We just bought a 105 year old classic six on upper west side (on Broadway) and the living room window (facing a setback) has a fire escape stretching across the entire width of the 8' wide window. There are currently burglar bars from the 1970s bolted into the beautiful mahogany window frame. Some of the units above and below still have them, others have removed them. Do we still need them? The... [more]
We just bought a 105 year old classic six on upper west side (on Broadway) and the living room window (facing a setback) has a fire escape stretching across the entire width of the 8' wide window. There are currently burglar bars from the 1970s bolted into the beautiful mahogany window frame.
Some of the units above and below still have them, others have removed them. Do we still need them?
The unit is on an upper floor, and the fire escape is the type with stairs (not ladders) zig-zagging up the entire facade of the building from the rooftop down to the second floor roof above the sidewalk. There is no direct egress to the sidewalk (I am assuming if there is a fire, the FDNY would rescue folks from the first floor rooftop 15' above sidewalk). The only real access would be from a different unit in the same line as ours, or the roof.
Thoughts?
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