A big deal happened recently, with so little fanfare that many might have missed it. The proposed New York City Existing Building Code became reasonably public. The draft code had been introduced in the City Council in June, meaning that it was in line for discussion and a vote; the step of devoting a page to it on the Department of Buildings website suggests that discussion is getting closer. As it is not yet enacted, it is still just a proposed code, but it’s all there for anyone who wants to read it.
A few thoughts… First, yes, I’m biased. I think that this is a change we very much need.
Second, yes, the International Existing Building Code has been around for some time, and New York City has never adopted it. The IEBC is fine for what it is, but that is limited. The IEBC has to cover the existing building stock and the varying environmental conditions across the country. The NYC EBC has been written to address the issues with our specific building stock, and the common problems that arise in alteration here.
Third, yes, change can be difficult but it is necessary. The EBC will replace a bunch of existing regulations (including the 1968 Building Code, which has been preserved like a fly in amber to address some of those local conditions) with a new code. We will all need to learn some new ways of doing things. Even just the flowchart explaining how to use the code shows some of those changes. But change is nothing new in this field: the NYC Building Code has changed significantly again and again (1892, 1901, 1916, 1938, 1968, 2008) and the change from our homegrown building code to a locally-adapted version of the IBC in 2008 upended a lot of habits and conventions. If the new code is better than the existing regulations – and I obviously believe that it is – then the difficulty is worth it.
Much, much more to come on this topic, but not until after the code is enacted.
You must be logged in to post a comment.