Except as may be otherwise provided by any law, the provisions
of this article shall be enforced by the Superintendent of Buildings,
and all safeguards required by the provisions of this article or by
any rules authorized hereunder shall be subject to the supervision
of the Department of Buildings. The Superintendent of Buildings shall
from time to time adopt such rules, consistent with the provisions
of this article, as may be necessary to secure fully the protection
of persons and property. In case any safeguard shall not be provided
as prescribed by this article, the Superintendent of Buildings shall
cause a notice to be served personally upon the persons whose duty
it may be to provide the same or upon the owners of the buildings
affected requiring such safeguard, and specifying the manner in which
the same shall be erected. If such safeguard is not provided as required
in such notice within three days after the service thereof, the Superintendent
of Buildings shall have full power and authority to provide or cause
the same to be provided as herein specified. All expenses connected
with same may become a lien on the property which will be recorded
on the owner's tax and assessment file.
Whenever any building, or part thereof, within 10 feet of the
building line, is to be erected or raised to exceed 40 feet in height,
or whenever such a building more than 40 feet in height is to be demolished,
the owner or the person doing or causing such work to be done shall
erect and maintain during such work a substantial shed over the sidewalk
in front of said buildings, and extending, so far as practicable,
from building line to curb. On streets 50 feet or less in width and
on streets having sidewalks less than 15 feet in width, such sheds
may extend beyond the curb to such extent as may, on the recommendation
of the Superintendent of Buildings, be approved by the Village Board
of Trustees, provided that when such sheds extend to within 15 feet
of the opposite building line, the written approval of the lessees,
tenants or occupants of the two stories or parts of stories next above
the curb of the buildings along the opposite building line shall have
been obtained before such approval is issued. Such shed shall remain
in place until the building is enclosed or, in case of demolition,
until the building has been reduced to 20 feet in height. Every such
shed shall be kept properly lighted at night.
In any building operation that does not require a sidewalk shed as provided in § 265-38 of this article, the owner or person doing or causing such work to be done shall, unless relieved by a general rule of the Superintendent of Buildings or a special permit from him, erect and maintain in front of the building during such building operation a substantial fence, not less than eight feet high, of wood or other suitable material. Such fence may extend not more than six feet into the highway and shall be built solid for its full length, except for such openings, provided with sliding doors or doors swinging inwards, as may be necessary for a proper prosecution of the work.
When any building is to be carried above the roof of an adjoining
building, proper means for the protection of the skylights and roof
of such adjoining building shall be provided by the person constructing
or causing the construction of such building, at his own expense,
provided that if the owner, lessee or tenant of the adjoining building
should refuse permission to have the roof and skylights so protected,
the responsibility and expense for the necessary protection shall
devolve on the person refusing this permission.
All scaffolds used in connection with the erection, alteration
or demolition of any building shall be constructed in a manner to
secure the safety of the workers on them and of all persons passing
under or near them. All scaffolds used on or about buildings at a
height of more than 20 feet above the street or ground level, or a
floor, except scaffolding wholly within the interior of a building
and covering the entire floor space of any room therein, shall be
provided along the outer edges and ends with substantial railings
or enclosures of wire mesh or other suitable material extending at
least three feet six inches above the working platform.
If the floors of any building are to be of fireproof construction,
the floor filling shall be completed as the building progresses. If
the floors consist of wood beam, the under-flooring, when double flooring
is to be used, shall be laid on each story as the building progresses;
when double floors are not to be used, the floors two stories below
the story where the work is being performed shall be kept planked
over. If the floor beams are of iron or steel, the entire tier of
iron or steel beams on which the structural iron or steel work is
being erected, except such spaces as may be reasonably required for
the proper construction of such iron or steel work and for the raising
or lowering of materials to be used in the construction of such building
or such spaces as may be designated by the approved plans for stairways
and shafts, shall be thoroughly planked over.
All floor openings within a building in the course of construction
shall be enclosed or fenced in on all sides by a barrier of suitable
height, except on those sides which may be used for the handling of
materials hoisted through such openings or at which stairs or ladders
land, provided that such sides, other than landings, shall be guarded
by an adjustable barrier not less than three feet nor more than four
feet from the floor and not less than two feet from the edge of such
opening.
Whenever permission has been given, under any of the provisions
of this chapter, to enter any adjoining building, the person who receives
such permission or who is responsible for the work requiring such
permission shall provide for such adjoining building adequate protection
against the weather.
Before the foundation walls of any building are completed, provision
shall be made to prevent water accumulating in the excavation or cellar,
to the injury of the foundation, and, if there is a sewer in the street,
the cellar shall also be connected therewith.
No building or part thereof, or any temporary support or scaffolding
in connection therewith, shall be loaded during erection, alteration
or demolition in excess of its safe carrying capacity.
In demolishing any building or part thereof, story after story
shall be completely removed. No material shall be stored upon a floor
of any building in the course of demolition, but old material shall
be lowered to the ground immediately upon displacement. The material
to be removed shall be properly wet to lay the dust incident to its
removal.
