About this Event
Join former FDNY Commissioner and NYU Wagner Researcher-in-Residence Laura Kavanagh and Melanie E. La Rocca (Chief Operating Officer, RiseBoro Community Partnership & former Commissioner, NYCDOB) for a fireside chat to discuss how fire departments and housing agencies can work together to keep New Yorkers safe while building the homes the city needs.
Our building and fire codes exist to protect residents. But as New York works to expand housing through building and renovation, a key question is whether those codes weigh risk in the right way. Too often, rules judge a material, design, or building type in isolation rather than against the real alternative: residents remaining in older, riskier housing when safer options are too costly or slow to build. Recent conversations about PVC piping, single-stair buildings, and sprinklering requirements offer an opportunity to ask whether rules that make new or upgraded housing harder to deliver actually make people safer, and how agencies with different missions can reach shared answers.
Laura and Melanie will draw on their experience leading two of the city’s key agencies to discuss how these decisions play out in practice, what delivers the best safety and housing outcomes for all residents, and what that reveals about broader challenges in urban governance. The fireside chat will be introduced and moderated by Bennett Midland.
Doors will open at 8:30am. The event will begin at 9:00am, with time at the end for audience Q&A. Breakfast will be provided. This event is for all NYU students, staff, faculty, and members of the broader community. Advance registration is required and external guests must present an ID in order to access the building.
Event venue & nearby stays
Main Event Space, 105 East 17th Street,, 105 East 17th Street, New York, United States
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