§ 66 — Lodging houses

§ 66. Lodging houses. 1. It shall be unlawful to occupy any lodging\nhouse unless such dwelling conforms to the provisions of the specific\nsections enumerated in section twenty-five to the extent required\ntherein, including the provisions of this section, and to all other\napplicable provisions of this chapter.\n 2. a. No wood or other combustible facing shall be permitted on the\nwalls, partitions or ceilings of entrance halls or other public halls or\nstairs, except a flat baseboard ten inches or less in height. The stair\nstring, handrails, soffits, fascias, railings, balustrades and newel\nposts shall be constructed of hard incombustible material and shall be\nof such sizes and secured in such manner as approved by the department.\n b. The walls and ceilings of all entrance halls, stair halls and other\npublic halls and stairs shall be fire-retarded on the hall or stair side\nwith half-inch plaster board covered with twenty-six gauge metal or\nother materials approved by the department.\n c. Except partitions forming existing cubicles, flat baseboards not\nmore than ten inches high and door and window assemblies not otherwise\nrequired to be fire-retarded, all wood partitions and all combustible\ncoverings on walls or partitions throughout the portion of the dwelling\nused for lodging-house purposes shall be protected with incombustible\nmaterial approved by the department.\n d. The cellar ceiling and the ceiling of every story shall be\nfire-retarded. The department may accept an existing ceiling if it is in\ngood condition and plastered, or covered with metal or with half-inch\nplaster board covered with metal, or other materials approved by the\ndepartment, except that the ceiling over and the floor beneath any\nfurnace, stove, boiler or hot-water heater shall be fire-retarded and\nsuch fire-retarding shall extend for a distance of at least four feet\nbeyond the sides and rear and eight feet in front of such furnace, stove\nor heater. Metal breechings and flues connected to such devices shall be\nmade secure and be protected in conformity with regulations adopted by\nthe department.\n e. Every window not opening to the outer air in an entrance, stair or\nother public hall shall be removed, and the opening closed and\nfire-retarded, except that interior windows or similar openings in\npartitions forming the enclosure of entrance, stair or other public\nhalls may be retained if they are used in the operation and maintenance\nof the lodging house and are protected by automatic fire windows.\n f. There shall be one or more completely enclosed compartments remote\nfrom any stairway for the storage of mattresses, linens, brooms, mops\nand other paraphernalia incidental to the occupancy and maintenance of\nthe lodging house, and such paraphernalia shall be stored in no other\nportion of such dwelling. The partitions forming each such compartment\nshall be fire-retarded and shall be provided with a fireproof door and\ndoor assembly with the door self-closing. Each such compartment shall be\nventilated in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. Any\nspace which is used for the storage of mattresses, in addition to\nconforming to the other provisions of this section, shall be provided\nwith a window ten square feet or more in area, and such window shall\nopen upon a street or yard.\n g. There shall be provided on each lodging-house story one or more\ncontainers of metal or other hard incombustible material, with\nself-closing lids, in which all scrap and refuse of a combustible nature\nshall be placed until its disposal.\n h. Insecticides and other fluids containing inflammable, volatile or\ncombustible material shall be stored in a completely enclosed\nfire-retarded room or compartment, ventilated in accordance with\nregulations adopted by the department, and only under authority of a\npermit from the fire department.\n 3. a. In non-fireproof lodging houses there shall be in all\ndormitories, entrance and other public halls, stairs, storage rooms,\ncellars and other parts of the dwelling an automatic wet-pipe sprinkler\nsystem, installed and maintained in conformity with regulations adopted\nby the department. In connection with such sprinkler system there shall\nbe an automatic closed-circuit alarm system so arranged and installed as\nto give warning, at a recognized central station satisfactory to the\nfire department, of the closure of any valve controlling water supply to\nany of the sprinklers and of the operation of any sprinkler head. Such\nalarm system shall also be so installed and maintained that when a\nsprinkler operates an alarm bell satisfactory to the fire department,\neight inches in diameter or at least capable of being heard clearly\nthroughout the room, will sound in each dormitory and in the office of\nthe lodging house, and that such alarm system can also be operated\nmanually. Such sprinkler and alarm systems shall have supervisory and\nmaintenance service satisfactory to the department and the fire\ndepartment respectively. Any existing fire alarm or sprinkler system\nwhich can be altered or adapted to meet the requirements of this\nparagraph may be so used instead of a completely new system.\n b. In fireproof lodging houses all dormitories, entrance and other\npublic halls, stairs, storage rooms, cellars and other parts of the\ndwelling shall either be equipped with a combined sprinkler and fire\nalarm system as required for the lodging houses provided for in\nparagraph a or be equipped throughout with an automatic, thermostatic,\nclosed-circuit fire alarm system. Such alarm system shall be so arranged\nand installed that it can also be operated manually and that it will\ngive warning, at a recognized central station satisfactory to the fire\ndepartment, of the operation of any part of the alarm system. Such alarm\nsystem shall also be so installed and maintained as to actuate an alarm\nbell satisfactory to the fire department and at least eight inches in\ndiameter in each dormitory in the dwelling and in the lodging-house\noffice when the alarm system operates. Such alarm system shall have\nsupervisory and maintenance service satisfactory to the fire department.\n 4. a. There shall be at least two means of unobstructed egress from\neach lodging-house story, which shall be remote from each other. The\nfirst means of egress shall be to a street either directly or by an\nenclosed stair having unobstructed, direct access thereto. If the story\nis above the entrance story, the second means of egress shall be by an\noutside fire-escape constructed in accordance with the provisions of\nsection fifty-three or by an additional enclosed stair. Such second\nmeans of egress shall be accessible without passing through the first\nmeans of egress.\n b. All doors opening upon entrance halls, stair halls, other public\nhalls or stairs or elevator, dumbwaiter or other shafts, and the door\nassemblies, shall be fireproof with the doors made self-closing by a\ndevice approved by the department, and such doors shall not be held open\nby any device whatever. All openings on the course of a fire-escape\nshall be provided with such doors and assemblies or with fireproof\nwindows and assemblies, with the windows self-closing and glazed with\nwire glass, such doors or windows and their assemblies to be acceptable\nto the department.\n c. There shall be unobstructed aisles providing access to all required\nmeans of egress in all dormitories. Main aisles, approved as such by the\ndepartment to provide adequate approaches to the required means of\negress, shall be three feet or more in width, except that no aisle need\nbe more than two feet six inches wide if it is intersected at intervals\nof not more than fifty feet by crossover aisles at least three feet wide\nleading to other aisles or to an approved means of egress.\n d. Every required means of egress from the lodging-house part of the\ndwelling shall be indicated by a sign reading "EXIT" in red letters at\nleast eight inches high on a white background illuminated at all times\nduring the day and night by a light of at least twenty-five watts or\nequivalent illumination. Such light shall be maintained in a keyless\nsocket. On all lodging-house stories where doors, openings, passageways\nor aisles are not visible from all portions of such stories, and in\nother parts of the dwelling which may be used in entering or leaving the\nlodging-house part and in which a similar need exists, signs with easily\nreadable letters as least eight inches in height, and continuously and\nsufficiently illuminated by artificial light at all times when the\nnatural light is not sufficient to make them easily readable, shall be\nmaintained in conspicuous locations, indicating the direction of travel\nto the nearest means of egress. At least one such sign shall be easily\nvisible from the doorway of each cubicle.\n e. Access from the public hall at the top story to the roof shall be\nprovided by means of a bulkhead or a scuttle acceptable to the\ndepartment. Every such scuttle and the stair or ladder leading thereto\nshall be located within the stair enclosure.\n 5. The number of persons accommodated on any story in a lodging house\nshall not be greater than the sum of the following components.\n a. Twenty-two persons for each full multiple of twenty-two inches in\nthe smallest clear width of each means of egress approved by the\ndepartment, other than a fire-escape.\n b. Twenty persons for each lawful fire-escape accessible from such\nstory if it is above the entrance story.\n 6. Existing cubicles complying with all other provisions of this\nsection may be maintained, provided the top of the enclosure of every\ncubicle is at least two feet from the ceiling. Any rearrangement of\nexisting cubicles that may be made necessary by the provisions of this\nsection shall be lawful. Cubicles authorized by this section shall not\nbe considered rooms or alcoves but parts of the rooms in which they are\nconstructed.\n 7. The department shall cause all lodging houses to be inspected at\nintervals of three months or less. All sections and parts of every\nlodging house shall also be inspected by a clerk or watchman in the\nemploy of the owner at least once in every two hours.\n 8. a. The department shall have power to make supplementary\nregulations relating to fire-escapes, protection from fire, and the\ninstallation of sprinkler systems in lodging houses and the fire\ndepartment shall have power to make such regulations relating to fire\nalarms therein.\n b. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to abrogate any powers or\nduties vested in the fire commissioner or the fire department of the\ncity of New York by chapter nineteen of the administrative code of the\nsaid city.\n