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REAL ESTATE
AND
NEW YORK, APRIL 17, 1915
â– â– â– â– lill^
NEW BUILDING CODE BRINGING OUT PLANS
Plan-Filing Heavy, Partly in Anticipation of Law Changes—Tight
Money Market HeM Responsible for Slowness in Starting Construction
Hi'
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THE quarterly reports of plans lilod,
in last week's Record and Guide,
were very encouraging to business in¬
terests generally, as they showed sub¬
stantial gains in all the boroughs except
Queens, and only a slight falling ofif
there. But reports from the trades
are to the general eflfect that notwith¬
standing- the large number of plans filed
construction contracts are not being
signed at the same rate, and work is not
going ahead proportionately.
Such work as oflfers is just starting
up for the season and is noticeable in
the demonition of old buildings that is
^oing on and in excavating operations.
Reports to Secretary Tompkins of the
Buildine: Trades Council disclose that
only about twelve hundred more men
are under employment at this date than
were eneaeed on the first of February,
when 35.000 were idle.
The tieht money market was" blamed
for awhile as the cause of holdine back
the work, but lately an improvement
has been noticed in regard to the avail¬
ability of building loans, and at the
present time the prevailing opinion is
that the unusually large number of plans
filed in the three principal boroughs is
in no small part in anticipation of the
new buildine laws which are being
passed by the Board of Aldermen from
time to time, and also in part in antici¬
pation of new regulations from the In¬
dustrial Board for the construction of
factory and store buildings.
Business Agents Report.
At this week's meeting of the busi¬
ness aeents in the building trades who
visit all parts of the metropolitan dis¬
trict, this was the interpretation put
upon the present situation in the building
trades. Tn numerous cases works have
been halted after being started. An ex¬
ample of this is the project of Vincent
Astor for an apartment house on the
block front between 89th and 90th street.
The site has been excavated but is now
fenced up and deserted.
Several years ago, in the year 1909. it
will be recalled, in anticipation of the
enactment of a new building code, the
plan filings were very heavy for a time,
which made the buildine record of that
vear very large. Something of the kind
is going on now, in the opinion of the
men who make it their business to know,
owing to a desire to avoid the conse¬
quences of possibly stricter laws than
are now in the building code. The plans
filed indicate an intention to build
eventually, and the holding back may be
due to tight money or to some un¬
readiness.
New Ordinance Introduced.
An ordinance governing excavations
and foundations' was introduced in the
Board of Aldermen this week. It will
be found printed in full in the City
Record of April 15, and an explana¬
tion in the Record and Guide of April
3. The ordinance when approved will
form part of tlie building code.
The Committee on Buildings to which
was referred on March 23, an ordinance
in relation to working stresses and loads
reported in favor of adopting the ordin-
RUDOLPH P. MILLER, C. E.,
Who is drafting the new Building Code.
ance. The measure was laid over for
one week.
Building Ordinances Endorsed.
The Advisory Council of Real Estate
Interests, through its Building Code
Committee, which consists of Messrs.
Henry W.' Hodge, chairman, Otto M.
Eidlitz, and Julius Franke, and which
has been sitting weekly to consider the
ordinances of the Board of Aldermen
that are being incorporated into the new
Buildine Code, has endorsed Ordinances
Nos. 1572, 1573 and 1590.
Ordinance 1572 relates to iron and
steel construction in city buildings. This
ordinance covers such subjects as
girders, trusses, lintels, fioor and roof
beams, party wall posts, and steel
wrought iron and cast iron columns, etc.
Ordinance 1573 pertains to wood con¬
struction and prescribes rules for the in¬
stallation of beams, wooden trusses,
bolting, stud partitions, fire stops,
wooden columns, posts and girders, etc.
Ordinance 1590 relates to strength of
materials, and is particularly applicable
to working stresses and loads'. This
ordinance provides for proper safe loads
for masonry work, for live and floor
loads in stores, factories and ware¬
houses, and for all temporary supports,
as well as supports for wind pressure.
The council, through its Building Com¬
mittee, has suggested minor corrections
as well as many verbal changes purely
technical.
Report on New Elevator Regulations.
The Advisory Council of Real Estate
Interests, through its Industrial Code
Cnmmittee. which consists of Messrs.
Julius Franke, chairman, Louis J. Horo¬
witz. Frank A. Pattison and Evarts
Tracy, and which has been considering
all the rules and reeulations promulgated
by the Industrial Board, has made cer¬
tain recommendations with regard to the
proposed atnendments to rules relating
to construction! Swarding, equipment,
maintenance and operation of elevators
and hoistways in factories. Public hear¬
ings were held upon these proposed
amendments, before the Industrial
Board, on April 7, when the Advisory
Council was granted the privilege of
submitting a brief upon these proposed
amendments, which brief contains the
following recommendations:
"With regard to hoistway enclosures,
as there is nothing in the proposed rules
which provides for vertical sliding doors
or rolling shutters, and as these doors
are very much in use in factories, we
would suggest that they be included and,
therefore, we suggest the amendment to
Rule No. 406, to read as follows, the
new words being underscored: _
406. Horizontal or vertical hoist¬
way sliding gates or doors and roll¬
ing shutters for existing and future in¬
stallations used for passenger and em¬
ployees' elevators may be full auto¬
matic, manually operated or self-clos¬
ing, and, unless full automatic, shall
l)e fitted with a substantial lock or
latch and all doors shall be arranged
so they cannot be opened from the
outside, except with a key.
"In Rule 407, which prescribes that
vertical or horizontal sliding gates or
doors that were installed previous to the
adoption of these rules may remain in
place, as installed, provided the gates are
sufficiently high and strong, for the par¬
ticular requirements where they are
used, the word 'tell-tale* has been sug¬
gested as a change for the word *tell-
table' chains, when gates are less than
5 ft. 6 in. high and are set closer than
12 inches froin the hoistway line. These
'tell-tale' chains' may not be less than
4 ft. long and 6 in. centers must be sus¬
pended from the landing edges of the
car platform.
Trap Doors.
"Where there are automatically oper¬
ated trap doors, so constructed as to
form a substantial floor surface when
closed, and so arranged as to open and
close by the action of the car in its pas¬
sage both ascending and descending, it
has been suggested that in addition to
such trap doors, the hatchway shall be
adequately protected on all sides and all
floors, including the basement by railing
or enclosure at least 5 ft. 6 in. in height
rather than 3 ft. 6 in. in height, as pre¬
scribed in Rule 412.
"Under Rule 424. where elevators
must be equipped with a speed governor
when the downward or upward speed of
the elevator exceerh 200 ft. per minute,
or 150 ft. per minute, respectively, and it
shall, under these conditions, release the
safety equipment of the elevator, it is
stated that car safety will not be re¬
quired for direct plunger elevators. The
Councjl feels that this might he a source
of danger, as some phmge elevators are
liable to accident in case the car should
separate from the plunger. The counter¬
weight wnnld throw the car up through
the roof. This sliould be considered.
"Under Rule 434. where there is the
danger of physical injury to persons, by
contact with counterweights at the bot¬
tom of the counterweight runaway, it is
prescribed that the weights shall, be