APPENDIX V.

PART I.

THE STATUTORY PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE CONSTRUCTION, ALTERATION OR REMOVAL OF BUILDINGS OR OTHER STRUCTURE IN THE MUNICIPALITY HERETOFORE KNOWN AS THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COMMONALTY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, CONSTITUTING TITLE 5 OF CHAPTER 11, LAWS OF 1882, CHAPTER 410, CONTINUED IN FORCE BY SECTION 647 OF THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER, ante.

(With references to judicial decisions.)

L. 1882, CH. 410.

CHAPTER XI.

TITLE V.

Construction of Buildings.

General rule as to construction of buildings. Projection of buildings upon streets.

§ 471. No wall, structure, building, part or parts thereof, shall hereafter be built, constructed, altered or repaired in said city, excepting in conformity with the provisions of this title. No building already erected or hereafter to be built in said city, shall be raised, altered or built upon, in such manner that were such building wholly built or constructed after the passage of this act it would be in violation of any of the provisions of this title. If the front or other exterior wall of any building now standing in said city shall extend not more than four inches upon any street, avenue or public place, such wall shall not be removable, unless an action or proceeding shall be instituted by or in behalf of the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York within the period of one year from the passage of this act, for the removal of said wall, and notice of pendency of such action or proceeding be thereupon filed in the office of the clerk of the city and county of New York, and indexed against the owner and the premises in manner and form as shall be required by law in the case of the filing of a mechanics' lien in the city of New York. And if a structure, part of a building now standing in said city, known as a bay-window or oriel window, shall extend not more than twelve inches upon any street, avenue or public place, said structure shall not be removable unless an action or proceeding shall be instituted by, or in behalf of, the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, for the removal of such structure within one year from the passage of this act, and notice of pendency of such action or proceeding be there

upon filed in the office of the clerk of the city and county of New York, and indexed against the owner and the premises in manner and form as shall be required by law in the case of the filing of a mechanics' lien in the city of New York. (As amended by L. 1896, ch. 610, § 1.)

Material of walls.

§ 472. The walls of all buildings, other than frame or wooden buildings, shall be constructed of stone, brick, iron or other hard incombustible material, and the several component parts of such buildings shall be as herein provided. (As amended by L. 1892, ch. 275, § 8.)

Excavations; party walls.

§ 473. All excavations shall be properly guarded and protected so as to prevent the same from becoming dangerous to life or limb and shall be sheet-piled where necessary to prevent the adjoining earth from caving in, by the person or persons causing the excavations to be made. Whenever an examination of either earth or rock for building or other purposes, shall be intended to be, or shall be carried to the depth of more than ten feet below the curb, the person or persons causing such excavation to be made shall at all times, from the commencement until the completion thereof, if afforded the necessary license to enter on the adjoining land and not otherwise, at his or their own expense, preserve any adjoining or contiguous wall or walls from injury, and support the same by proper foundations, so that the said wall or walls shall be and remain practically as safe as before such excavation was commenced, whether the said adjoining or contiguous wall or walls are down more or less than ten feet below the curb. If such excavation shall not be intended to be, or shall not be, carried to a depth of more than ten feet below the curb, the owner or owners of such adjoining or contiguous wall or walls shall preserve the same from injury, and so support the same by proper foundations that it or they shall be and remain practically safe as before such excavation was commenced, and shall be permitted to enter upon the premises where such excavation is being made for that purpose, when necessary. In case an adjoining party wall is intended to be used by the person or persons causing the excavation to be made, and such party wall is in good condition and sufficient for the uses of the adjoining building, then and in such case the person or persons causing the excavations to be made shall, at his or their own expense, preserve such party wall from injury and support the same by proper foundations, so that said party wall shall be and remain practically as safe as before the excavation was commenced. If the person or persons whose duty it shall be to preserve or protect any wall or walls from injury shall neglect or fail so to do after having had a notice of twentyfour hours from the superintendent of buildings, then the superintendent of buildings may enter upon the premises and employ such labor, and furnish such materials, and take such steps as, in his judgment, may be necessary to make the same safe and secure, or to prevent the same from becoming unsafe or dangerous, at the expense of the person or persons last herein referred to. Any party doing the said work, or any part thereof, under and by direction of the said superintendent, may bring and maintain an action against the person or persons last herein

referred to, to recover the value of the work done and materials furnished, in and about the said premises, in the same manner as if he had been employed to do the said work by the said person or persons. When an excavation is made on any lot, and it is intended to use part of such excavation, on either side or the rear of the lot, as an area, or space for light and air, the person or persons causing such excavation to be made shall build at his or their own cost and expense, a retaining wall of sufficient strength to support the adjoining earth; and such retaining wall shall be carried to the height of the adjoining earth. (As amended by L. 1892, ch. 275, § 9.)

Foundations; piles.

§ 474. Every building except buildings erected upon wharves or piers on the water front, shall have foundations laid not less than four feet below the surface of the earth, on the solid ground or level surface of rock, or upon piles or ranging timbers. Piles intended for a wall, pier or post to rest upon, shall not be less than five inches in diameter at the smallest end, and shall be spaced not more than thirty inches on centers, or nearer if required by the superintendent of buildings and they shall be driven to a solid bearing. No pile shall be weighted with a load exceeding forty thousand pounds. The tops of all piles shall be cut off below the lowest water line. When required, concrete shall be rammed down in the interspaces between the heads of the piles to a depth and thickness of not less than twelve inches and for one foot in width outside of the piles. Where ranging and capping timbers are laid on piles for foundations, they shall be of hard wood not less than six inches thick and properly joined together, and their tops laid below the water line. When crib footings of iron or steel are used below the water level, the same shall be entirely coated with coal tar, paraffine varnish, or other suitable preparation, before being placed in position. When footings of iron or steel for columns are placed below the water level, they shall be similarly coated for preservation against rust. Foundation walls shall be construed to include all walls and piers built below the curb level or nearest tier of beams to the curb to serve as supports for walls, piers, columns, girders, posts or beams. Foundation walls shall be built of stone or brick. If built of stone, they shall be at least eight inches thicker than the wall next above them to a depth of twelve feet below the curb level; and for every additional ten feet, or part thereof deeper, they shall be increased four inches in thickness. If built of brick, they shall be at least four inches thicker than the wall next above them to a depth of twelve feet below the curb level; and for every additional ten feet, or part thereof, deeper, they shall be increased four inches in thickness. The footing or base course shall be of stone or concrete, or both, or of concrete and stepping-up brickwork, of sufficient thickness and area to safely bear the weight to be imposed thereon; if the footing or base course be of concrete, the concrete shall not be less than twelve inches thick; if of stone, the stones shall not be less than two by three feet, and at least eight inches in thickness for walls, and at least twelve inches wider than the bottom width of said walls, and not less than ten inches in thickness if under piers, columns or posts, and at least twelve inches wider on all sides than the bottom width of said piers, columns or posts.

All base stones shall be well bedded and laid crosswise, edge to edge. If stepped-up footings of brick are used in place of stone, above the concrete, the steps or off-sets, if laid in single courses, shall each not exceed one and one-half inches, or if laid in double courses, then each shall not exceed three inches, starting with the brickwork covering the entire width of the concrete, so as to properly distribute the load to be imposed thereon. If, in place of a continuous foundation wall, isolated piers are to be built to support the superstructure, where the nature of the ground and the character of the building make it necessary, inverted arches shall be turned between the piers, at least twelve inches thick and of the full width of the piers, and resting upon a continuous bed of concrete of sufficient area, and at least eighteen inches thick; or two footing courses of large stone may be used, the bottom course to be laid crosswise, edge to edge, and the top course laid lengthwise, end to end; or one course of concrete and one course of stone. The stones shall not be less than ten inches thick in each course, and the concrete shall not be less than eighteen inches thick, and the area of the lower course shall be equal to the area of the base course that would be required under a continuous wall, and the outside pier shall be secured to the second piers with suitable iron rods and plates. All stone walls twenty-four inches or less in thickness shall have at least one header extending through the wall in every three feet in height from the bottom of the wall, and in every four feet in length, and if over twenty-four inches in thickness, shall have one header for every six superficial feet on both sides of the wall, and running into the wall at least two feet. All headers shall be at least eighteen inches in width and eight inches in thickness and consist of good flat stones. No stone shall be laid in such walls in any other position than on its natural bed. Before the walls of buildings are carried up above the foundation walls the cellars shall be connected with the street sewers. Should there be no sewer in the street, or if the cellars are below tide level or below the sewer level, then provision shall be made by the owner to prevent water accumulating in the cellars. (As amended by L. 1892, ch. 275, § 10.)

(a) Under the common law, the owner of land in making an excavation which might endanger a building on a neighbor's land, was bound to use only reasonable care and only liable for negligence; he was under no obligation to shore up his neighbor's house, or give him notice of his intention to excavate; but by this section, the common-law liability was modified by affording to owners of buildings a new protection against injuries from excavations on adjoining lands. Dorrity v. Rapp, 72 N. Y.

307, 310.

(b) In order to subject the person excavating to the expense of preserving wall on adjoining land, he must be afforded the necessary license, which must be explicit and sufficient to protect him, and be given by all persons who would be injured by such acts. Sherwood v. Seaman, 2 Bosw. 127.

(c) When a party, having obtained the license as required by this section, has shored up a party wall and removed the foundation thereof, he may, notwithstanding a revocation of the license, proceed and build up a new foundation wall so as to sustain the party wall, and for that purpose has the right to enter upon so much of the adjoining premises as is

necessary, and until his work is done, if he proceed with reasonable dispatch and does it in a good, workmanlike manner, with as little inconvenience and injury as possible to the adjoining occupant, he may not be regarded as a trespasser, nor can he be required to remove the supports to the wall. Ketcham v. Newman, 116 N. Y. 422.

(d) It seems that if the license or permission to enter to support the wall is withholden, the parties stand upon their common-law rights. Johnson v. Oppenheim, 55 N. Y. 280, 286.

(e) The duty of the party making the excavation to support an adjoining wall does not cease at the completion of the excavation, but imposes upon him the duty to so protect the wall that the same should not be injured by reason of the structure which put into the excavation, after making it, so that the wall of such adjoining owner should remain as stable as before the excavation was commenced. Bernheimer v. Kilpatrick, 53 Hun, 316; s. c., 6 N. Y. Supp. 858.

(f) The license to enter on adjoining land to protect wall from injury need not be proffered or tendered by the owner of the adjoining land in order that he may receive the benefit of this statute; but it is incumbent upon the party causing the excavation to be made, to request permission to enter to support the wall, and if he fails so to do, he is liable for the damages. Dorrity v. Rapp, 72 N. Y. 307; s. c., 4 Abb. N. C. 292, rev'g 11 Hun, 374; Cohen v. Simmons, 66 Hun, 634; s. C., 21 N. Y. Supp. 385; affi'd in 142 N. Y. 671.

(g) That the excavation was made by a contractor does not exempt the owner of the land from the liability under the statute. Dorrity v. Rapp, ante.

(h) The provision of this section requiring an owner, excavating below ten feet, to protect his neighbor's wall does not apply to excavations made in the street under the direction of the municipal authorities. Jencks v. Kenny, 19 N. Y. Supp. 243; s. c., 28 Abb. N. C. 154; compare note to 28 Abb. N. C. 155.

(i) See McKenzie v. Hatton, 141 N. Y. 8; affi'g 70 Hun, 143.

Vaults under sidewalks; retaining walls for roadway.

§ 475. In buildings where the space under the sidewalk is utilized, a sufficient stone or brick wall shall be built to retain the roadway of the street, and the side end or party walls of such building shall extend under the sidewalk of sufficient thickness to such wall. The roofs of all vaults shall be of incombustible material. Openings in the roofs of vaults for the admission of coal or light, shall be covered with lens lights in iron frame, or with iron covers having a rough surface, and rabbeted flush with the sidewalk. When areas are covered over, iron, or iron and glass combined, stone or other incombustible material shall be used, and sufficient strength in such covering shall be provided to insure safety to persons walking on the same, and to carry the loads which may be placed thereon. Open areas shall be properly protected with suitable railings. (As amended by L. 1892, ch. 275, § 11.)

Thickness of walls of dwellings.

§ 476. The basement walls of dwelling-houses, not over thirty-five feet in height, and not over twenty feet in width, shall not be less than twelve