March 5, 1898





Record   and   Guide.





345







De/oTED ĨO HEA.L EsrME  BuiLDIf/C 76;RCt<ITECTJI\E .HũUSEWOUI DEOOfVinoií,

BUsWess andTheme.« of GeSeiV^ 1í(t£i\esi
PRICE, PER YEAR l.\ ADVAIVCE, SIX DOLLARS.

Published every Saturday.

TeLEPHONK       ....        CORTLJLIÎDT 1370.

Communications sbould be addressed to

C. W. SWEET, 14 & i6 Vesey St

J. 1. LINDSEY, Business Manager,

"Entered at the Post-offlce at iVeui Forfc. N. T., as secoTid-clnss matter."





VOL. XLIX,





MARCH  5,  1893.





No. 1,2.51





ONE characteristíc of the real estate market of the present year
is its irregiilarity. South of 14th and on the West Side the
promise is for activity and strenĸth; but in other parts of the city,
notably in Harlem, the outlook is by no means so good. Harlem
sufifered severely during 1891 from the oveibuilding of flats; and
for various reasons it has not been ablo to reoover in the vpav that
other overbuilt sections have. The chief of these reasons is, of
course, its continutd inaccessibihty. It was thousíht that some
rollef would be afforded by the express trains whi(:h Ihe
laying of the third track, above 59th street, has enabled the Man-
hattan Company to put on; but the residents of Harlem
are complaining that owing to delays in awitching or what not the
expresses are sometimer even slower ihan the locals, and are seldom
very rauch faster. The delays may perhaps be due to ihe fact that
the new service has not yet beei long enough in exlstence to get
into smooth working order, but at best these very limited expreas
trains can afford but small alleviation to the crowds who live in
the regions north of Central Park. Consequently it is no wonder
that Harlem real estate is dull and depressed. The mostimportant
street of the section, 12.5th street, has hitherto thrlved even under
the adverse influences, and property has reached a price
tbat compares not unfavoraoly with prices on important cross-
town streets in the lower wards. Speculatively these prices
are fully justifled; but people Interested in tlie vlcinity are begm-
ning to have some doubt whether tlie amouiit and the character
of the business which the street at present commands warrants
these valuations. They point out that during last week one
large dry-goods firm which ha? grown up with t25th street bas
failed, and that others are said to be rather less prosperous than
formerly. The?e evidences of iasecurity are due to increased com-
petition and the heavy rents which the high speculative value of
tbe property makes necessary. No doubt it is to gome extent
true, as these people say, that real estate on l25th street has
been pushed up rather more rapidly than the business conditlons
have so far warranted, and that the retail trade wiU be obllged
to bear the bui'den of disproportionate rents for some years; but no
one acquaioted wiih the possibllities of Harlem could cliim that
the flgures are too high from the speculative polnt of vlew. It
mustberemembered that l.'Sth street will be the principal business
thoroughfare not only for all the low-lying property on Manhattan
avenuc north of the Park, butfor the wholeof Washington Helghts
and tor the southern parts of the 23d and 24ih Wards. In fact, if
its facilities rise equal to the occasion all the citv north of 125th
street will depend upon its shops and theatres for supplles aiid
amusements, and this will mean the trade of a popu'ation
of several huadred thousand. Many years must elapse
before even a moiety of this enormous section will be bujlt
up. but with such a future it is no wonder that high prices are paid
for lots on 125th street. These prices would not be too high even at
the presenttime if better means of communication existed wiih the
business districts. It is very tantallzing for the residents of Harlem
to know tbat a slight terminal improvement at South Ferry and a
third track on 9th avenue, both of whicli could be obtained in a few
months, would give them a far better service and would stimulate
the progress of their dlstrict enormously ; yet at the same time to
be aware that because a siUy prejudlce againstthe Manhattan Com-
pany these improvements cannot be obtained. No wonder they
hold meetings and talk exciledly when they are obliged to face sev-
eral more years of thls same klnd of iranslt—with tbe posslbllity
staring them in the face that before the better transit comes the
very people on whom they rely upon to flll up their vicinity wiU be
crowding over a new bridge to Brooklyn.





prosperity during the pasfc year has begun to have its effect on
wages. The miners will, of course. vigorously resist the proposed
reduction, but success is not probable, for according toall reports
the condition of the industry necess'tates a shaving off of expenses.
But the dlsturbance wlU react on other industrles. Coal enters into
very general consumptlon, and the increase in its price
will not only bear hard on the working classes but
wlll strain the trade of the whole country. Weaknesseg have
been developlng lately in a number of dlrectious ; and the prevall-
ing disiurbance will Increase them. Attempts will be made to
reduce wages in other industrles, which will naturally lead to
strlkes and general confusion. The British workingmen have been
fairly prosperous for a number of years—that Is, if we may judge
by the increase in their savings and the enlarged consumption of
their own peculiar luxuries. But evidently their trials are coming,
So far as ihe other Euvopean countrles are concerned things are
about the same. In Berlin the mob violence has been suppressed
for the time being; but if indications do not fail
we have not hcard the last of the trouble. Germany
has still before it a considerable period of industríal
depression during which work wiU be scarce, business dull and
proflts small. During such a tlme, In a country where the struggle
for life Is always haru, there is sure to be mcre or less politlcal dis-
turbance. In Vlenna the reaction from the sudden spurt which
took place in the beginning of the year still continues. Signs are
not wanting that Austro-Hungary's pro.íperity isnotsovery marked
as it was. If this contlnues to be the case it wlll render the efforts
of the government to return to gold paymentsall tbe more diflíicult.





SO far as the last meetingof the Legislative Committee of the
Real Estate Exchange developed an cxpression of opinion
concerning the Walker bill to license brokers, the venlict was
decidedly adverse to the measure. A few well-( stabllshed brokers
apparently favor the bill, but the majorlty seem to thlnk either
that jt is unnecessary, or that it will be ineffectual. The brokerage
buslness, as a whole, they say, is to-day every bitas respectable and
wellconducted as any other flrst-class business; it " averages up "
as high as any other and, indeed, higher than many. They
do not think that the bond of $5.000, or the payraent of |250
required by the Walker bill will operate to exclude any particularly
viclous persons having nefarious designs upon property-owners,
though it might, perhaps. act as a bar iu a few cases with the poor
but aspiring. It must not be forgolten, and the fact is not forgot-
ten by the older real estate men, that brokers in thls clty were
licensed at one time. and from all reports Ilcensed witnout any
particular moral advantages to the business. As to property-own-
ers, bullders. and speculators, tliey are almost to a unit opposed to
the measure, and, as we have often pointed out, ihey hold the key
to tlie whole matter. These peoplebelieve in stlmulating the widest
comiielilion in selling any property they may be offerlng. There
cannot be too many brokers for them. The end they desire is the
speedy sale of iheir property. Tbe methods ihey adopt at present
to achieve this may be very short-gighted methods, in many cases
we know the methods are short-sighted, but they do not recûgnize
that fact, and we fear cannot be íorced at the moment to recognize
it tbrough legislation.





ON Thursday last the Assembly Committee on Cltles gave a
hearlng on the new buildlng law, which is known as
Assembly billj No. 778. The Revision Committee explained
their position on the clause in ihe bill which requires all existing
hotels to provlde at least one continuous line of flre-proof stairs
from cellar to roof and surrounded with brick walls. The Fire
Commlssioners, represented bv their attorney at the hearlng,
defended the requlrement. The hotel keepers, by a committee
from the assoclatlou, urged that the requirement be stricken from
the bill. Venturing a gues,s at the resull, the bill will probably be
reported without the hotel-staircase clause, not eo much on account
of the hotel keepers' opposltion, powerful though it be, as because
the bill Í8 recognized as the Revision Committee's work and that
their wishes in tbe matter should prevail. The Board of Education
notified the Committee on Citles that thcy desired to be heard In
opposilion to a new requirement in the law that all public .''chools
hereafter erected shall be constructed flre-proof. A hearing will
be given on Tuesday afternoon next on the school-house question.
Making publlc school bulldings fire-proof wlll add considerably to
the cost; but we do not belleve tliat our tax payers will begrudge
the additional cost in securing safety to chlldreD, nor have we
before heardof any opposition to this feature of the bill, which has
been generally approved since it was announced two or three years
ago as one of the contemplated changes in the existing law.





rpHE strike of the coal miners in Great Britain will have at the

present time a particularly unforiunate effect on tlie indus-

tries of that country.    It is the first indication that the lack of





THE Factory Inspector of the State appenred in opposition to
the bill, becausG the Revlsion Committee piit in a provislon
that the Fire Department, through the Bureau of Buildings, shall
have exclusive authority over ordering fire-escapes and hatchway
covers in factories.   The endeavors of the Factory Inspectors to