1879, and The Tenement House Act of 1901 which is part of the New York State Tenement House Act. The first tenement house act was called The Tenement House Act of 1867, also known as "the Old Law". It was the country's first comprehensive housing reform law. The law required buildings to have fire escapes and at least one toilet for every 20 tenants and to be connected to the city sewers if possible. However, many people (tenement owners) did not follow the law, so it had little effect. Then came the second Tenement House Act which was called The Tenement House Act of 1879, also known as "the Old Law" and was followed by the 1867 law. Many buildings were outlawing the construction of buildings like 97 Orchard Street that had interior rooms without windows. The 1879 law required all rooms to be open onto the street, the rear yard, or an air shaft, for the tenant to escape the building in an emergency. This led owners to the development of the "dumbbell" tenement plan. Then came the third Tenement House Act which was called The Tenement House Act of 1901, also known as "The New Law." The government noticed that many of the tenement buildings were extremely dangerous and unlivable. The 1901 law required buildings to include running water, gas, light, and ventilation. The Dumb-bell tenement plan was outlawed. Since the previous Tenement House Act had not helped change the housing conditions, the law allowed the Tenement House Department to inspect these buildings and enforce the new regulations. In popular culture Lower East Side Tenement Museum has been featured as a landmark in several films, including Crossing Delancey (1988) and The Definition of Insanity (film) (2004), where the museum was used as setting for the interior hospital sequences. It also made a brief appearance in the Netflix original series “Dash & Lilly” (2020), where it is the exterior backdrop while Lily skips down the street at the beginning of Episode 2, Season 1. See also List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City Jane Ziegelman, the museum's culinary director and author of 97 Orchard Bialystoker Synagogue A Stoop on Orchard Street, a musical inspired by a visit to the museum Tenement House (Glasgow), a similar museum in Scotland References Notes Bibliography External links Lower East Side Tenement Museum National Park Service: Lower East Side Tenement Museum