Can you legalize a cellar bedroom with a 5'x5' air shaft and exit ladder

wqqexpmfn

in General Discussion 6 years ago

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alex | 6 years ago

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Hi Cate,

The pilot program applies to cellars and basements in existing 1 or 2 family apartments.

alex | 6 years ago

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Hi Cate,

The pilot program applies to cellars and basements in existing 1 or 2 family apartments.

cate | 6 years ago

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That program the city has introduced appears to be far less than it seems at first glance. Essentially, if I understand correctly, if you have a single family house with a habitable “basement” e.g. a ground floor, not a cellar, you can turn it into legal living space if you change the c of o to a two-family. Well, duh!

alex | 6 years ago

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Bob is correct in that a Cellar can never be a legally habitable space. This is based in light and air requirements.

I would add that NYC has introduced a pilot program for parts of the city which is aimed at legalizing cellar and basement apartments to stem the lack of housing. The process would involve updates to the building to comply with zoning and code requirements in addition to filing the project with the department of buildings for approval.

Best of Luck,

Alex Furini, RA
Furini Architects, PLLC

alex | 6 years ago

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Bob is correct in that a Cellar can never be a legally habitable space. This is based in light and air requirements.

Best of Luck,

Alex Furini, RA
Furini Architects, PLLC

stevecym | 6 years ago

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in addition to what bob says, this is what I was told in a class some years back:

“a bedroom must have a window that opens to the outside”. this was mandated as they revamped the old tenement laws because when they first said a “bedroom must have a window” the landlords began creating interior rooms with windows between them. anything to skirt the intention of the law. so the next move was to make it be outside which is how we came about with the shafts between the buildings.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 6 years ago

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If it’s actually a cellar (> half below grade) I don’t think there’s any way to make it legal habitable space.

Can you legalize a cellar bedroom with a 5'x5' air shaft and exit ladder

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Can you legalize a cellar bedroom with a 5'x5' air shaft and exit ladder

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