Oyster Bay, NY Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)

Enacted under § 124 of the New York General Municipal Law, which authorizes Nassau County towns to regulate elevator inspections, Article IV of Chapter 93 requires the owner or agent of any building with an elevator to register it and file a complete inspection report with the Superintendent of the Division of Building. Section 93-35 requires that report from a recognized elevator repair or installation company, an insurance company, or a licensed professional engineer, and both hydraulic and cable elevators need written findings of annual load testing, with hydraulic units also needing pressure test results.

Multiple dwellings must comply, though one-family, two-family or parent-child residences where the owner lives on site are exempt, except that their elevators must still be inspected and approved on installation and again whenever title to the property transfers. Reports are due twice a year, before the last days of June and December, and a license renewal fee under the Commissioner's fee schedule is due annually by December 31. Under § 93-36, the report must list every part inspected and certify the elevator is safe and code-compliant, filed on a Commissioner-designed form naming the owner, the inspector, the property's tax section, block and lot, and the inspection date.

Section 93-37 requires a convex mirror at least eight inches in diameter in the rear of every passenger car, and § 93-38 mandates emergency lighting, an alarm bell and an emergency escape hatch on every elevator. Once the Department approves the report, § 93-39 requires a certificate of compliance posted inside the car; if an elevator fails inspection or lacks a valid certificate, the Commissioner can order it shut down until the defect is fixed.