REAL ESTATE
AND
(Copyright. 1917. by The Record and Onlde Oo.)
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 13, 1917
REPORT OF TENEMENT HOUSE DEPARTMENT
Principal Events of Year 1916 Recounted, Showing
Some of the Accomplishments of the Department
By HON. JOHN J. MURPHY, Commissioner, Tenement House Department
FEW people realize how directly the
work ^ -" the Tenement House De¬
partment comes into contact with their
daily lives. It is seldom that the occu¬
pant of an apartment understands or is
even interested in the number of things
that go wrong about the building in
which he lives, unless the matter af¬
fects his own suite. But the owner of
the building knows what constant atten¬
tion is necessary to maintain the struc¬
ture in proper condition and prevent
rapid deterioration. There are 104,753
tenement houses in the city; therefore
the extent and variety of the Tenement
House Department's duties may be re¬
alized. At the close of 1916 there were
976,397 apartments in tenement houses
in New York City. The average in¬
crease is about 30,000 a year, though
this year this figure will be somewhat
decreased on account of the building
inactivity.
The Department found it necessary
during 1916 to file violations against
3Sy\23 tenement houses, or upon one
tenement in every J:hree in the city. In
many cases the violation filed was for a
trivial matter, but the repairing of the
defect often demonstrated the old say¬
ing that "a stitch in tiine saves nine."
During 1916, 29,053 tenement houses
were cleared of violations, the number
of orders dismissed and canceled be¬
ing 155,440.
Important Developments.
The most notable events of 1916 were
the epidemic of poliomyelitis extending
from June 1 to October 31; the passage
and adoption of the Building Zone Res¬
olution on July 25, and the transfer to
the Tenement House Department of
certain powers under the Labor Law,
regarding bakeries and confectioneries
in tenements. Other items of interest
were : (1) changes in departmental pro¬
cedure by the establishment of the
Model District Number 142; (2) instal¬
lation of the system of notifying ten¬
ants or janitors of violations of law,
and placing responsibility therefor upon
them w^henever conditions so warrant;
(3) census of vacant apartments. The
epidemic of poliomyelitis began about
June, 1916, and apparently originated in
the southern district of Brooklyn. The
Department made a thorough sanitary
inspection, not only of every tenement
house in which a case was reported,
but also in the entire block immediately
surrounding. The total comp-laints for
1916 were 48,352, about 8,000 more than
during 1915.
The adoption of the Building Zone
Resolution conferred additional powers
and duties upon the Tenement House
Commissioner and upon the Tenement
House Department. It beca-.e neces¬
sary to make an inspection of every
tenement house located in the Business
or Residence District, noting any busi¬
ness use of the premises at the time of
the passage of the Resolution, and fur¬
ther, to clearly establish on the records
of the Department, the Use District in
which the tenement is located.
On October 1, 1916, certain powers
under the Labor Law, regarding baker¬
ies, confectioneries, etc., in tenements,
and certain powers of the Department
of Health pertaining to same, were
HON. JOHN J. MURPHY.
transferred to the Tenement House De¬
partment. The transfer imposes upon
the Department additional duties
enforcing^ those provisions of the Labor
Law relative to construction of and
structural changes in bakeshops and
confectioneries.
With the object of facilitating results
in compliance of violations, especially
in any congested sections where condi¬
tions warrant urgent action, the Tene¬
ment House Department, towards the
close of 1916, inaugurated a new sys¬
tem for the attainment of this purpose.
Accordingly, several blocks bounded by
Hester, Elizabeth, Spring and Mott
streets, Manhattan, and known as
Model District No. 142, were designated
for experiment. An important under¬
lying principle of the experiment is the
securing of the removal of violations
by personal suasion, rather than by
means of the customary correspond¬
ence. Only four violations were filed
in the district during one calendar
month. During .the same period, 147
tenants' notices were issued, which, upon
reinspection, were found promptly com¬
plied with.
Apartment Census.
During the first week in March, 1916,
the Department conducted a census of
vacant apartments in order to ascer¬
tain whether the percentage of vacan¬
cies had increased materially since the
previous census, and whether building
was keeping pace with the demand for
accommodations. On the whole, the
census justified the conclusion that at
that lime there was no discrepancy be¬
tween the demand for housing accom¬
modation and the supply.
Tables compiled by the Department
show that the total vacancies in the
city at that time was 5.60 per cent.,)
while the total vacancies in new-law
tenements was 4.03 per cent., and in
old-law tenements, 6.52 per cent. The
highest percentage of vacancies was in
thc old-law tenements in Richmond,
viz., 9.01 per cent.; the lowest was in
new-law tenemente in Queens, 2.73 per
cent.
There has been a remarkable growth
of the new-law tenement. Of the total
number of 104,753 tenements in the city,
27.149 are of the new-law type. There
are 597,955 apartments in old-law tene¬
ments, and 378.422 apartments in new-
law tenements, so that 38 per cent, of
all the apartments in the city are in
tenements of the new-law type. They
equal 76 per cent, of the total apart¬
ments in the Bronx, and 71 per cent,
o^ the total apartments in Queens.
More tenement houses were con¬
structed in 1915 and 1916, and more
capital employed in 1916 than in 1914.
In the latter year, 119 tenement houses
were erected in Manhattan, containing
4.125 apartments, or accommodations for
18.562 persons, upon the usual basis of
4?/ persons to an apartment, and at an
estimated cost of $19,376,000, exclusive
of the cost of the land. *
It should be noted that, although 4^^
persons in an apartment is the basis
commonly used in estimating a popula¬
tion, there are many indications that
this figure is no longer true of apart¬
ments in Manhattan, where there are
many suites containing only two or
three rooms. An average of four per¬
sons in an apartment would possibly
be more nearly correct.
Tenement House Locations.
The location in which tenement
houses were eirected during 1915 and
1916, is a matter of interest and im¬
portance, showing as it does, the gen¬
eral trend of new tenement house oper¬
ations.
While tenement building is not en¬
tirely confined to any particular section
of Manhattan, it nevertheless cannot be
said that many new tenement houses
were erected in purely tenement dis-
iricts. Through all these districts,
however, there exist many tenement
houses erected since the new law took
effect.
Practically all of the vacant space
available for tenement purposes in the
lower part of the Borough when the
new law was passed in 1901, was utilized
for new tenement houses in the years
immediately subsequent to the passage
of the law. New tenement houses can
now be erected in lower Manhattan,
therefore, only by the demolition of old
buildings of various kinds.
A rather noteworthy beginning in this
respect was made during 1915 and 1916,
as v\^ill be seen from the following list
of tenement houses and loft buildings,
which either have been, or are about to
be demolished, plans having been ap¬
proved for new tenement houses upon
the site.
Loft buildings demolished to provide
new tenement house sites include 42 to
50 West 67th street. 103 and 105 Avenue
A, 6 and 8 East 8th street, 10 and U
East 18th street, 18 to 26 East Sth street
(two buildings), east side of Elizabeth
street, 55 feet south of Grand street,
north side Broome street, 75.11 feet west
of Mulberry, 59 and 61 West lOth street
(two buildings), and 132 and 134 Thomp¬
son street.
The following old tenement houses were
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