Permitpedia

EMERGENCY ESCAPE AND RESCUE OPENING

1995-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

An operable window, door or other similar device that provides for a means of escape and access for rescue in the event of an emergency

PREMISES

1983-12-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

Land, improvements thereon, or any part thereof.

PREDOMINANTLY BUILT-UP AREA

1983-12-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

A PREDOMINANTLY BUILT-UP AREA is a block entirely within R4 or R5 Districts including a Commercial District mapped within such Residential Districts having a maximum area of 4 acres which is developed with buildings on zoning lots comprising 50 percent or more of the area of the block. However, a predominantly built-up area shall not include a block which is located partly in a R4A, R4-1, R4B, R5B or R5D District.

MANHATTAN CORE

1986-12-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

The MANHATTAN CORE is the area within Manhattan Community
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

SCISSOR STAIR

1979-12-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

Two interlocking stairways providing two separate paths of egress located within one stairwell enclosure.

PORCH

1983-12-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

An unenclosed, unroofed entrance with steps to a building located at or below the floor level of the first story above a cellar or basement.

REVOCABLE CONSENT

1980-12-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

A REVOCABLE CONSENT is a grant of a priveledge to an individual or organization to construct and maintain certain structures on, over, or under the inalienable property of the City, which never relinquishes its right to revoke such a grant.

See Permitspace Entry regarding Revocable Consents.

FLOOR AREA RATIO

1994-12-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

FLOOR AREA RATIO is the total FLOOR AREA on a ZONING LOT, divided by the LOT AREA of that ZONING LOT. (For example, a BUILDING containing 20,000 square feet of FLOOR AREA on a ZONING LOT of 10,000 square feet has a FLOOR AREA RATIO of 2.0.)

FAR

1994-12-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

FAR is a Zoning abbreviation which stands for FLOOR AREA RATIO

AS-OF-RIGHT

1999-12-10T18:00:00.000-05:00

An AS-OF-RIGHT development complies with all applicable zoning regulations and does not require any discretionary action by the City Planning Commission or Board of Standards and Appeals. (A Variance is not required)

RECONSIDERATION

1980-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

A RECONSIDERATION is a written document submitted by an ARCHITECT or ENGINEER to the NYC Department of Buildings Commissioner to request variance from strict compliance with a section of the BUILDING CODE or ZONING RESOLUTION.

RECONSIDERATIONS are often sought when an OBJECTION has been issued by a Department of Buildings Plan Examiner.

RECONSIDERATIONS must be backed by a sound argument, and must have a basis within the Code or Zoning Resolution for acceptance.

The RECONSIDERATION may be either ACCEPTED or DENIED by the Commissioner in writing.

IMD

1990-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

IMD stands for Interim Multiple Dwelling.

An Interim Multiple Dwelling is a building which:

1. Possesses no residential certificate of occupancy pursuant to §301 of the Multiple Dwelling Law;

2. Was used in the past for manufacturing, commercial or warehousing purposes

3. Had three or more residential tenants living in separate apartments in the building in the 20-month period between April 1, 1980, and December 1, 1981 (the "statutory window period").

See the NYC Loft Board Website and Permitspace Entry regarding IMD's for more information. Also, refer to Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law.

MEA

1986-12-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

MEA Stands for "Materials and Equipment Acceptance"

Quoted from the DOB Website:
"In accordance with Section 27-131 of the New York City Building Code, certain materials and equipment require Department of Buildings acceptance. These manufactured items affect public safety, health and welfare (including structural stability and fire safety) and are usually a permanent part of a building. They include such items as boilers, air-conditioning equipment, commercial cooking equipment, fire-rated assemblies, fire alarm and suppression equipment, wheelchair lifts, etc. The actual list of accepted products to date is known as the MEA Index (see below for further information).

Established in 1969, the Materials and Equipment Acceptance (MEA) Division was created under Department Rule 1-01 to implement the Code requirement and ensure that certain permanent building materials and equipment meet the minimum national standards required by the Building Code. The unit also reviews the qualifications of testing laboratories and testing services for acceptance by the Department.

It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to obtain MEA acceptance for his or her product. The manufacturer can download the MEA Application Package for detailed information regarding the process. The applicant is required to provide a typewritten description of the product, include photographs, drawings, schematics, and marketing materials, fill out the acceptance application form MEA-1, and provide a compact disk with draft language for the final acceptance document (form MEA-3) as he or she would like to see it.

In addition, the product must be tested by a Department-accepted testing laboratory or testing service to ensure that the product conforms to the Code-required standard. The manufacturer must provide a sample of his or her product to the testing laboratory or testing service for the test, pay the required fee, and at the completion of the test have the laboratory fill out the testing form MEA-2. All three completed forms, the product data, the test reports and the application fee comprise the application. (For photoluminescents, click here for additional application information.)

Materials and equipment affecting fire safety are also subject to review by the Fire Department of New York. For these applications, an exact copy of the entire application except the fee must be submitted simultaneously to the Fire Department.

All manufacturers that receive product acceptance from MEA are given an MEA number for the product and provided a copy of the report (also called resolution), which lists the model number(s) and describes the material, assembly or equipment and any conditions of the acceptance. Recent MEA numbers may be found at MEA Index or MEA Report online, and the entire listing through March 31, 2004, is available at the New York CityStore.

It is the building owner's responsibility to ensure that all materials and equipment used in the construction of his or her building have MEA numbers where required by Code. If a building owner uses a piece of equipment or material that requires an MEA number but does not have one, he or she is subject to a violation."

BULKHEAD

1998-12-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

An enclosed structure on or above the roof of any part of a BUILDING, enclosing a shaft, stairway, tank, or SERVICE EQUIPMENT, or other space not designed or used for human occupancy. (See PENTHOUSE and ROOF STRUCTURE.)

OLD CODE

1984-12-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

The OLD CODE refers to NYC's 1938 Building Code, which was edited and amended to December 6, 1968.

NEW LAW TENEMENT (NL OR NLT)

1985-12-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

A BUILDING originally erected as a MULTIPLE DWELLING in accordance with the laws in effect after April 12, 1901 and prior to April 18, 1929, and recorded as NL in the Tenement House Department (now Department of Housing Preservation and Development) before April 18, 1929. NLTs comply with MDL Article 7.

See the List of Multiple Dwelling Classifications

CLASS B MULTIPLE DWELLING

1997-12-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

A multiple dwelling which is occupied, as a rule transiently, as the more or less temporary abode of individuals or families who are lodged with or without meals. This class shall include hotels, lodging houses, rooming houses, boarding houses, boarding schools, furnished room houses, lodgings, club houses, college and school dormitories and dwellings designed as private dwellings but occupied by one or two families with five or more transient boarders, roomers or lodgers in one household.

See the List of Multiple Dwelling Classifications

HEREAFTER ERECTED CLASS A (HAEA)

1991-12-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

Originally erected as a MULTIPLE DWELLING in accordance with the laws in effect after January 1, 1929, whether old code (pre-1968) or new code (post-1968). This includes all newly constructed multiple dwellings (3 dwelling units (DUs) or more).

• Also included are buildings originally erected as other than HAEA, subsequently altered under the old code to comply with NYS Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) Article 3 and Article 4 or 5

• Also included are buildings originally erected as other than HAEA, subsequently altered under the new code to comply with all new code requirements for J-2.

See the List of Multiple Dwelling Classifications

CONVERTED DWELLING

1997-12-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

A dwelling which

(a) was erected before 4/18/1929, to be occupied by one or two families living independently of each other and subsequently occupied as a multiple dwelling, or

(b) is three stories or less in height erected after 4/18/1929, to be occupied by one or two families living independently of each other and subsequently occupied by not more than three families in all, with a maximum occupancy of two families on each floor in a two STORY building and one family on each floor in a three STORY building, in compliance with the provisions of article six of the MDL, including section 170-a of said article. A converted dwelling occupied as a class A multiple dwelling is a class A converted dwelling; every other converted dwelling is a class B converted dwelling.

See the List of Multiple Dwelling Classifications

CLASS A MULTIPLE DWELLING

1997-12-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

A multiple dwelling which is occupied, as a rule, for permanent residence purposes. This class shall include tenements, flat houses, maisonette apartments, apartment houses, apartment hotels, bachelor apartments, studio apartments, duplex apartments, kitchenette apartments, garden-type maisonette dwelling projects, and all other multiple dwellings except Class B multiple dwellings.

See the List of Multiple Dwelling Classifications

HEREAFTER ERECTED CLASS B (HAEB)

1991-12-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Originally erected as a MULTIPLE DWELLING in accordance with the laws in effect after January 1, 1929, whether old code (pre-1968) or new code (post-1968). This includes all newly constructed multiple dwellings (3 dwelling units (DUs) or more).

• Also included are buildings originally erected as other than HAEB, subsequently altered under the old code to comply with NYS Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) Article 3 and Article 4 or 5

• Also included are buildings originally erected as other than HAEB, subsequently altered under the new code to comply with all new code requirements for J-2.

See the List of Multiple Dwelling Classifications

FOYER

1994-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

A space within an Apartment or dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling used as an entrance hall from the public hall, which is not a living room when its floor area does not exceed either: (a) ten percent of the total floor area of the dwelling unit; or (b) twenty percent of such floor area, if every living room is at least twenty percent larger than the required minimum room size.

LIVING ROOM

1987-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

A room which is not a public hall, public vestibule, public room or other public part of a dwelling. Every room used for sleeping purposes shall be deemed a living room. Dining bays and dinettes fifty-five square feet or less in floor area, foyers, water-closet compartments, bathrooms, cooking spaces less than fifty-nine square feet in area, and halls, corridors and passageways entirely within an apartment or suite of rooms shall not be deemed living rooms.

PUBLIC VESTIBULE

1983-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

A PUBLIC VESTIBULE is a corridor, not within an apartment or suite of 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 shafts opening upon it. And here is the rest of it.

PUBLIC ROOM OR PUBLIC PART

1983-12-03T05:00:00.000-05:00

A PUBLIC ROOM or PUBLIC PART of a dwelling is a space used in common by the occupants of two or more apartments or rooms, or by persons who are not tenants, or exclusively for mechanical equipment of such dwelling or for storage purposes.