| On April 16, 2008 the City Council adopted the Stairwells Text Amendment as proposed. The zoning changes are now in effect. |
Overview
The City of New York adopted a new Building Code in July 2007. The Code is being phased in and will become fully mandatory in July 2009. One provision of the new Code will increase the required width of stairwells in residential buildings taller than 125 feet from 36 inches to 44 inches; an increase of eight inches. The Zoning Resolution counts stairwells as floor area. The proposed text amendment would exempt this additional eight inches of stairwell width from floor area calculations. In a typical stairwell, this would amount to about 40 square feet per floor. Since the allowable floor area is not being increased, this additional 40 square feet would be taken from apartments on each floor. The purpose of the amendment is to retain the existing allowable floor area for apartments while accommodating the stricter fire safety standards for stairwells in tall residential buildings.
 View the proposed text amendment
Public Review
On November 13, 2007, the application was referred to all community boards, borough boards and borough presidents for a 60 day review period. The City Planning Commission held a public hearing on this application on February 13, 2008.
The City Planning Commission approved the text amendment on February 27, 2008. Read the CPC Report.
The Stairwells Text Amendment was approved by the City Council, and it was adopted as proposed on April 16, 2008 and is now in effect.
For more information on the proposal, please contact the Department of City Planning's Zoning Division at (212) 720-3262.
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