Illegal grille upstairs

If it's a charcoal or gas grill, call the FDNY. It is illegal to have a gas or charcoal on a terrace. If you're concerned that they'll seek retaliation, call 911 from a payphone when they're grilling and say you see smoke and flame coming from the top of the building.

Vegans taking over the world, one grill(e) at a time. And sorry, your claim that the other penthouse owners are with you on this seems far fetched at best. All penthouse people grill, and take great pride in their ability to raise the ire of their confined neighbors below by mysteriously ventilating noxious fumes of burnt animal flesh sixty feet down the air shaft, or stuffing their bags of charcoal, bedding plants and suntanned bodies into the elevator all smoky and Corona-y. You see we are masters of the lawless frontier that exists where mortals fear to tread. Do not think that you can make the people of the Upper World like you.

Thanks. If you need me, I'll be outside tending to my BC bud.

Id pay to have some fireplace or BBQ smell passing by as long as there is not a cloud of smoke in my apt. Heck, right now all I smell is the nasty nyc streets gasses and odors creeping up to the 4th floor..who can I call for that?

Only propane is illegal. Charcoal is legal if they have 10 feet of clearance from the building, and a bucket of water.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/safety/barbeque.shtml

If they are grilling legally there isn't much you can do. Try telling them the problem and have them suggest solutions - I'm sure they don't want a hostile relationship with the building either.

all kidding aside, what r they grilling?

I'm sure electric type of grills are perfectly legal. Either 120V or 220V. Super-sized George Foreman style.

http://www.bbqguysmfg.com/

There are nice electric grills that are used on yachts that are electric, which can be used in place of a charcoal and/or gas/propane grill.

I have never seen a yacht using anything other than propane or charcoal. Generators and inverters are needed if you must have a fake, city boy, "bbq" on a boat, which is fine if that's your thing,

spinnaker1, when you're right, you're right but when you're wrong, you're not just wrong but also obnoxious and not too smart. Sorry. So take your yacht and blow it up if you feel like it.
The other penthouse owners here DO NOT grill because it's banned by the co-op, ok?

"Short of open confrontation and ratting them out to the board..."

Sorry to be the one to break the bad news to you, but if the offending penthouser is grilling like crazy, the smell penetrates (at least) the top six floors of the building and the other three penthouse owners are in on the joke, then you can assume that the board already knows. Read what you will into the fact that they apparently haven't acted on this knowledge.

Loosen up common man. Come on up for a corona or an iced chamomile and we'll sort this thing out. How do you like your steak?

spin - none of my business since I'm not the one invited, but you should get some real beer. Serving corona could be grounds for revocation of your passport

"Short of open confrontation and ratting them out to the board ..."

Who wants to bet that the co-op board president is having his own cookout on his penthouse terrace?

How often and for how long are they grilling? Do they know they're annoying people?

"Who wants to bet that the co-op board president is having his own cookout on his penthouse terrace?"

"Damn those Co-op Board Presidents"

- Co-op Board Vice President

You can also run a gas line onto your terrace as well to fire up your grille.

Commoner, it sounds like you have other much more serious "problems" in your life if you are appealing to this thread to get your neighbors to stop grilling. For the love of God, please find SOMETHING ANYTHING more constructive to fill your desparately boring hours!

spinnaker, you're on. Medium-rare steak, Grolsch for beer. Are we having any company?

mad0415, tsk, tsk, tsk on me. On the "ignore" you go. Also, is "despErately". Go outside, dear.

FWIW, just found out that the board is having a special meeting on the issue, and it doesn't look good for the grillers. Turns out, KeithB is wrong and in NYC you can't grill on top of any multidwelling buildings unless it's an electric grill. Otherwise, it turns out, the building might get fined by the city.

Are we talking share revocation ala the washer/dryer folks? You know, laying down the law hard...

In any case, if the board was being complacent on the issue, an message to the insurer could perhaps put a fire to their asses, so to speak.

Spin, vegans and vegetarians love grilling. Grilled veggies and Boca burgers...mmm.

Maybe grilling should be like smoking weed - bring enough for those in the line of smoke and everybody looks the other way..

sideliner - I have studied this for many many years, when it's 95 you drink corona from a cooler of ice -never a fridge. lime is fine but unnecessary after about the 3rd or 4th.

And common person. Glad to hear you now have the problem licked. Ring us up next weekend and let us know what everyone is cooking. Sorry I don't do Grolsch before Labor Day. Or after for that matter.

Boca burgers sound delightful evnyc, I'll have bacon and a slice of 4 pound porterhouse on mine pls.

grolsch is nasty..plzen, or pilsner urquell, now we are talking..and totally agree with the tub of ice..I even put a bit of cold water in there, and try to barely submerge the bottles in the ice/water..eventually that gets uber cold.

To each his or her own, Spin. UD, I agree: grolsch tastes like a bottled fart. I say you can't go wrong with Brooklyn Brewery, and anything from Unibroue, sign me up! But don't let me fall off the balcony two beers later!

You don't want to "rat them out to the board"...they obviously don't care about their neighbors yet you worry about them..write a letter to the board and ask your neighbors to do the same.

As far as I know, and I too have researched it, it is completely legal to use charcoal on a terrace if the structure is not wooden, there is 10 ft of clearance to the building, and you have a water faucet withing 10 ft of the BBQ. Luckily my situation fits this. Also, none of my neighbors have ever complained. Are you living below me?

a bottled fart...yes! perfect description..pledging zbt we had a lineup and had to chug a bottle of jim beam and the only thing we could wash it down with was grolsch..nasty

"A bottled fart? I know evnyc. Evnyc is a lady. This could not be evnyc.

Heh, Dreamer, it's mostly true...but I do have my declasse side. UD, that sounds utterly nauseating. Unfortunately when it comes to drinking I'm all talk until next January. Sigh.

"Short of open confrontation and ratting them out to the board, any other solution to this nuisance?"

I can call up my contact at the Air Force and have an airstrike on the grill before the end of the day. Just give me the word...

"pledging zbt "

figures

"I can call up my contact at the Air Force and have an airstrike on the grill before the end of the day. "

UrbanShovels own Christine Fingers? http://www.urbandigs.com/about.html

Julia, tha's what their immediate neighbors decided to do and did, very efficiently. Worked like a charm.

Hey, "bottled fart"? pilsner urquell is horsepiss. But to each his own.

AvUWS, god forbid.

commoner - GET A LIFE!

Close your window if it boithers you.

Honestly ...

lol UrbanS; I think you nailed it. Too funny.

hahahahh..omg, that is hilarious...so funny. nailed it. spot on.

Charcoal grills are completely legal on roof terraces in NYC. I even had some friendly FDNY confirm this for me after being sicced on my rooftop smoker by some grumpy neighbors.

I used to have a propane grill on my small terrace and I would get those little 2 pound propane canisters for safety.
One windy day, had a little grease fire that kinda looked like it was about to get out of hand. Flames started burning on the outside cover of the grill and I thought for sure, someone in a surrounding building seeing the flames would call the fire dept. Heck, I was 60 seconds away from making a call. Last ditch effort was soaking a towel and smothering the grill and it worked.
I tossed the grill the next day as it was the first time I really considered the liability of it.
I'll never put a grill on a balcony again, only setback or roof terraces with a fire extinguisher on hand.
{And for anyone else who keeps extinguishers on hand, don't use a water extinguisher as this will only spread a grease fire}

Commoner
You can always go to your PH neighbors or the public section of your roof and through buteric acid and your neighbors grill while the meat's on. Or have I been watching too much whale wars......

Are the 2 pound propane cannisters legal on a roof?

I'm sure it's the same rules as a full tank.
It's just safer though (more a pain in the ass for frequency) to have the 2 pounder. You can get them at any camping store.

And an edit, can't believe I wrote "and through buteric acid"....meant "throw buteric acid"

It's a simple job for the NYFD.
Call 311 next grill fiesta and report the crime.
City loves fines and this is a biggie. Mayor McBloomberg loves nothing more than handing of a big ticket. The city rules for grilling are all about public safety and this junior Bobby Flay is about to get his a** BBQ'ed by you.
Problem solved...

Title 3 of the
Rules of the City of New York
§24-02
Barbecues on Residential Property.

Barbecues on residential property shall not be operated within ten (10) feet of any combustible material and there shall be available for use a garden type hose attached to a water supply or at least a sixteen (16) quart pail of water.

Never use a propane barbecue grill on a balcony, terrace or roof. It is both dangerous and illegal.

Propane barbecue grills and no more than two (2) 20-pound propane tanks are allowed on the grounds of a one or two-family home, but be sure to follow the fire safety precautions below.

Only use a charcoal barbecue grill on a balcony or terrace if there is a ten foot clearance from the building and there is an immediate source of water (garden hose or four (4) gallon pail of water). Otherwise, such barbequeings is dangerous and illegal.

Parties looking to barbecue in commercial establishments, street festivals, or in other nonresidential areas must make specific applications to the FDNY.

The law says no propane above the ground floor and only 1 propane tank per family/unit on the ground floor yard. Charcoal grills must not be elevated (i.e. on tables - if they are small) and must sit on the floor. The 10' from building rule as mentioned before, water hose /or bucket of water a disposal metal container with sand for the charcoal disposal. FDNY instructions are also to be posted near it.

I think of the 1 propane tank rule per unit/yard in similar terms as combining 2 units in a building and having to get rid of one of the kitchens.

^---- posted about the same time, but we seem to differ on the number of propane tanks allowed per unit/yard.

My understanding is that even propane is legal if no overhang and 10 feet from exterior wall. Problem is that it is illegal to carry propane through the building. That's the Catch-22. So, unless you an arrange a helicopter propane drop (LOL), the A
alternative is to put it in a suitcase and smuggle it in. Once it's on the terrace it becomes legal.

somebody else supplied the link too..its direct from FDNY site and specific to City Residential BBQing and whats allowed. Hard to argue this.

http://home2.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/safety/barbeque.shtml

I don’t know where it’s cited, but I’m pretty sure propane is always illegal except on the ground. Which is okay by me because, really, you’re grilling with propane? What’s the point?

When I was living in Brooklyn a couple years ago, there was a massive explosion and a several-alarm fire when a rooftop propane storage cage combusted. It was the local fire station’s personal stash.

oh wow...penthouse lady is wrong? Again? What a surprise.

Yup, you're right ud. On the very bottom of the website it clearly states, "...(2) 20-pound propane tanks are allowed...."

Well I am definitely wrong on this one, but I don't think it would be a good idea for me to rat out the coop board president, whose terrace with propane grill is visible two floors below me

Hey CC, the troll stalks again? Why don't you just get another Scotch, your BB gun, and try to shoot some more rabbits?

tell us when you've ever been right. i can't recall any instance.

ph41,
Hard for me to believe that you are afraid of the coop president.
More likely...the board is afraid of you.
More likely...the board is afraid of you showing up at board meetings.
BBQ that presidents a**.
Teach'em whose on top.

they reference 20# propane tanks, but are the little camping ones also illegal?

Im sure it means all propane tanks "up to" 20 pounds.
The difference is it's easier to sneak in a 2 pound tank, fits in your pocket practically.

http://0.tqn.com/d/bbq/1/0/d/S/coleman_propane_cylinder.jpg

And I had a small grill too, with a 2 lb tank, and still felt plenty dangerous when it caught fire

http://www.wellpromo.com/upload/upimg44/Coleman-Roadtrip-Grill-Lxe-121244.jpg

Hey I have a natural gas line to my penthouse terrace. Am I good to go with a gas grill? I want to be legal

rockrock, NYC Fire Code section 307.5 has what you need. In short: grill needs to be 10 feet from anything combustible (including the building) and you need a garden hose or portable fire extinguisher nearby.