- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Messages
- 17,697
There are some ideas in this post newspaper report... https://nypost.com/2020/02/06/de-blasios-affordable-housing-plan-includes-tiny-houses-and-basement-pads/ ....it also has been reported on by some TV News stations in other formats ...i wonder about some of the ideas floated ? ....after years of dealing with illegal basement / cellar occupancies one of the ideas now is to allow them ....what safety regulations would be incorporated to protect occupants as well as FD Personnel ?......another idea floated is using space in garages especially those with so called "loft areas" ....this is another illegal problem thru out some areas of QNS & i am sure in areas of other Boros....i know in QNS there have been several Fatal Fires in these illegal auto garage conversions behind dwellings & FFs have had career ending injuries sustained searching these garages when they collapsed....they had been turned into an illegal faux "cottage".....another facet of the plan is building "Tiny Homes" in backyards of existing NYC homes ....in essence in backyards of attached homes a 2 sty "Tiny Home" could be similar to a small Rear Tenement....although a lesser footprint & lesser square footage they would present the same difficulties of access ...Line stretching ....portable laddering & adding much combustible materials in proximity to exposures on 2 streets....in my time in 108 in Williamsburg & later across BKLYN in R*2 i dealt with some of the remaining original Rear Tenements & they were always a challenge ....however back when these were built behind / between street side bldgs there were large hallways from the street to the rear yard (originally built to allow horses to get to the rear) this allowed a straight shot for stretching Lines & bringing portable ladders to the Rear Tenement.....in many areas of NYC today building a "Tiny Home" in the rear yard of an existing attached dwelling it would be difficult to get a portable to the Rear bldg & line stretching could be difficult.....the original Rear Tenements ( maybe 90% of the ones i dealt with were wood ...most were 2 sty but there were some 5sty wood frames used for manufacturing....the other 10 % were 1 sty masonry construction mostly used for manufacturing ) ....i was at a few that collapsed & upon examination they had been put together with hand cut nails but i would think these earlier bldgs may have been better construction when originally built than what might be constructed today with lightweight construction & staples & glue.....those who ride must keep on top of these ideas from those who will never risk their life operating at a Fire.