N.Y. Multiple Dwelling Law § 214: Size of rooms

§ 214. Size of rooms. 1. In every tenement erected after April

twelfth, nineteen hundred one, the sizes of living rooms shall meet the

following requirements:

a. In each apartment there shall be at least one living room

containing at least one hundred twenty square feet of clear floor area,

and every other living room except a kitchen shall contain at least

seventy square feet of clear floor area.

b. Every living room which contains less than eighty square feet of

clear floor area or which is located in the cellar or basement shall be

at least nine feet high, and every other living room at least eight feet

high; these measurements to be taken from finished floor to finished

ceiling.

c. Every living room shall have a least horizontal dimension of at

least six feet and, if the tenement was erected after April eighteenth,

nineteen hundred twelve, of at least seven feet; except that the minimum

horizontal dimension of any kitchen and of a maid's or servant's

sleeping room in a fire-proof tenement in which one or more passenger

elevators are operated, shall be six feet.

2. In any tenement, apartments containing three or more rooms may have

dining bays, which shall not exceed fifty-five square feet in floor

surface area and shall not be deemed separate rooms or subject to the

requirements for separate rooms or alcoves. Every such dining bay shall

be equipped with such appropriate permanent fittings as may be required

by the department and shall also be provided with at least one window

opening directly upon a street or upon a yard or court which was lawful

on April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine. The area of such

window shall be one-eighth at least of the floor surface area of such

dining bay. No dining bay shall be permitted in any apartment containing

less than three rooms.