Why a Law Requiring Gas Detectors Is a Headache for Landlords
Good morning. It's Thursday. Today we'll find out about a requirement for natural gas detectors that many apartment buildings in New York City will be hard-pressed to comply with. And, with the Democratic primary for mayor now two months away, we'll also have details on four new endorsements and one candidate's campaign strategy.
A week from today, a statute known as Local Law 157 is scheduled to go into effect in New York City, imposing a seemingly mundane requirement that many buildings will find themselves hard-pressed to comply with.
Local Law 157 says that a detector that can sense the buildup of natural gas must be installed wherever there is a gas-powered appliance — in every kitchen with a gas stove and every laundry room with a gas dryer.
New York is the first major city to require such devices along with smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. But for buildings that prefer battery-powered detectors over plug-in ones, there is a holdup: Only one company makes battery-operated units that meet standards set by Local Law 157. Suppliers say that shipments cannot arrive fast enough.
That has many building owners and superintendents worried about missing the May 1 deadline. But housing inspectors will not immediately issue violations while the city works out details on enforcement.
One City Council member, Eric Dinowitz, a Democrat from the Bronx, said he had circulated a letter signed by 17 other Council members calling on the Department of Buildings to 'intervene and pump the brakes on this thing.' But a spokesman for the agency said it could not stop the law from going into effect.
'The purpose of this law was not to become more of a burden on buildings,' Dinowitz said. 'It's ostensibly to promote safety.' He said the Council was also working on drafting new legislation 'to be realistic about implementation.'
Some managing agents fear that having detectors in every apartment will lead to unnecessary calls to 311 or 911 and to building-wide gas shut-offs. They also worry that it could take months to satisfy requirements for turning the gas on again, leaving residents to cook on hot plates and hang their clothes up to dry.
It has taken nine years for Local Law 157 to reach this moment. The City Council passed it after three major gas explosions that killed 10 people and injured more than 70 over 18 months. One in 2014 destroyed a building on Park Avenue in Harlem. There were two in 2015, one that leveled three buildings on Second Avenue in the East Village and another at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx.
But as drafted by the City Council, Local Law 157 was not to take effect until after there was a national standard for gas detectors. The National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit group that prepares safety codes that state and local governments often adopt as their own, eventually published a standard. The city's Buildings Department, in turn, published its own version last year.
That started a countdown — Local Law 157 said it would take effect on May 1 of the year after the standard was finalized — and a scramble to find devices that comply and are listed and labeled UL1484, signifying that they have been tested by the independent laboratory formerly known as Underwriters Laboratories.
'The demand has skyrocketed in the last 60 days, and we're unable to keep up,' said Evan Jacobs, the director of operations for F&F Supply, a Bronx company whose customers include apartment buildings. 'We are getting calls from large management companies that I have been reaching to for a year that are saying, 'This is finally going into effect, and I don't have devices.''
For many resident managers, the instructions in Local Law 157 about where to place the detectors are problematic. It says they are to go within 12 inches of a ceiling, at least five feet from a stove or cooktop hood and between three and 10 feet from other types of gas-powered appliances.
The height requirement is 'impractical,' said John Rusk, the president of ProSentry, a company that installs building monitoring systems. 'Other than the occasional outlet for a kitchen clock, there are not regularly installed electrical outlets' a foot from the ceiling 'in any New York City apartment that I've ever seen, and no one wants an electrical cord stringing across their kitchen.'
That has left building managers looking for battery-powered models that meet the standards the city adopted. That, in turn, has led them to an Illinois-based company, DeNova Detect, that says it makes the only battery-powered detectors that comply.
The detectors were originally made only in Japan. Ron Lazarus, the chief executive of DeNova Detect, said that the company had added a factory in Mexico and was shipping 'significant quantities' to New York. He would not say how many.
But those who waited to place orders will wait for deliveries. Paul Xuereb, a vice president for Tri-Star Equities, a property management firm, said that about 60 buildings in its portfolio had not ordered detectors. 'We're not going to get them till August,' he said, adding that he had even tried Amazon. But it too said the DeNova Detect alarm was unavailable.
Expect a sunny day with the temperature reaching the low 70s. The evening will be mostly clear with a drop to around 57.
In effect until May 26 (Memorial Day).
The latest Metro news
Four endorsements and a 'Rose Garden' strategy
The race for mayor was shaken up by four endorsements for Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker. Three came from unions, including District Council 37, the city's largest municipal union. The fourth came from Letitia James, the state attorney general.
My colleague Emma G. Fitzsimmons writes that the labor endorsements were a sign that the front-runner, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, won't get all the institutional support in the race against Mayor Eric Adams. Speaker Adams, who is not related to the mayor, announced her campaign later than the eight other major candidates in the June 24 Democratic primary.
James, who appeared with Speaker Adams and leaders of the three unions at a rally on Wednesday, said that Speaker Adams had the experience and integrity to run the city. And, making an indirect but unmistakable reference to Cuomo, she urged voters not to 'look to the past' or to candidates seeking 'political revenge or even redemption.'
Cuomo is following a so-called Rose Garden strategy in his tightly controlled campaign, attending a small number of events that allow him to avoid confrontational interactions with his opponents.
He used the same strategy when he ran for re-election as governor. This time around, he does not have the benefit of incumbency, and he is drawing criticism from his opponents, including the actual incumbent. Mayor Eric Adams said Cuomo has been hiding 'in the shadows.'
'He's in this bubble — you can't even get near him,' the mayor said at a news conference last month. He added: 'He controls walking in. He controls walking out. He's not answering questions from you.'
Play Ball
Dear Diary:
I was running some errands in my Upper West Side neighborhood on a Saturday in March.
First, I dropped off my shirts at the dry cleaner. From there, I walked briskly up Broadway. As I did, I approached and then began to pass an older man wearing a Yankees jacket. The lettering and logo on the front and back were gigantic.
With spring training in full swing, I asked how he thought the team was shaping up for Opening Day.
He shrugged and chuckled.
'I don't know,' he said. 'My cousin gave me this jacket.'
— Chris Parnagian
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B.
P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here.
Stefano Montali and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com.
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