Basement legality question

Can someone explain to me how this house has a legal basement apartment? It was an Alt 2 renovation filed by Schnall.
The house looks to me like a typical 2 story + cellar house, with a basement less than 50% above grade. Therefore the bottom apt wouldn’t be legal. But the permits seem to indicate that it is 2 stories, basement and cellar. Maybe the house is on a slope so the back of the basement is above ground enough to make it legal? The floor plan doesn’t show any mechanicals. Does this house really have a subterranean cellar level?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/292-Rutland-Rd-Brooklyn-NY-11225/30665184_zpid/

chemosphere

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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slopefarm | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Just by looking at the floorplan, it is likely there is a cellar below because the “basement” is occupying the fill footprint, with no separate mechanicals room for boiler, heaters, etc. Whether the garden level apartment is legally a basement is a separate question. You would have to get inside the apartment to see how high the ceilings are to be able to tell whether the apartment is more or less than 50% above grade.