Requires certain large buildings in the city of New York to be retrofitted with sprinkler systems that are compliant with the NY state uniform fire prevention and building code.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8005
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 15, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and
Community Development
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring sprinkler
systems to be installed in certain existing buildings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "fire safety retrofit act of 2025".
3 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 382-c to
4 read as follows:
5 § 382-c. Mandatory sprinkler retrofitting for certain existing build-
6 ings. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall
7 have the following meanings:
8 a. "Large building" means any structure, including structures that are
9 used by school districts, in a city having a population of one million
10 or more which meets any one or more of the following criteria:
11 (i) is greater than seventy-five feet in height from the lowest point
12 of fire department access to the highest occupied floor;
13 (ii) contains a floor area exceeding five thousand square feet,
14 regardless of height, and has an existing standpipe system.
15 b. "Sprinkler system" means a system of piping and appliances designed
16 and installed in accordance with generally accepted standards so that
17 heat from a fire will automatically cause water to be discharged over
18 the fire area to extinguish it or prevent its further spread.
19 2. a. All existing large buildings in a city having a population of
20 one million or more which do not have a sprinkler system that meets or
21 exceeds the standards established in the New York state uniform fire
22 prevention and building code shall be retrofitted with a sprinkler
23 system which is compliant with the standards established in such code,
24 or any rule or regulation established thereto.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13113-01-5
S. 8005 2
1 b. A compliance plan detailing the scope and timeline of any sprinkler
2 system required to be installed pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivi-
3 sion shall be submitted to the local code enforcement agency within two
4 years of the effective date of this section and full installation of
5 such sprinkler systems shall be completed within five years of the
6 effective date of this section. Extensions may be granted for up to two
7 additional years upon demonstration of hardship, as determined by the
8 code enforcement authority.
9 3. Any owner who fails to comply with the provisions of this section
10 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars
11 per day of noncompliance after the final compliance deadline established
12 pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
13 4. This section shall not apply to landmarks or historical buildings.
14 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
15 it shall have become a law.
