Pol’s ‘flex’ appeal on NYC apts.

Bid to OK temp walls

A Manhattan lawmaker wants to help solve the city’s affordable-housing crisis by making it easier for New Yorkers to subdivide apartments and pack in more people — a move the FDNY says could create deathtraps.

Councilman Ben Kallos (D) introduced legislation on Thursday to legalize “flex apartments,” in which temporary walls are installed to create new living spaces.

This longtime, unlawful Big Apple practice has historically provided landlords with additional rooms to lease and tenants with extra privacy to attract roommates to help cover rent.

City law prohibits the addition of temporary walls or other floor-to-ceiling dividers unless the installation plans are first submitted to the city by a licensed engineer or architect and then approved through a Department of Buildings permit.

Under Kallos’ legislation, the DOB approval would no longer be needed; interested parties would only have to make the agency aware of any changes and wouldn’t have to hire pricey outside help.

“No one can afford to live in New York City, but adding a temporary wall can really help split the rent or add a room for a new baby so parents like me can get a good night’s sleep,” Kallos said.

“It’s ridiculous that these temporary walls are illegal. They are literally everywhere, and they aren’t going anywhere.”

Fire Department spokesman Frank Dwyer said the FDNY had yet to examine the bill but told The Post such “illegal conversions . . . block means of egress and endanger the lives of New Yorkers and firefighters who respond to fight fires.”

The city briefly cracked down on illegal flex apartments in the Bloomberg administration after temporary walls were blamed for the deaths of two firefighters in a 2005 Bronx blaze.

DOB officials said the agency was reviewing the legislation but still takes illegal conversions seriously, investigating all 11,781 complaints of such violations received by the 311 system.

Violators face fines of $2,500 and up.