I Live in a building in the East village that was built in the early 1900's. I have discovered that the staircases in the building are still made of wood. To my understanding this has been illegal since the 1930's because of it being a tremendous fire hazard. The wood has heavy carpet over it so it is not easily detectable. I'm trying to find out if the current building laws allow any wood in a staircase of an apartment building in NYC. Any information regarding this condition or a viable tenant organization in my community that I could get in touch with would be greatly appreciated, Thank you.
Check the Multiple Dwelling Law from the link at the top of this page. It's probably more a question of whether they were legal at the time the building was constructed and if they were allowed to remain under some old or new tenement law. I've seen enough multiple dwellings with wooden stairs. I presume they had been grandfathered in.