[Added 12-7-1992 by L.L. No. 1-1992; amended 3-21-1994 by L.L. No. 4-1994]
This article shall be known as "Residential
Home Security" and is supplementary to applicable provisions of the
New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
The purpose of this article is to recognize
the fundamental importance of personal safety to quality of life and
to ensure that basic, minimum security measures are available in all
residences by establishing standards for residential security in rental
property and by providing a procedure by which inspections are conducted
and compliance obtained prior to the issuance of residential occupancy
permits.
[Amended 4-15-1996 by L.L. No. 3-1996]
A.
All terms have the same definition as in other chapters
of the Code of the City of Albany.
B.
WINDOW PINS
As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
Nails or eyebolts, or similar devices, placed in holes drilled
into the frame or sash of a wooden double-hung window.
[Amended 4-15-1996 by L.L. No. 3-1996]
This article shall apply to all residential
buildings in the City of Albany in which at least one rental dwelling
unit exists, but shall have no application to owner-occupied units
within such residential buildings.
[Amended 4-15-1996 by L.L. No. 3-1996]
A.
Door locks.
(1)
Dwelling units. Each entry door to a dwelling unit
shall be equipped with an operating single-cylinder dead-bolt lock
with a minimum one-inch throw. The strike plate for said lock shall
be firmly attached with a minimum of two screws.
(2)
Building entrances. For the purpose of this section,
where a building entrance consists of two doors or sets of doors,
the requirements shall be applicable to the door or doors closest
to the interior of the building.
(a)
In buildings of one and two units, all common entrances, including main, rear and service, shall have doors which are capable of self-locking, equipped with a latch with at least a one-half-inch throw and equipped with a dead-bolt as provided for in § 133-60A. In buildings of three or more units, common entrance doors shall be equipped with a dead-latch with at least one-half-inch throw. Such latch shall remain fully operational from the interior in accordance with the Uniform Code and shall be capable of self-locking. Buildings with three units, in which two units share common entrance doors and the third unit maintains separate entrance doors, shall be subject to the requirements of one- and two-unit buildings.
(3)
Double-leaf doors. Main entrance doors which consist of two separate, operable doors may have the active door secured with the type of lock required in Subsection A(2) of this section, provided that the inactive leaf is equipped with flush bolts top and bottom with a minimum throw of five-eighths (5/8) inch, entering into a metal strike plate. In no case may any leaf of a double-leaf door be rendered inactive if the full doorway capacity is required as an exit under the Uniform Code.
B.
Doors.
(1)
Main entrance doors. Hollow-core doors shall be prohibited
from use as any door which provides egress to the exterior of a building,
including front, side and rear entrance doors. Windows located in
main entrance doors within two feet of the door lock shall be covered
by or replaced with a clear, shatter-resistant material or glazed
glass not less than one-fourth (1/4) inch in thickness.
(2)
Main entrance doors to individual dwelling units.
All door(s) to individual dwelling units shall be equipped with an
optical viewer with a one-hundred-eighty-degree field of vision unless
there is glass immediately adjacent to or within the door that provides
an adequate view of the doorway. In addition, such doors shall not
be hollow core.
(a)
Doors shall be hinged so that the hinges are
not accessible from the exterior or equipped with a security door
pin or hinge pin.
(3)
Sliding glass doors. Sliding glass doors which open
onto patios or balconies at the ground or first floor level, or which
open onto a fire escape, shall be equipped with a lock, bar or Charley
bar which would act to prevent the movable section from being lifted
from the track when such doors are closed and in the locked position.
(a)
Such door shall be of the type where the movable
section of the door shall slide on the inside of the fixed portion
of the door.
C.
Windows. Every window at first-floor or basement levels
or openings onto a fire escape or which is accessible from another
building or the ground shall be equipped with a secure, operating
locking device. In addition, all double-hung windows shall be equipped
with window pins, clips or similar safety devices which, when in use,
prevent the window from locking open more than four inches.
[Amended 2-19-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]
D.
Lighting. Main entrance doors and any other door which
constitutes an entrance into a dwelling unit shall be fitted with
an exterior operating light fixture, accessible to operation by the
tenant, with no less than one forty-watt bulb or the equivalent, such
fixture to be located no farther than four feet from said entrance
which provides safe, adequate lighting to the entrance area. Timed
light-sensitive or motion-sensitive systems may be substituted, provided
that they function during hours of darkness.
E.
House numbers. Upon each residential building subject
to this article the proper house number shall be affixed in a well-lighted
location visible at all times from the adjoining street. The house
number shall be of a suitably durable material such as metal, at least
three inches in height in a color(s) contrasting to the background
to which the number is attached and either:
F.
Doorbells. Each dwelling unit shall be equipped with
a signaling device such as a doorbell, intercom or phone system to
notify occupants of the unit of visitors.
[Amended 4-15-1996 by L.L. No. 3-1996]
Inspections shall be conducted under the direction
of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Inspections shall
be made whenever an application for a residential occupancy permit
is made or upon the request of either the owner or tenant.
This article shall take effect 60 days upon
final passage, publication and filing as required by law and shall
supersede any inconsistent provisions of the Code of the City of Albany
and any local law, ordinance, Charter provision or resolution.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section
or part of this article shall be adjudged by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair
or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation
to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly
involved in the controversy in which such judgment is rendered.
