NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1655
SPONSOR: Rosenthal (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the multiple dwelling law, in relation to the definition
of floor area
PURPOSE:
This bill relates to the definition of floor area.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the opening paragraph and paragraph b of subdivision
2 of section 26 of the multiple dwelling law.
Section two sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New building development has an inalterable effect, for better or worse,
on the surrounding local community. To try to manage these strains, both
contextually and on local infrastructure, floor-area-ratio (FAR) limits
are set to put a size cap on new development in a given area. Unfortu-
nately, through vagaries in the multiple dwelling law that allow devel-
opers to exploit local zoning loopholes, developers are often able to
circumvent these restrictions. Some of the loopholes increasingly
exploited, pertains to mechanical void spaces, ceiling heights and
shared balcony loopholes, which are not counted toward the FAR, thus
allowing developers to build higher than would otherwise be permitted.
Mechanical voids are spaces in buildings - sometimes spanning across
multiple floors - where mechanical infrastructure, such as HVAC systems,
are housed. Because mechanical void space is not counted toward the
building's total FAR, developers often creatively locate mechanical void
space throughout a building, as opposed to hosing it in the basement or
on the roof, to add additional height to their building. Similarly,
because it is not counted towards FAR, developers will often increase
the ceiling heights on individual floors to increase overall building
height. These loopholes also extend to terraces, balconies and porches,
the floor area of which is not currently counted toward total FAR.
This legislation aims to ensure developers are building within the
intention of the multiple dwelling law by closing existing loopholes.
This legislation imposes restrictions on the size of allowable mechan-
ical voids, sets a ceiling height cap of 12 feet for a given floor's
area to only be counted once and ensures that balconies and terraces
will be counted towards a building's total floor area. Through this
added specificity, communities across the state will be able to better
control the scale of new development.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.3514 - Referred to Housing; S.353 - Referred to Housing,
Construction and Community Development
2021-22: A.2128 - Referred to Housing; S.2016 - Referred to Housing,
Construction and Community Development
2019-20: A.5026-A - Referred to Housing; S.3820-A - Referred to Housing,
Construction and Community Development
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately after it shall have become a law;
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1655
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT, STIRPE, R. CARROLL, COLTON,
EPSTEIN, TAYLOR, SIMON, BENEDETTO, GLICK, DINOWITZ, MAGNARELLI, WALK-
ER, DAVILA, GALLAGHER, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, ZINERMAN, BICHOTTE HERMELYN --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the multiple dwelling law, in relation to the definition
of floor area
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The opening paragraph and paragraph b of subdivision 2 of
2 section 26 of the multiple dwelling law, the opening paragraph and para-
3 graph b as amended by chapter 748 of the laws of 1961 and subparagraph 1
4 of paragraph b as amended by chapter 857 of the laws of 1985, are
5 amended to read as follows:
6 For the purpose of this section certain words are defined herein but,
7 except where specified, such definitions shall not be held to modify or
8 affect legal interpretations of such terms or words as used in any local
9 law, ordinance, rule or regulation and shall apply in addition to and
10 not in substitution for the provisions of section four of this chapter.
11 b. "Floor area": the sum of the gross horizontal areas of all of the
12 several floors of a dwelling or dwellings and accessory structures on a
13 lot measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the
14 center line of party walls, (i) except that notwithstanding any other
15 provision of law, general, special, or local, any such areas with floor
16 to structural ceiling height greater than twelve feet and less than or
17 equal to twenty-four feet shall be counted twice, any such areas with
18 floor to structural ceiling height greater than twenty-four feet and
19 less than or equal to thirty-six feet shall be counted three times, any
20 such areas with floor to structural ceiling height greater than thirty-
21 six feet and less than or equal to forty-eight feet shall be counted
22 four times, and any area with floor to structural ceiling height in
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04414-01-5
A. 1655 2
1 excess of forty-eight feet shall be counted five times. However, when
2 such areas are on the ground floor of any dwelling or dwellings, their
3 height up to and including twenty feet from floor to structural ceiling
4 shall be counted only once.
5 (ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, general, special, or
6 local, space used for mechanical equipment will be counted as "floor
7 area" to the extent that it exceeds five percent of the gross horizontal
8 areas of all of the several floors of a dwelling or dwellings.
9 (iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, general, special, or
10 local, "floor area" will include any open areas located under the dwell-
11 ing or dwellings when viewed directly from above. Such areas will be
12 measured from the exterior faces of vertical extensions of the exterior
13 walls of the building that inscribe the open space so covered by the
14 dwelling or dwellings. Such open areas covered by buildings with floor
15 to structural ceiling height in excess of twelve feet shall be counted
16 twice, open areas covered by buildings with floor to structural ceiling
17 height in excess of twenty-four feet shall be counted three times, open
18 areas covered by buildings with floor to structural ceiling height in
19 excess of thirty-six feet shall be counted four times, open areas
20 covered by buildings with floor to structural ceiling height in excess
21 of forty-eight feet shall be counted five times. The following areas
22 shall be excluded from floor area:
23 (1) cellar space;
24 (2) attic space providing head room of less than eight feet;
25 (3) space for mechanical equipment, except as specified in this
26 section;
27 (4) elevator and stair bulkheads, rooftop tanks and cooling towers;
28 (5) open or roofed terraces, exterior balconies or porches, uncovered
29 steps and open porte-cocheres or breezeways abutting or adjoining grade
30 entrances that are located beyond the exterior walls of the dwelling or
31 dwellings when viewed directly from above;
32 (6) accessory space used for off-street motor vehicle parking or stor-
33 age.
34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
