484





RECORD   AND   ()iUIDE





October 26, 1918





Electric Meters for Tenants Will Save  Coal

Wastcful  Use  of  CuiTcnt  Will Bc Stoppcd, to thc Benefit Alike

of Tcnant aiid Landlord

By REGIN.A.LD PELHAM BOLTON.

TO those who have followed tlie development of the     ])enses   among   tenants   according  to   their   use,     Tlie

modern office building, the recent  announcement     stress of war conditions has now brought this about in

in your issue of the 12t!i, of tlie probable abandon-     the business building, as it has long ago been estab-

ment of the free electric service, affords some interest-     lished in the apartment and the loft building in regard

ing reflections.                                                                         to the use of electric energy for light or power.

Such !)urdens carried by tlie owners of  real estate        The measuring of electric energy has !)een found to

have l)een, tô a consideral)!e c.xtent, of their own mak-     liave tlie effect of inducing the user to exercise care

ing, l)drn of the competition arising from c.xcessive and     and economy. even when the service is not the subject

unregulated construction of one class of building.              of a direct cliarge.    Thus, wastage is reduced l)y the

In the good old days of modest-size buildings, occu-     nicre installation of a metered service, and the effect is

pied !)y a single tenant, the investor was able to deter-     much increased by a direct payment for the service af-

mine the limit of liis expense and liabilities, confined us-     forded.    It will doubtless be found that tlie first result

ualĩy to outside repair and taxation.   But when real es-     of the provision of meters in individual office spaces is

tate prices were !)oomed, and larger buildings became a     a substantial reduction in the amount of energy used

necessity in order to provide an income on the inflated     by tenants,    This wil! effect a direct reduction in fuel

value, the owner was forced to einbark on a growing     whether the sup])Iy be provided from the public system

number of expenses, tlie cost of whicli was uncertain,     or from a plant within the building.

such as elevators, heating, lighting, cleaning and sani-         The   system  of   sub-metering  the   public  service  of

tation involved !)}' the multiple tenancy of the building,     electricity  will probably  be  found profitable  in many

and the cost of which, owing to lack of means of meas-     such !)ui!dings, and should in all cases be examined, as

uring the individua! usage, the owner was obliged to     it is in successful operation in a large number of loft

slĸiulder,                                                                                  and residentia! builclings in the city.

Tlie  extent  and  e.xpensc  of  tliese  common  conven-         It is now unfortunate that the planning of most office

icnces gradually grew unti! tliey have become so !)ur-     l)uildings has !)een so defective in failing to provide for

densome, as to deprive l)usiness buildings of much of     this dcvelopment, l)y a suitable arrangement of the in-

tlieir attractiveness as an investment,    The apparatus     terior electric conductors,    Much can, however, be ac-

involves  substantial  additions  to the  original  invest-     coinplished at no considerable expense, by modern sys-

ment, largely increases the expense of operation and     tems of exposed and concealed wiring carried in fire-

mãintenance, and has a much shorter life of useful ef-     proof casing and flexible armored conductors, thus re-

fectiveness than the !)uilding wliich houses it,                     arranging the circuits so as to admit of measuring tlie

Tenants' !ia!)its of wastefulness have !)een aggravated     usage of eacli inclividua! suite of offices,

l)y tlie  facility afforded  them  of obtaining something        The care, rcpair and maintenance in accuratc record-

for nothing.   The carefu! or thrifty tenant gains noth-     ing condition of sniall meters is also a inatter wliich of

ing !)y care or thrift in their usc, !)ut pays in liis rent     recent years has developed into a standard form of !)usi-

a part of the wastage of thc careless neighI)or.                   ness, and the common idea of tlie inaccuracy of meters

The ground floor tenant pays for elevator service     applies only to those in wliich this constant and sys-

which he nevcr uses, and the occupant of light rooms     tematic attention is neglected.

pays for thc ligliting of dark oncs, and the pcrson wlio        The new step is as niuch in the interest of tlie tenant

washcs his liands iii ccild water pays for liis neighbors'     as the landlord,  since  no one  gains by  waste, and if

hot water supply.                                                                    tenants do not support good buildings, no good !)uild-

The system, as I wrote years ago, is utterly lackin,g     ings can l)e built,

in  inducements  for thrift  or care, and  tlie  time  was         This development of war economies is a hopeful and

bound to come vvlicn the ovvners of buildings would be     long-needed change of a bad system in the operation

forced, in order to protect their investment from de-     of thc highest class of metropolitan real estate.    It

struction, to find soine m?ans of apportioning these ex-     should never !)e permitted to be re-established.

Board of Standards and Appcals Makes a Record

C.APT.AIN   JOHN   P.   LEO,   chairman,   Board   of     of has been nearly four times as many as thc number

Standards and Appeals, announces that the work     of new cases filed.

of the Board of Appeals has been brouglit up to        In regard to the progress  made,  Captain  Leo says

date, that al! pending ap])eals and Building Zone appli-     that grcat credit is due to the members of the Board,

cations, forty-two in nuniber, have bcen set for hearin,g     Joliii J, Beatty, Alfred J. Boulton, John DeHart, James

within the ne.xt six wee!<s.                                                     V.  Holland, Jamcs  Kearney,  Fire  Chief  Kenlon,  Fire

Tlie  work  of the  Board oí  Standards and Appeals     Cdminissioner   Drennan,   and   the   supcrintcndents   of

vvill be up to date !)y December 10, al! the old pigeon-     buildings, Walsh of Manhattan, Reville of The Bronx,

holed petitions having been !)rought out of the files and     Kleinert of Brooklyn,  Moore of Queens, and McDer-

set for hearing before that date.    These cases number     mott of Richmond.

more  than  five hundred, and  vvil! be  disposed of by        To give effect to the decisions of the Board, the law

hdlding extra sessions of thc Board, so as to clear up     re(]uires tliat eacli resolution be publislied in tlie Bul-

the calendar.                                                                            ktiii of the Board, and that certified copy !)e sent to

As  showing,  so  far as  figures  can,  vvhat  lias been     tlie petitioner or appellant  and to  tlie  administrative

done since Captain Leo !)ecame cliairman of the Board     official,   Captain Leo, vvhen he !)ecame cliairman, found

on March 11, 1916, tliese figures are cited:                          that there vvere 1225 decisions of the Board which had

Cases pending March  11, 1918...................2032     not been published,    With the co-operation of the sec-

(Including 209 cases filed prior to March 11, but            retary, Wm. Wirt Mills, tlie new cliairman instituted

not ])Ut on tlie calendar unti! after that date).            tlie practice of publishing every resolution on tlie Tues-

New cases filed between March 11 and October 18. .  520    day following the meeting at vvhich it was adopted, and

Cases reopened.................................    57     al! resoltitions adopted since Marcli 11, numbering 1327,

------     have thus l)ccn ])rinted and in addition 1105 of the old

Tota!  ......................................2609     luipublislied rcsolutions liave !)een promulgated.   Thus,

Cases disposed of since March 11................2027     .-is tlie records of thc Board stand today, therc are only

Cases pending October 18.......................  582     582 cases pending and every one of these has been set

Net reduction in numl)er of cases pending as com-            down for hearing vvithin the next six weeks, and there

pared with March 11..........................1450    .-irc only 120 unpublished decisions of the Board, a!l of

Thcse figures show that tlie numl)er of cases disposed     tliem of a date prior to March 11, 1918.