C. HELLER CSULTING ENGINEER 1 CITY OF NEW YORK COMPILED BY WILLIAM D. BRUSH Assistant Superintendent, Borough of Manhattan Form 45-1925-8A-2051-25-H, S. M89786 23. Buildings of a public character March 30, 1915.... 111 10. Right of entry of officers and employees. 1 §1. Scope. 1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and cited as the Building Code. 2. Matter covered. All matters concerning, affecting or relating to the construction, alteration or removal of buildings or structures, erected or to be erected in the city, are presumptively provided for in this chapter, except in so far as such provisions are contained in the Charter, the Tenement House Law, the labor law, or the rules promulgated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter by the superintendents of buildings of the several boroughs. 3. Chapter remedial. This chapter is hereby declared to be remedial, and shall be construed liberally, to secure the beneficial interests and purposes thereof. 4. All new work to conform. No wall, structure, building or part thereof shall hereafter be constructed, nor shall the plumbing or drainage, or other equipment of any building, structure or premises, so far as provided for in this chapter, be constructed or altered in the city, except in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. No building already erected, or hereafter to be built in said city, shall be altered in any manner that would be in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, or any rule or approval of the superintendent of buildings made and issued thereunder; but nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the raising or lowering of any building to meet a change of grade in the street on which it is located, provided that the building is not otherwise altered. 5. Undeveloped localities. In such parts of the city outside the fire limits and suburban limits in which a system of streets has not been established, only so much of the requirements of this chapter shall apply as in the judgment of the superintendent of buildings may be necessary for safety of life and health; but this shall not be construed to permit the Amended by ord. adopted Dec. 14, 1915, effective March 14, 1916. erection of any building to exceed in height or area the limits fixed by this chapter for such buildings. 6. Buildings affected. All provisions of this chapter shall apply with equal force to municipal buildings as they do to private buildings, except as may be specifically provided for by law. §2. Definitions. Unless otherwise expressly stated, 2 the following terms shall, for the purposes of this chapter, have the meaning herein indicated: a. Words used in the present tense include the future; words in the masculine gender include the feminine and neuter; the singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular; the word "person" includes a corporation as well as an individual; "writing" includes printing, and printed or typewritten matter; "oath" includes affirmation; “signature" or "subscription" includes "mark", when the person cannot write, his name being written near it. b. The term "occupied" as applied to any building, shall be construed as though followed by the words "or intended, arranged or designed to be occupied." c. The term "approved” as applied to any material, device or mode of construction, means approved by the superintendent of buildings under the provisions of this chapter, or by any other authority designated by law to give approval in the matter in question. d. The term "owner" includes his duly authorized agent or attorney, a purchaser, devisee, and any person entitled to an interest in the property in question. e. An alteration, as applied to a building or structure, is any change or rearrangement in the structural parts or in the exit facilities, or any enlargement, whether by extending on any side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location or position to another. f. The term "curb," when used in defining the height of a building means the mean curb level at that front of the building which faces on the street of greatest width, or, if the greatest width occurs on more than one of the streets on which the building faces, the mean curb level at that point of the building which faces on the street of greatest width and having the highest curb. The term "curb" when used in fixing the depth of an excavation, means the curb level at that point of the curb which is nearest to the point of the excavation in question. g. The term "height" as applied to a building or structure means the vertical distance, measured in a straight line from the curb level, or if the grade of the street has not been legally established or the building does not adjoin the street, from the average level of all the ground adjoining such building, to the highest point of the roof beams in the case of flat roofs, and to the average height of the gable |