On a clear, early evening in February 2009, Manhattan units responded to a phone alarm for a fire in a laundromat. On arrival, units encountered a four-story, non-fireproof, 20- by 40-foot multiple dwelling with a 25-foot first-floor setback in the rear. The first floor contained a laundromat. Floors two through four contained apartments. Fire and […]

Anyone living or working in New York City in the past 10 years knows there has been a building boom not seen since World War II. Changes in building materials and practices, building codes and new living arrangements are evident everywhere. Some examples: factory conversions, penthouse rooms in tenements and now, something new–scooped-out living space […]