Violation of Law Continues as Only 1/3 of NYC’s Old Bldgs Have Fire Sprinklers

By Tom Roberts

In the wake of 9/11, New York City passed a law requiring the installation of fire-safety sprinklers in office buildings. It was a good idea – property owners even had 15 years in which to comply. And yet to date, under 30% of buildings have complied.

City Councilman Barry Grodenchik made it clear at the hearing on Wednesday that this state of affairs is not acceptable. “I think we would all agree that is, to be generous, a disappointment. Tragically, many of the victims of fire fatalities are children,” he noted. “Smoke detectors and even fire alarms are not enough. We need sprinkler systems to save lives.”

The law, which was passed in 2004, “gave owners of commercial buildings 100-feet and taller 15 years to install fire sprinklers. City code has required new office towers include sprinklers systems since 1984, but there are 1,308 buildings in the city built before that point that the law targeted,” Crain’s New York Business reported.

“The deadline for those buildings to comply passed July 1,” the Crain’s piece continued, “but just 368 have certified that they have installed the sprinklers with the Department of Buildings, Commissioner Melanie La Rocca testified to City Council Wednesday. La Rocca said another 198 buildings have submitted proof of sprinkler installation but are not yet certified. Building inspectors have issued 1,088 violations to landlords related to sprinklers since the deadline passed, but have not imposed any fines.”

The pain for landlords is set to commence on the first day of December, when they will be hit in the wallet. Property owners will have 60 days in which to get in line with the law, or face even steeper fines – maxing out at a whopping $50,000 annually.

Grodenchik was flanked at City Hall by, among others, Councilman Robert E. Cornegy Jr., who co-sponsored the bill, he added, “Fires, especially those that break out hundreds or thousands of feet above street level, require more than passive solutions like smoke detectors and fireproof construction. Sprinkler systems represent an active solution to life-endangering fires in large residential buildings. It is time we bring the law up to date to protect New York citizens.”

“Studies have shown that properly installed and maintained fire sprinklers are effective at controlling a fire 96 percent of the time,” Tony Saporito of the New York Fire Sprinkler Council, a division of the Mechanical Contractors Association of New York, told qns.com. “By simply requiring that owners of older multi-family homes install and maintain the same fire sprinkler systems that keep office workers and residents of newer buildings safe today, Intro 1146-A will save lives.”