Reilly said that the estimates that he has gotten for a sprinkler system in his own home have ranged from $14,5000 to $18,000, higher than the “up to $15,000” NY Rising says it could cost residents. And, Reilly said, those estimates were only for the system, and did not include all of the patchwork that will have to be done to repair the walls and ceilings that will be ripped open to install the sprinklers, the cost of insulating the pipes or the cost of installing a new water main if the existing one doesn’t have enough pressure to power the system.

Additionally, Reilly said that because he is just raising his home, not replacing it, the only major repairs he had to do were mostly in the bottom four feet of the house. But now, with this new requirement, he will be forced to rip up almost every room in the house, which otherwise would have gone untouched.

“It’s hard to say that sprinklers are bad — they save lives,” said Reilly, who added that he supports making them a requirement in new buildings. But for those recovering from Sandy, he said, “They wrote this rule without any kind of compassion.”