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REAL . ESTATE
AND
%) BUILDERS
NEW YORK, JUNE 27, 1914
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RELIEF ASKED FROM INSPECTION PLAGUE
The State Commission Hears Pleas From Real Estate and Commercial
Interests—Injustice of Factory Laws Pointed Out and Changes Asked For.
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T'HE Real Estate Board, which is com-
1 posed of the owners or representa¬
tives of seventy-five per cent, of the fac¬
tory buildings in the Borough of Man¬
hattan, has protested to the State Fac¬
tory Investigating Commission against
the enactment of labor laws to apply
to New York City which affect the con¬
struction or alteration of buildings, or
the regulation of the Health and Fire
Departments and Building Bureaus.
The board advises the immediate re¬
peal of all present labor laws which
affect New York City in the foregoing
particulars. The board does not feel
that the Department of Labor was
created to have jurisdiction over these
matters, but that they shoufd be regu¬
lated by the City Departments in New
York City, which have had j'urisdiction
over them for years.
This appeal and advice was the em-
\ bodiment of the suggestions most often
heard at the series of hearings given by
the State Commission at City Hall this
week. The commission is engaged in
"recodifying" the labor laws, among
which are included fire prevention and
I building laws. A tentative revision has
been prepared with the aid of the Legis¬
lature Bill-Drafting Bureau of Columbia
University, and copies have been dis¬
tributed. At the outset of the hearings
the Lieutenant-Governo'r said:
A Promise of Fair Play.
"The Factory Commission is interest¬
ed solely in securing safe and sanitary
working conditions. 'We desire to ac¬
complish that result with the least pos¬
sible expense and inconvenience to
property owners and employers. We,
therefore, welcome any suggestion hav¬
ing this end in view.
"It is the desire of the commission to
recommend to the next session of the
Legislature a revision of the Labor Law
that will accomplish the purpose for
which it was intended, and, at the same
time, be fair and reasonable in its ope¬
rations."
The Real Estate Board was repre¬
sented by special counsel in the person
of George W. Olvany. former Deputy
Fire Commissioner. The presentment
which he made virtually constitutes the
case of all real estate interests against
the State. Mr. Olvany early in his re¬
marks reminded Lieutenant-Governor
Wagner, who was presiding, and the
counsel of the commission, Mr. Elkus.
that the Legislature last year passed a
home rule bill in order that the people
of the cities might have a voice in their
internal affairs, and therefore there
should be no objection to allowin.g the
largest city in the State the right to
regulate the construction of its build¬
ings and the matters appertaining there¬
to. He added:
"New York City should not be bur¬
dened with the additional expense of
that portion of the Labor Department,
to say nothing about the annoyance,
wliose functions are exactly the same
as those of the already existing City De¬
oartments. The only work whi-h can
be done by this additional portion cf the
department is to cause a needless douMe
inspection of buildings and create -i
GEORGE W. OLVANY,
Special Counsel Real Estate Board.
chaotic condition in real estate, because
it is impossible to ascertain what the
requirements of a buildinp- now are, in
view of the many departments having
jurisdiction over the same matters.
A Plea for Self Government.
"We therefore appeal to your com¬
mission, and ask that the recodification
of the Labor Laws be drafted to allow
New York City to govern itself in all
matters over which its departments
have had jurisdiction for many years
past and thereby relieve its real estate
from the terrible yoke of oppression
which has been throttling it for some
years oast.
"Having made our general objection
to the present and proposed Labor Law,
we wish next to specifically call your at¬
tention to our objections to the pro¬
posed recodification of the Labor Laws,
viz:
"The term 'factory,' as defined by the
present Labor Law, is, in our opinion,
entirely too broad and drastic, and un¬
necessarily burdens real property own¬
ers in many particulars.
"The object of the Labor Law is to
protect persons einployed in factories,
but under the present definition of a
factory it is necessary to protect per¬
sons who are not employed in factories
or mercantile establishments if they are
in the same building; for instance, if
one person were employed at labor
upon the ground floor of an office build¬
ing, ten stories in height, it would be
necessary for the owner of that_ build¬
ing to comply with all the provisions of
the Labor Law. This is unquestionably
unreasonable and absurd.
Defining a Factory.
"We would suggest that the term
'factory' include any mill, workshop, or
ihat part of any buildine used for the
employment at manufacturing of fifteen
or more persons. And that the term
'factory building' include only that part
of any building which is used for a
factory.
"And that the term 'mercantile estab¬
lishment' include any place where
goods, wares or merchandise are of¬
fered for sale at retail, and more than
fifteen persons are employed. It seems
to us that it is unnecessary to include
wholesale mercantile establishments
within the provisions of the Labor Law,
because the character of employment
is generally of a high character and con¬
ditions are vastly different from those
which exist in retail mercantile estab¬
lishments. As a general rule wholesale
mercantile establishments are places
where goods are sold by samples, and
the business conducted practically upon
the lines of an office.
Building Classification.
"We are of the opinion that buildings
in New York City should be classified
in accordance with their construction
and occupancy. A buildin!? which is
fireproof and which has a small non-
hazardous occupancy should not be
placed under the same requirements
with a fire-trap and a large occupancy.
"On page 94, line 21: we ask that the
word 'engineers' be inserted after the
work 'janitors.' A great many small
factories, in cold weather, employ a day
and niffht engineer, and it is usual for
the night engineer to remain on duty
on Sunday. The law requires a licensed
engineer in these buildings, and if the
engineers employed during the week
are not allowed to work on Sunday it
would be necessary to employ an ad¬
ditional licensed engineer for Sunday
work. It has been the experience of the
owners of those buildings that it is im¬
possible to employ a licensed engineer
for one day, particularly on a Sunday,
and we therefore feel that this exception
should be made, so that the prohibition
against Sunday work will not apply to
engineers."
Construction Reforms.
Other changes in the tentative code
recommended by Mr. Olvany may be
summarized as follows:
Eliminate the prohibition against
hoisting lumber and timber on the out¬
side of buildings, in the same way that
steel beams are. The definition of
terms relating to the construction of
buildings, as contained in sections 180
to 189 inclusive, should be left to local
authority. The allowable openings in
walls ("page 148) of new buildings is
insufficient. The underwriters allow
openings of 8 x 10, and such an open¬
ing is required in many buildings for
heavy trucking. The allowable distance
between two such openings should be
twenty instead of forty feet. Section
191. subdivision one, should be made to
conform to the law passed this year.
For Six-Story Buildings.
Make the provision for stairway en¬
closures apply to six instead of five-
story buildings, in cities of the first
class; and to five-story buildings in
other cities. This change is asked for
because the Fire Department of New
York is amply able to protect a six-
story building in case of fire, and be¬
cause additional requirements are there-