In Gaston v. New York City Housing Authority, 258 A.D.2d 220, plaintiff slipped and fell on ice while ascending the staircase outside an apartment building. The staircase consisted of three steps leading from a path to a platform. The platform began as fourth step of the staircase, and ended at a door which led to the building. The staircase had a handrail at one end and a fence at the other and plaintiff claimed that defendant was negligent for failing to provide an intermediate handrail. The Gaston court confronted the same issue under a similar set of circumstances as is present here, namely whether "a staircase located outside of a building is, for purposes of the Administrative Code of the City of New York (Code), treated as an interior staircase." It held that the determination of that question rests with the court as a matter of law. (Gaston v. New York City Housing Authority, supra, at p. 224.)