Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 94, no. 2418: Articles]: July 18, 1914

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90 RECORD AND GUIDE Tulv 18, 1914 iniiiiiiiiii^^^^^^^^^^^^ iiiililiiWK!:!^'^'^^ "^f"'' ■ I NOT A VICTORY FOR ARBITRARY IMPOSITIONS | Decision in the Kaye Case Will Help to End the Reign of Terror —The Fire Commissioner's Orders Must Be Fair and Reasonable I illiilililllllilllillii THE Court of Appeals affirmed on Tuesday the conviction of Charles Kaye of misdemeanor, for failure to comply with an order of the Fire Com¬ missioner requiring the installation of automatic sprinklers in the loft build¬ ing, 30-34 West 26th street. The opinion of Judge Cuddeback, containing the de¬ cision, is not available for publication in this issue, but will be printed in full next week. If, as it is expected, the Court of Ap¬ peals has definitely determined all of the important questions raised in the Kaye case, the decision will go far to end the reign of terror that has prevail¬ ed in local real estate circles ever since the Factory Commission began to tinker with the Labor Law. Assistant Corporation Counsel Mac- Nulty, who successfully conducted the prosecution of Mr. Kaye throughout its entire course, stated yesterday: "The affirmation of Kaye's conviction hy the Court of Appeals is not a victory for arbitrary and high-handed imposi¬ tions upon the owners of factory build¬ ings, but is rather a triumph for sane and reasonable fire prevention measures. It should be borne in mind that, wdiile the courts have held that the Fire Com¬ missioner has the power to exercise dis¬ cretion and discrimination in requiring the installation of automatic sprinklers, they have also ruled that his orders must be fair and reasonable. The right of a property owner to contest the validity of a fire order, upon the ground that it is unnecessary or unreasonable, couutinues unimpaired. In the Kaye case, a con¬ viction would have been impossible had he been able to show that the order he disregarded was arbitrary and unreas¬ onable. But the evidence was conclu¬ sive that his building was hazardous and that sprinklers were actually necessary for the protection of its hundreds of occupants; consequently, the courts held that the requirement of such safe¬ guards was reasonable, and that his re¬ fusal to complv therewith was a crime. The Significance of the Kaye Decision. In the opinion of consulting engineers in fire-prevention matters the decision was due to the conditions in the build¬ ing and was not a fair test of the law. The Court of Appeals' decision was ex¬ pected to be what it is by fire-preven¬ tion engineers because the fire condi¬ tions in the building made such a strong case in favor of the Fire Department. If a building similar to the Asch Build¬ ing has conditions actually worse than those which existed in the Asch Build¬ ing at the time of the fire, there can be little hope entertained that the courts will interefere with fire-prevention pre¬ cautions considered necessary by the Fire Department. "It was. undoubtedly, a mistake from the standpoint of the interests of realty owners to make a test case of the Kaye order," said Peter Joseph McKeon yes¬ terday. "Now that the case has been decided adversely, there remains to owners the consolation that the decision is not as sweeping as some people think, but ap¬ plies only to this particular building. In other words, orders against other in¬ dividual buildines can be tried on their merits. The decision means that the courts will sttstain the Fire Department when a building is really dangerous, but the burden of proof is on the Fire De- nartment to show that a building is not reasonably protected against fire perils. "This was the attitude of the judges in the court of Special Sessions, who ili iiiiJiiKiiii; ■^.I'lliiilllliiiilM^^ practically swept aside legal technical¬ ities and decided the case on the simple question: Is the building dangerous and does it need automatic sprinklers as a protection to life? These are questions to be answered in the first instance by a competent expert whose opinion should be a guide to owners and their lawyers in deciding whether or not to contest orders in court. If the expert agrees with the Fire Department that compliance with the order is reason¬ ably necessary for the safety of life, there, is small chance of the courts de¬ ciding against the Fire Department, be¬ cause the facts of the case as well as the law are in favor of the Fire De¬ partment. "One result of the unfavorable deci¬ sion of the Kaye case may be that own¬ ers will complv too readily with discre¬ tionary orders which should be carefully scrutinized in order to be sure that they are according to fundamental principles of safety, are justified by conditions in the building- and follow well-established precedents.' Eire Commissioner Adamson an¬ nounced yesterday the installation of sprinklers in factory and loft buildings would be required without further de¬ lay. This is a result of the Court of Appeals' decision in the Kaye case, which- w^as exclusively published in The World of yesterday morning. "The decision in the Kaye case," Com¬ missioner Adamson said, "sustaining the right of the fire commissioner to order sprinklers installed in buildings where they are not required by the Labor Law, is the most important decision to this department since the Fire Prevention Bureau was created. A RIVAL TO THE PARTHENON Wall and Nassau Streets. THE NEW Trowbridge & Livingston. Architects. BANKING-HOUSE OF J. P. MORGAN & CO. For beauty of material, accuracy of workmanship and size of the compo¬ nent parts, the men who are building the bankine house for J. P. Morgan & Co. have soue-ht to rival the Parthenon, which was the most beautiful building ever erected. The best skill which Athens could command at the height of her glory was given to the construc¬ tion of the temple. The Morgan bank¬ ing house does not resemble a temple, but like the Parthenon its walls have been composed of solid blocks of mar¬ ble, and not merely veneered with mar¬ ble. The blocks ar^ all three feet high and three feet thick, and according to location are seven to twenty-two feet in length. As in the Parthenon, the courses are so accurately cut that the joints are al¬ most invisible. The quarries at Knox- ville, Tenn., were torn to pieces in or¬ der to produce blocks which are not only colossal in size but also flawless in texture. Some of the blocks weigh thirty-eight tons. They were shipped from the quarries in the rough and cut here in the yards of the Knickerbocker Marble Company for the general con¬ tractors, Marc Eidlitz & Son.