Administration and enforcement of the New York State Code includes two main areas of activity:

Fire Safety Inspections

Title 19 and the State Education law, of the New York State Code, Rules and Regulations mandates that public college facilities shall be inspected annually. These annual fire inspections are conducted by representatives of the NYS Department of State, Office of Fire Prevention and Control.  Inspection reports are forwarded to the Department of Environmental Health and Safety for coordination of follow-up activities to correct unsafe conditions or violations.  In addition, a corrective plan must be maintained for any violation not corrected within the abatement period given.

A staff member in the Department of Environmental Health and Safety has been designated Code Coordinator as required by NYCRR, Title 19, Section 448.5 of the regulation.  It is the responsibility of the Code Coordinator to conduct fire safety inspections (448.12). 

Construction Permitting

Effective July 1, 1990, no State Agency may commence Code-regulated work¹ without issuing a Construction Permit prior to the start of work.  Additionally, for every project for which a Construction Permit is issued, continued occupancy or re-occupancy of the building or area of work cannot occur until a Code Compliance Certificate (or Temporary Approval for Occupancy) is issued.  All construction, rehabilitation of areas, or other modifications to buildings, must be coordinated through the Department of Physical Facilities. A licensed architect in Physical Facilities has been designated Code Compliance Manager as required by section 448.6 of the regulation.  The Code Compliance Manager is responsible for the issuance of construction permits (448.7), inspection during construction (448.8), temporary approvals for occupancy (448.10) and stop work orders (448.11).

There are a total of four exemptions to the permit requirement, each of which is independent of the others.  The exemptions are:

1. Work which is not subject to the Uniform Code.

2. Necessary repairs which do not materially affect structural elements and/or the plumbing, electrical or heating/ventilation systems.

3. Construction of storage facilities of less than 3,000 cubic feet.

4. Work costing $20,000 or less on an existing building, provided that such exemption does not conflict with the procedures of any construction permitting agency involved   in the project.

Overall administration of our compliance with NYS Codes has been assigned to the Department of Environmental Health & Safety.

For projects executed by the State University Construction Fund (SUCF) and the Dormitory Authority, code enforcement requirements for construction permits and compliance certificates will be handled directly by those agencies.