NY City creates a separate department known as the Department of Buildings

A unified citywide Department of Buildings was established.

In 1625, the Dutch West India Company set early building rules for New Amsterdam, laying the groundwork for one of the nation's most comprehensive building codes. By 1674, laws on construction, fire prevention, and sanitation were established. After a deadly tenement fire in 1860, New York City strengthened its building laws and created the position of "Superintendent of Buildings" within the Fire Department.

Showing the waterfront, Brooklyn Bridge, with Battery Park and Governors Island in the foreground. &nbsp;

Department of Buildings established

Amendments to the Building Code mandated sprinklers in residential buildings of four or more units, resulting from two residential fires in 1998 that killed a total of 3 firefighters and 4 civilians

The 1968 Building Code increased travel distance to 200ft in unsprinklered buildings and 300 ft. in sprinklered buildings

One of the results of September 11th was a massive revision led by Commissioner Patricia Lancaster of New York City, appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, to modernize the reactive Building Code. New York City’s current Building Code, enacted in 1968 and updated through 2004, replaced the 1938 code with modern, nationally recognized standards. It streamlined approvals for new materials and safety systems, allowed the Buildings Commissioner to adopt new standards without legislative action, and incorporated numerous local laws addressing fire safety, facades, elevators, sprinklers, and more. Major amendments since include rules on outdoor advertising, carbon monoxide detectors, high-rise fire safety, and mechanical systems.

1938 Building Code improves fire safety, requiring at least two fully enclosed stairwells in new office buildings.