The pushback is already having an effect. Council member Ben Kallos, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, has taken his name off it, saying it has proven “too toxic.” And after the hearing, Zachary Steinberg, vice president of policy at the Real Estate Board of New York, wrote to industry colleagues: “It went very well from our perspective. Council heard lots of concerns, and (it) was clear the bill as written will not move forward.”

Which is a nice way of saying the city's sprinkler bill appears to be dead in the water.