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Mount Vernon (Westchester), NY- Working Fire 02-10-22
- Thread starter truck4
- Start date
Not quite the correct terminology here, t4. A five storey building with ground floor storefronts is not a “taxpayer”.
A taxpayer building is a one storey (with possibly an added 2d floor) row of stores, often ornamented with a dangerous parapet frieze along the roof line. The name came from the late 19th /early 20th Centuries primarily in NYC, when the city fathers (along with the business community) were promoting population growth. Undeveloped land was intentionally taxed at a much higher rate than structured properties. Businessmen built these one storey buildings to lower that rate while also providing the rental income to pay whatever taxes were due, without having to finance larger commercial, apartments, or tenements. They were really the strip malls of their era. In actuality, they served the purpose intended, often popping up out of nowhere to become the anchors around which neighborhoods were built. They are found everywhere in the 5 boroughs, standing as the centerpiece of shopping and commercial activity.
And as we all know these now century+ old buildings can be lethal to firefighters. They were built with cocklofts for ventilation, which allows the spread of fire. Many have been rebuilt or renovated to the point of confusion for responding FFs and parapets and walls are a constant danger to collapse a onto the street.
A taxpayer building is a one storey (with possibly an added 2d floor) row of stores, often ornamented with a dangerous parapet frieze along the roof line. The name came from the late 19th /early 20th Centuries primarily in NYC, when the city fathers (along with the business community) were promoting population growth. Undeveloped land was intentionally taxed at a much higher rate than structured properties. Businessmen built these one storey buildings to lower that rate while also providing the rental income to pay whatever taxes were due, without having to finance larger commercial, apartments, or tenements. They were really the strip malls of their era. In actuality, they served the purpose intended, often popping up out of nowhere to become the anchors around which neighborhoods were built. They are found everywhere in the 5 boroughs, standing as the centerpiece of shopping and commercial activity.
And as we all know these now century+ old buildings can be lethal to firefighters. They were built with cocklofts for ventilation, which allows the spread of fire. Many have been rebuilt or renovated to the point of confusion for responding FFs and parapets and walls are a constant danger to collapse a onto the street.
In the FDNY, such a building is referred to as a "commercial occupancy", which is part of a "mixed occupancy". Mixed as in commercial and residential sharing the space.
Operations at these buildings fall in line with MD's or tenements, as per "Ladders 3" and the "Firefighting Procedures-Multiple Dwellings" bulletins.
Taxpayer operations are very different.
Operations at these buildings fall in line with MD's or tenements, as per "Ladders 3" and the "Firefighting Procedures-Multiple Dwellings" bulletins.
Taxpayer operations are very different.