Hello,
I am renovating an apartment in NYC (Manhattan).
The architect told me that all renovations need to bring everything up to code (which makes sense).
However she now has said that the bathrooms all need to be ADA compliant - 5 foot turning radius, no step-up into the shower, grab bars by the toilet, etc.
This doesn’t sound right to me.
Does anyone have actual knowledge of the relevant rules?
Thanks!
That would be absolutely hideous.
Pretty much every NYC (mostly Manhattan) apartment bathroom I’ve been in, you could basically brush your teeth at the sink while sitting on the toilet. I remember a shower so tight that I couldn’t wash below my knees. I don’t remember any that you could fit a wheelchair in, or even crutches for that matter. Granted, my experiences are skewed towards apartments affordable to recent college grads…
Yes, but that’s at the federal level. Her point was that the new NYC code requires this.
Heh yeah me too. But this was in regards to a new renovation - her point is that older stuff is older, but anything being redone needs to be “brought up to code”.
It just sounds extremely impractical and hard to believe. I don’t know where to turn to find out the reality aside from trying to read the code itself which is thousands of dense, jargon-filled pages.
Ask her to point you to the code, or at least some page on the housing authority web site that backs up what she’s saying.
Some links that might help. They refer to local laws (LL58) that covers some residential renovations.
Perhaps her client requires these?
If you read the links above, Local Law 58 requires ADA compliance in major renovations in apartment buildings. But the devil is in the details, as well as the waiver process.