A new approach to tackling New York State’s housing crisis aims to change the required number of staircases in apartment buildings.
Currently, state building code requires any apartment building three stories or taller to have at least two exits, or staircases. The longstanding code was put into place so that, during a fire, people have more than one way out and firefighters have more than one way in.
Single-stair buildings are common in many parts of the world, including in cities in Asia and Europe, because they allow for more units in a building. Lawmakers across the United States are taking notice, and “single-stair reform” is taking root nationwide. Amending the state code would allow housing developments of at least three stories and up to six stories to be built with a single staircase…