§ 4 — Definitions

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