point of the yard or of any curb on which any part of the dwelling faces, whichever is lower, and any room in such dwelling below the level of the highest curb which any par…

§ 143. Construction of first floor. 1. The first floor above the lowest cellar, or, if there be no cellar, above the lowest story, shall be fireproof or, if the dwelling be three stories or less in height, fire-retarded. Said first floor shall be unpierced except for a stair lea…

§ 144. Egress from dwellings. 1. A dwelling three or more stories in height shall have at least two means of egress extending to the roof from an entrance story, street, court or yard. The entrances to such means of egress at every story shall be at least fifteen feet distant fr…

§ 145. Fire-escapes. Every fire-escape shall be located, arranged, constructed and maintained as provided in section fifty-three.

§ 146. Egress from apartments. 1. There shall be at least two means of egress from every apartment or suite. Such means shall be remote from each other. Except where it opens into a stair as permitted in subdivision three, one means shall be to a public hall connecting with a st…

§ 147. Bulkheads and scuttles. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision two of this section, every required stair, fire-stair and fire-tower in dwellings three stories or more in height shall have a bulkhead constructed as provided for fireproof dwellings in section one hu…

§ 148. Public stairs. 1. Every stair, fire-stair and fire-tower shall, except as otherwise provided in subdivisions three and four of this section and section one hundred forty-nine, be constructed as provided for fire-stairs in sections one hundred two and one hundred five for …

§ 149. Public halls. 1. Every public hall shall be everywhere at least three feet in clear width. 2. Every public hall shall be completely enclosed with fireproof floor, ceiling and walls, and, in dwellings erected under plans filed in the department after September first, ninet…

§ 15. Multiple dwelling emergency information. 1. In the case of an emergency affecting a multiple dwelling, the owner or agent of such multiple dwelling shall provide emergency service personnel, upon the request of such emergency service personnel, including but not limited to…

§ 150. Cellar and basement stairs. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, there shall be no inside stair communicating between the lowest cellar or the lowest story, if there be no cellar, and the floor next above, but any stair communicating between such floors shall …

§ 151. Spaces under stairs. 1. It shall be unlawful to have a closet of any kind under any public stair. 2. The space beneath every stair from the foot of the stair to a point where the soffit is four feet or more above the floor shall be entirely enclosed with unpierced fire-re…

§ 152. Fire-stopping. 1. In every wall where wooden furring is used every course of masonry from the under side to the top of any floor beams shall project a distance of at least two inches beyond each face of the wall that is not on the outside of the dwelling; and whenever flo…

§ 160. Water-closets. Water-closet compartments in class B non-fireproof multiple dwellings shall comply with the applicable provisions of section seventy-six.

§ 161. Application of article five-A. The provisions of this article shall apply to garden-type maisonette dwelling projects erected under plans filed with the department on or after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred fifty-four. They shall apply to all such dwellings unless the…

§ 162. Single ownership. The owner of any site or plot upon which a garden-type maisonette dwelling project is proposed to be erected shall execute and file in the office of the recording officer in the county where deeds of conveyances are recorded an instrument in writing whic…

§ 163. Construction and arrangement. Garden-type maisonette dwelling projects may be erected on condition that they comply with the following provisions: 1. The dwelling units in such projects, together, or in their aggregate, do not exceed in superficial area thirty-five per ce…

§ 170. Application of article six and other provisions to converted dwellings. The provisions of this article shall apply to converted dwellings and to such dwellings only. They shall apply to all converted dwellings unless their application is expressly limited to dwellings of …

§ 170-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a dwelling, other than a frame dwelling, three stories or less in height erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine as a one or two-family dwelling may be converted to a multiple dwelling to be occup…

§ 171. Alterations. 1. A building, other than a frame building, originally occupied as a one-family or two-family dwelling may be altered to a converted dwelling if its bulk and volume has not been increased since April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, and if it is conv…

§ 172. Yards and courts. 1. Except as provided in subdivision two, there shall be a yard thirteen feet or more in depth across the entire lot in the rear of every converted dwelling, or an outer court three feet or more in width which alone or with any open space at the rear of …

§ 173. Windows in rooms. 1. Except as provided in subdivision four of section one hundred seventy-seven every living room shall have one or more windows opening directly upon a street or upon a yard or court with dimensions conforming to those specified in section one hundred se…

§ 174. Size of rooms. Every living room shall contain five hundred fifty cubic feet or more of air, shall be at least six feet wide at its narrowest part and shall have a minimum height of seven feet if such room is in the basement, of seven feet at all points more than six feet…

§ 175. Alcoves. 1. Every alcove, except a cooking space or foyer, shall be deemed a living room and shall open into an immediately adjoining living room which opens directly on a yard or street and in buildings not over two stories in height, such living room may open directly o…

§ 176. Cooking spaces. If space exists or is provided for cooking, such space shall comply with the provisions of section thirty-three.

§ 177. Rooms in basements and cellars. 1. No room in any cellar shall be occupied for living purposes, except as provided in subdivision six of section thirty-four or in subdivision three of this section. 2. A room occupied for living purposes in a basement shall comply with the…

§ 178. Lighting and ventilation of stairs. Where the stair and public halls are not provided on each story with windows opening to a street, yard or court, a skylight equipped with ridge ventilators having an opening of forty square inches or more shall be provided in the roof o…

§ 179. Privacy. In every apartment of three or more rooms in every class A converted dwelling there shall be access to every living room without passing through any bedroom, and to at least one water-closet compartment within the apartment from every bedroom without passing thro…

§ 185. Cellar ceilings. 1. Except as provided in paragraph g of subdivision three of section one hundred seventy-one, the ceiling of the cellar, or of the lowest story if there be no cellar, shall be fire-retarded unless such dwelling is three stories or less in height and the c…