Summary
A New York City law requiring hearing loops in city-funded assembly projects, the hearing-loss symbol with a T at entrances and check-in desks, and a yearly online list of city sites with assistive listening.
Key findings
- Requires each city capital project with a baseline construction cost of $950,000 or more that builds or rebuilds assembly areas to put an induction loop in at least one of them, or an alternative system that the mayor rules significantly more effective, and microloops at security, information or reception desks where people check in for events in a looped area.
- Requires the building entrance and those check-in areas to display the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss (figure 703.6.3.3 of ICC A117.1-2009) with a "T" in the lower right-hand corner to show that an induction loop is available, or a symbol for the alternative system.
- Requires directional signage to the assistive listening assembly area, with raised graphics and Braille, under the city building code.
- Required the city to post on its website by 1 July 2018, and to update yearly, the city-owned or city-run facilities where an assistive listening system (induction loop, infrared, FM or other) is available or being installed, with the type of system and the cost of new installations.
- Lets the mayor, after consulting experts on hearing disabilities and assistive listening and advocates for people who are hard of hearing, allow a newer technology as an alternative to a loop.
- Requires each city capital project with an estimated baseline construction cost of $950,000 or more that builds or rebuilds assembly areas to include an induction loop in at least one assembly area, plus microloops at security, information or reception desks used to check in people attending events there. Classrooms, first-responder facilities, courthouses and outdoor facilities such as stadiums are excluded.
- Exempts the reconstruction of an assembly area where the estimated cost of installing a loop or alternative system exceeds 5% of the project's baseline construction cost, which excludes the cost of the assistive listening system.
- Lets the Mayor exempt projects accounting for up to 20% of the capital dollars subject to the law each fiscal year, reporting the exemptions and their basis to the Council.
- Allows another system only where the Mayor, after consulting experts and advocates, finds a new technology "significantly more effective" than a loop.
- Requires the city to publish, and update every year, the city facilities with an induction loop, infrared, FM or other assistive listening system, the type of system, and "the cost associated with installation of new assistive listening systems".
- Section 2 makes the law effective on 1 January 2018 and applies it to projects whose construction-document approval applications are filed with the Department of Buildings on or after that date. The closing statement records mayoral approval on 21 March 2017.
- Section 224.3(a) defines baseline construction cost to exclude assistive-listening installation cost. Under 224.3(b), a loop must meet section N102 of Building Code Appendix N; an authorised alternative must meet Appendix N.
- Section 224.3(f) exempts construction or reconstruction of assembly areas not owned by the city when city funding is below 50% of estimated project cost, unless the project receives at least USD 1 million from the city treasury.
- Section 224.3(c) specifies directional signs with raised graphics and letters with Braille descriptors. Subdivision (i) provides for a mayoral rule authorising an alternative following the effectiveness finding and expert/advocate consultation.
Limits
Applies only to qualifying city-funded projects in New York City, with exemptions (for example a reconstruction where a loop would cost more than 5% of the baseline cost). It sets no check that the signs or the list are accurate. Passed on 16 March 2017, approved on 21 March 2017 and in force from 1 January 2018. The city's published list, seen on 9 October 2026, says its data are self-reported by agencies and updated yearly (last update 2 January 2026).
Read the original
www.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/local_laws/ll51of2017.pdf
Cited in
- What does each system cost to install and to run over its life?Open
- How do listeners learn that a venue has assistive listening, and which signs and symbols do the rules ask for?Partly answered
- What works in courtrooms, council chambers and other meeting rooms where speech must be heard by all and kept in the room?Partly answered
Cite this source
New York City Council. Local Law No. 51 of 2017: induction loop systems in city capital projects (New York City Charter section 224.3). City of New York (Department of Buildings, local laws). 21 March 2017. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/local_laws/ll51of2017.pdf (accessed 13 October 2026).
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