Public Garages

NYC Admin. Code tit. 27, ch. 1, subch. 7, art. 10

in effect

NYC Admin. Code § 27-450 Application.

§ 27-450 Application. This section shall apply to the construction, alteration, and use of buildings or spaces as public garages. Any areas of such buildings in which gasoline, oil, and similar products are dispensed shall meet the requirements of article eight of this subchapter; any areas in which motor vehicles are repaired shall meet the requirements of article nine of this subchapter; and any areas in which any paint spraying is done shall meet the requirements of article three of this subchapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-451 Classification.

§ 27-451 Classification. Public garages shall be classified according to their specific uses as follows: (a) Group 1. Buildings or spaces used for the parking of vehicles having fuel storage tanks in excess of twenty-six gallon capacity; or used for the parking of vehicles of any size, and in which mechanical repair, body work, or painting of vehicles is conducted, or in which gasoline, oil, or similar products are dispensed. Group 1 public garages shall be classified in storage occupancy group B-1. (b) Group 2. Buildings or spaces used exclusively for the parking of vehicles having fuel storage tanks of twenty-six gallon capacity or less, and in which no repair, body work or painting of vehicles is conducted, and in which no gasoline, oil, or similar products are dispensed. Group 2 public garages shall be classified in storage occupancy group B-2.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-452 Construction.

§ 27-452 Construction. The street floor construction of group 1 public garages shall have at least a two hour fire-resistance rating. Where openings are provided in the floor of any public garage, they shall be protected by railings complying with the requirements of subchapters nine and ten of this chapter, with a curb or ramp at least six inches high above the floor. All floors shall be concrete or equivalent noncombustible material. Columns in parking areas shall comply with the provisions of section 27-559 of article three of subchapter nine of this chapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-453 Group 1 public garages in buildings of other occupancy classification.

§ 27-453 Group 1 public garages in buildings of other occupancy classification. No group 1 public garage shall be located within, or attached to, a building occupied for any other use, unless separated from such other use by construction meeting the requirements of table 52 for fire divisions. Elevators, stairways, and exit passageways connecting group 1 garages to other occupancies shall be accessible only through vestibules constructed of materials having a two hour fire-resistance rating. The floor area of such vestibules shall be at least fifty square feet but not more than seventy-five square feet. Ventilation shall be provided by a louver permanently-open to the outdoor air having a net free area of one hundred forty-four square inches, located near the floor. Vestibule doors shall be one and one-half hour self-closing fire doors, with a six inch high sill provided at the door between the vestibule and the garage. Both doors shall swing in the direction of the elevators, stairways or exit passageways.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-454 Roof storage of motor vehicles.

§ 27-454 Roof storage of motor vehicles. Roofs of buildings shall not be used for the parking or storage of motor vehicles unless the building is of class I-A, I-B, or I-C construction, or is an open parking structure. When the roof of a building is used for parking of motor vehicles, it shall be provided with a parapet wall or guard rail at least three feet six inches high, and with curbs or wheel guards of noncombustible materials of a least eight inches high. Such guards shall be substantially anchored to prevent any vehicle from striking the parapet wall or guard rail. Guard rails shall comply with the requirements for railings in subchapter nine of this chapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-455 Sprinklers.

§ 27-455 Sprinklers. (a) Automatic sprinkler protection complying with the construction provisions of article four of subchapter seventeen shall be provided as required for occupancy group B-1 or B-2 respectively, except that in existing buildings lawfully occupied as garages prior to December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, storage of forty-five thousand gallons or less of product having a flash point over one hundred degrees° F (tag open cup) in the cargo space of tank truck or other vehicles approved for such storage by the fire commissioner, pending delivery, shall not be deemed to require sprinkler protection. (b) Smoke detection or thermostatic alarm with central office connection. A thermostatic alarm system or smoke detection system equipped with a central office connection complying with subchapter seventeen of this code, and reference standard RS-17-3 of the appendix to this code may be provided in lieu of the sprinkler system required under the preceding subdivision in existing buildings lawfully occupied as garages prior to December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, when the storage of fuel oils or other products having a flash point over one hundred degrees F (tag open cup) is twenty-two thousand five hundred gallons or more but not exceeding forty-five thousand gallons in the cargo space of tank trucks or other vehicles approved for such storage by the fire commissioner, pending delivery. (c) Portable fire fighting appliances, as the fire commissioner may direct, shall be provided in existing buildings lawfully occupied as garages prior to December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, when the storage of fuel oils or other products, having a flash point over one hundred degrees F (tag open cup), in the cargo space of tank trucks or other vehicles approved for such storage by the fire commissioner, pending delivery, is less than twenty-two thousand five hundred gallons.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-456 Ventilation.

§ 27-456 Ventilation. Public garages shall be ventilated in accordance with provisions of section 27-766 of article eight of subchapter twelve of this chapter and the following: (a) Garage spaces above or below grade except as provided in subdivision (e) of this section shall be provided with mechanical ventilation according to one of or a combination of the following methods: (1) Air exhaust at the rate of not less than one cfm per square foot of total floor area with properly designed means for air inflow. (2) Air supply at the rate of not less than one cfm per square foot of total floor area with properly designed means for air outflow. (3) Air exhaust or air supply at a rate sufficient to maintain an average concentration of carbon monoxide not to exceed one hundred parts per one million parts of air for periods longer than one hour and with a maximum concentration at any time not to exceed four hundred parts of carbon monoxide per one million parts of air. The concentration of carbon monoxide shall be determined by periodic tests taken between three and four feet from the floor by means of approved carbon monoxide detector tubes or other equivalent means. This method of mechanical ventilation may be used only if the overall design includes automatic ventilating fan control by means of approved carbon monoxide monitoring devices or by other approved means located so as to provide full protection for the occupancy. (b) The provisions of section 27-766 of article eight of subchapter twelve of this chapter shall apply. (c) Air supply shall be taken from an uncontaminated source. Exhaust outlets shall be located in accordance with the requirements of subchapter thirteen with one-half of them located six inches above floor level. In public garages where motor vehicles are parked by mechanical means, the ventilation requirements shall be one-half of those required above. (d) No automotive service pits shall be installed in floors below the street floor. Pits shall have mechanical exhaust ventilation taken from near the bottom. (e) Garage spaces above grade provided with natural ventilation having a free openable area of at least five per cent of the total floor area of the space and having adjustable openings measuring at least six inches by four inches located within six inches of the floor and at most sixteen feet apart on all outside and court walls need not be provided with mechanical ventilation.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-457 Exits.

§ 27-457 Exits. Public garages shall be provided with at least two exits from each tier of parking. One of the exits may be a ramp used by motor vehicles, when serving not more than one level below grade. All vertical exits shall have a minimum width of thirty-six inches and shall be enclosed in two hour fire-resistive construction, except as permitted by section 27-458 of article ten of subchapter seven of this chapter. No exit in a group 1 public garage shall have a path of travel through a fuel dispensing area. In group 2 public garages occurring in occupancy group J-2 buildings, overhead doors shall be of the automatic self-closing type. (a) Travel distance. No point in any public garage shall be more than one hundred feet from an exit, except that such distance may be increased to one hundred fifty feet when the garage is fully sprinklered. (b) Repair and fuel spaces. Spaces in group 1 public garages used for the repair of motor vehicles or the dispensing of fuel shall be provided with at least two exits, within the travel distance limitations of subdivision (a) of this section. (c) Roof parking. When the roof of a building is used for parking, interior vertical exits shall be enclosed in a bulkhead constructed as required by subchapter five of this chapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-458 Ramps.

§ 27-458 Ramps. Vehicular ramps in public garages shall not exceed a gradient of one in seven, and their surfaces shall be nonslip. A landing having a minimum length of twenty feet shall be provided at the discharge point at the street level, within the street line. Ramps serving as required exits shall be enclosed in construction having a two hour fire-resistance rating except that openings for motor vehicles at each parking tier may be protected by a water curtain consisting of deluge-type sprinkler heads supplying at least three gallons of water per minute per linear foot of opening.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-459 Heating equipment.

§ 27-459 Heating equipment. Heat generating equipment for public garages shall be enclosed in accordance with the requirements of section 27-419 of article five of subchapter seven of this chapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-459.1 Parking spaces for people having physical disabilities.

§ 27-459.1 Parking spaces for people having physical disabilities. Parking spaces for people having physical disabilities shall comply with the requirements of section 27-292.19 and reference standard RS 4-6. Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1987/058.

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-49985Fetched: 10/24/2026