Still plagued by problems: Nearly a year after new ownership, troubled city apartment buildings remain in bad state
NJ.com – 5/29/11

“TRENTON — Block lettering on the emergency exits at the tops of the four stairwells in the Carteret Arms apartment building warns: ‘Tenants and guests are not permitted on roof.’  One of the doors, however, hangs open, its alarmed push-bar ripped off and discarded on the roof of the 15-story apartment building on West State Street…”

As I’ve said before, roof doors are rarely part of an egress path from a building.  I’m not familiar with the particulars of this apartment building, but I know that in many cases it’s more dangerous to allow access to the roof, as illustrated by a recent news report of a toddler wandering up to the roof of an apartment building and falling off.  The photos that accompany this story illustrate the struggle between the attempt to use the doors for authorized egress (required or not), and the desire to keep people off the roof.

Here are a couple of photos from NJ.com:

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