LeadingAge NY Secures Critical Amendments to New Emergency Evacuation Planning Law

Governor Hochul has signed legislation relating to emergency evacuation planning requirements for individuals with disabilities living in high-rise buildings, including critical amendments secured by LeadingAge NY to protect the privacy and safety of older adult residents of these properties.

The bill as originally written and passed by the Legislature in 2023 would have required high-rise property owners – or owners of properties of about seven stories or more – to develop emergency evacuation plans for residents with disabilities. As part of the plan, owners would have been required to take specific steps such as creating clearly identifiable and accessible “areas of rescue assistance” throughout the building and maintaining, posting, and sharing on request a list of individuals who would need help in the event of an emergency.

While the bill was likely to exclude high-rise properties in NYC, LeadingAge NY remained concerned about the potential impact of the bill on high-rise senior housing providers and their residents outside of NYC who have already established specialized evacuation plans under the advisement of local emergency response teams. We also continued to raise concerns regarding resident privacy, given the bill’s public posting requirement. Lastly, the bill as originally written did nothing to exclude nursing home, adult care facility (ACF), and assisted living providers who are already subject to extensive evacuation plan and emergency preparedness requirements, creating duplicative and potentially conflicting requirements.

The final law is expected to include amendments championed by LeadingAge NY to allow specialized evacuation plans that have been developed by senior housing providers and their local emergency response teams to satisfy planning mandates; to exempt high-rise nursing home, ACF, and assisted living providers from duplicative requirements; and to limit sharing of residents’ personally identifiable information.

Additionally, amendments are expected to give the NYS Fire Prevention and Building Code Council direction and flexibility to consult with other stakeholders and adopt standards for emergency evacuation planning informed by best practices.

LeadingAge NY will continue to monitor the finalization and implementation of this new law, which is expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Contact: Annalyse Komoroske Denio, akomoroskedenio@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866