Tents and Air-Supported Structures

NYC Admin. Code tit. 27, ch. 1, subch. 7, art. 19

in effect

NYC Admin. Code § 27-510 Location and height.

§ 27-510 Location and height. Tents or air-supported structures may be erected inside or outside of the fire districts provided they are not more than one story high above the ground, or above a roof that meets the requirements of subchapter five of this chapter for fire divisions.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-511 Separation.

§ 27-511 Separation. No tent or air-supported structure shall be erected closer than twenty feet to any interior lot line nor closer than thirty feet in any direction to an unprotected opening, required exterior stairway or corridor, or required exit door, on the same level or above the level of the tent or air-supported structure. A tent or air-supported structure may abut another building on the same lot if there are no unprotected openings or exits above or within thirty feet as above stipulated, if there is no door between them that is a required exit, and if the exterior wall separating them meets the requirements of subchapter five of this chapter for fire divisions. Exceptions. Requirements for separation from other buildings on the site shall be waived where a tent or air-supported structure is used for on-site temporary shelter for construction work, or incidental fabrication of construction elements to be used on the site of construction.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-512 Fire protection.

§ 27-512 Fire protection. The ground enclosed by a tent or air-supported structure, and the ground for a distance of at least ten feet. outside of same, shall be cleared and maintained clear of all combustible material or vegetation. No open flame of any kind shall be employed within the structure, or closer than twenty feet to any part of the enclosure fabric. Fire extinguishing facilities shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of chapter four of this title.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-513 Exits.

§ 27-513 Exits. Notwithstanding any other requirements of subchapters six and eight of this chapter, travel distance to an exit from any point within a tent or air-supported structure shall not exceed seventy-five feet. Exit doors in air-supported structures shall close automatically against normal operational pressures. Opening force at the edge of such doors shall not exceed fifteen pounds, with the structure at operational pressure. Exit doors shall be located in frames so constructed that they will remain operative and support the weight of the structure in a state of total collapse.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-514 Structural requirements.

§ 27-514 Structural requirements. (a) Tents. Tents shall be guyed, supported, and braced to withstand a wind pressure of ten pounds per square foot of projected area of the tent. The poles and their supporting guys, stays, stakes, fastenings, etc. shall be of sufficient strength and attached so as to resist wind pressure of twenty psf of projected area of the tent. (b) Air-supported structures. (1) Air-supported structures shall be anchored to the ground or supporting structure by either ballast or positive anchorage, sufficiently and evenly distributed, and adequate to resist the inflation lift load, the aerodynamic lift load, and the drag (shear) load due to wind impact. The latter factors shall be based on a wind velocity of at least seventy miles per hour, and an estimated stagnation of not less than 0.5q for structures on grade whose height is equal to, or less than, the width of the structure. For greater heights, or for elevated structures, increased anchorage shall be provided, justified by analytical and/or experimental data. (2) The skin of the structure shall be of such strength, and the joints so constructed, as to provide a minimum dead load strip tensile strength at seventy degrees F of four times the seventy mph design load (inflation and aerodynamic loading). The joints shall provide a dead load strip tensile strength of one hundred sixty degrees F of twice the seventy mph design load (i.e., a factor of safety of four and two respectively). In addition, the material shall provide a trapezoidal tear strength of at least fifteen per cent of the maximum design tensile load. Material and joint strengths shall be so certified by the manufacturer, justified by analytical and/or experimental data.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-515 Flame resistance.

§ 27-515 Flame resistance. (a) Tents. All materials used for tents shall be treated to be flameproofed and shall remain flameproofed in accordance with chapter four of this title. (b) Air-supported structures. All fabrics that have a base fabric weight of 6.4 oz. per square yard or less or that are used to enclose spaces classified in occupancy group C, E, F, G, H or J shall have an extinction time of not more than two seconds when tested under the small scale test method of reference standard RS 7-3. All other fabrics shall have a flame extinction time of not over one minute and/or a flame spread of not over one inch per minute when tested in accordance with the provisions of reference standard RS 7-4.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-516 Pressurization system.

§ 27-516 Pressurization system. Air-supported structures shall be inflated and shall remain inflated during all periods of occupancy to a minimum differential pressure of 0.88 in. and a maximum differential pressure of 1.50 in. of water. Ventilation flow per occupant, either through vents or anticipated leakage, shall comply with the requirements of subchapter twelve of this chapter. Occupied spaces. Where the net floor area per occupant is one hundred fifty square feet or less, the structure shall be provided with at least two blowers, each of which shall have adequate capacity to maintain the required inflation pressure. Also, an auxiliary engine-generator set capable of powering one blower, or a supplementary blower powered by an internal combustion engine, either of which shall have the capacity to run continuously for four hours, shall be located outside the structure, shall be weather protected, and shall be arranged to automatically operate the blower within twenty seconds upon failure of the normal source. Heat shall be provided from a source outside the structure so arranged as to prevent the spread of fire to the structure. The temperature within the air-supported structure shall be maintained at the temperature required by subchapter twelve of this chapter, but not less than fifty degrees Fahrenheit during periods of snowfall.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-517 Certificate of occupancy.

§ 27-517 Certificate of occupancy. Certificates of occupancy for tents or air-supported structures shall be issued for a period not exceeding one year, and such certificates may be renewed for one year periods thereafter if the tent or air-supported structure complies with all laws, rules and regulations in effect at the time of request for renewal.

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/0-0-0-50217Fetched: 10/24/2026