New York City’s Fire, Buildings, and City Planning Departments in New York are writing rules to govern occupant-evacuation elevators, reflecting a change in philosophy of how to evacuate people from skyscrapers in an emergency.
The evacuation elevator cars can be used to move people down in an emergency in special circumstances. This is a dramatic change from decades of codes and practices based on the notion that elevators are perilous and undependable in fires or other emergencies.
That approach has become outmoded and is potentially dangerous for the extremely tall skyscrapers increasingly marking the New York skyline, city officials now believe. New York’s regulations now include the “third stair” in commercial towers higher than 420 feet. Builders of new high-rises must provide one more means of emergency exiting than the typical two stairways.
The City Planning Commission approved a measure that would allow developers to satisfy this requirement by providing an extra stairway (which would not be counted against the square footage they are allowed to build), by providing wider stairways and some occupant-evacuation elevators, or by making all elevators comply with occupant-evacuation standards.
Related Stories
Legislation | Mar 28, 2022
LEED Platinum office tower faces millions in fines due to New York’s Local Law 97
One Bryant Park, also known as the Bank of America Tower, in Manhattan faces an estimated $2.4 million in annual fines when New York City’s York’s Local Law 97 goes into effect.
Codes and Standards | Mar 24, 2022
New York senate moves to speed up fossil fuel ban in new buildings
Lawmakers in the New York State Senate are backing a proposal to ban fossil fuels in new building construction three years sooner than a plan proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Codes and Standards | Mar 23, 2022
High office vacancies have cities rethinking downtown zoning
As record-high office vacancies persist in U.S. urban areas, cities are rethinking zoning policy.
Codes and Standards | Mar 22, 2022
Dept. of Energy awards $32 million for next-generation building retrofits
The U.S. Dept. of Energy has awarded a total of $32 million for more than 30 next-generation building retrofit projects that will dramatically improve affordable housing technologies, according to a DOE news release.
Legislation | Mar 18, 2022
New framework to help site community solar projects released
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released a new report to aid policymakers in siting community solar projects.
Codes and Standards | Mar 17, 2022
Dept. of Energy seeks input on building-integrated photovoltaic systems
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Building Technologies Office (BTO) recently issued a request for information to gather input on technical and commercial challenges and opportunities for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems.
Legislation | Mar 16, 2022
Weak federal commercial real estate rules will hamper seizing Russian assets
Lax disclosure regulations that have made the U.S. a global hot spot for money laundering via real estate holdings will make it difficult for officials to seize properties from Russian oligarchs.
Codes and Standards | Mar 15, 2022
First company awarded Fitwel Certification in Senior Housing for Occupant Health & Wellness
The Springs at Greer Gardens in Eugene, Ore., is the first property to earn a Fitwel global health certification under the newly created senior housing scorecard.
Codes and Standards | Mar 10, 2022
HOK offers guidance for reducing operational and embodied carbon in labs
Global design firm HOK has released research providing lab owners and developers guidance for reducing operational and embodied carbon to meet net zero goals.
Codes and Standards | Mar 7, 2022
Late payments in the construction industry rose in 2021
Last year was a tough one for contractors when it comes to getting paid on time.
