Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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January 12, 1918 RECORD AND GUIDE 41 ary streets. By virtue of this extension t is only reasonable to presuppose that property values, that have so long been iormant, where not actually declining, »vill enhance and return to their former solidarity. The prediction has been nade that they should substantially increase. Transportation problems of Greater New York are increasing at a_ more rapid rate than the municipality is able to dispose of them by providing addi¬ tional facilities for the travelng public. [The population of the city is rapidly in- 'creasing and a new transit artery is no Isooner opened to the public than its ifacilJties are taxed to the limit and seemingly without relieving the lines that formerly carried the burden. This proves conclusively that the city officials and the Public Service Commission still have a monumental task ahead of them in solving the difficult problerns pre¬ sented by the transportation situation and that every facility must be utilized and no effort spared to hasten the construction and completion of the pro¬ jected extensions that are called for by the city's comprehensive rapid transit plan. Favors City Record. Editor of the Record and Guide: As I have not seen any answer to Mr. Ramsay*s letter, appearing in your issue of December 29, I take the liberty of drawing attention to the distinct advan¬ tages of the annual publication in the City Record of the final assessed real estate valuations, even though neces¬ sarily published after the opportunity to protest or effectively to point out in¬ equalities for correction has passed. The greatest value for such a publication mtghc be attained if upon the opening of the books on October 1, the tentative valuations then first made public could be at once printed in ample time for cir¬ culation prior to the expiration of the time for filing objections, but as this date is now fixed for November 15, the intervening time is insufficient for that purpose. On the other hand the publication of the final assessed valuations (fixed on the February 1 following) which evi¬ dently goes to press at once and is avail¬ able for distribution early in May (not August as Mr. Ramsay mistakenly states) just at the time that the rank and file of taxpayers are getting ready to pay their May tax bills, and become interested in a comparison of the amount of their as¬ sessed valuations as compared with neighbors and contiguous or related sec¬ tions, enables them to protest to the as¬ sessors then engaged in fixing the fol¬ lowing year's valuations, and thus pre¬ vent the continuance of any assessments which may be unfair. I fully agree with Mr. Ramsay that it would be better to leave out the names of the alleged owners entirely, and if this be done the printed copy might well find room for the much more important item of "dimensions of building" which is now emitted. B. D. E. Conservation of Coal. Editor of the Record and Guide: I note the Government Coal Admin¬ istration is advising consumers how to save coal. This advice, if it could be readily applied, would to some extent conserve fuel used for domestic pur¬ poses if these instructions were prac¬ tical or comprehensible to the average mind. I note, however, the public is advised to consult experts when in doubt of its own initiative to supply some measure of economy in the con¬ sumption of fuel. For the past ten years more attention has been given to economic heating of buildings of every kind thaii for twenty years prior to that time when fuel was comparatively reasonable in cost to the gradually but continuallv increasing price up to date. But habits of waste have become so fixed thav opinions of experts have only received attention from those who have been looking for¬ ward to a still higher cost and those about to install new heating apparatus and not all of the latter. Heating is a science that has received much attention and thought by those en¬ gaged in the profession or business of installing heating apparatus designed to be healthful as well as a utility of com¬ fort. Much progress has been ma'de that has resulted in both directions. There are many systems in use, but the most primitive as well as the most economical is a stove set in the room or rooms to be warmed. The temperature of the stove may be raised to almost any degree from 90 to 500 decrees Fahren¬ heit, a scope far beyond any other effi¬ cient heating medium. The stove heats the air of the room or rooms to any comfortable degree to suit the occu¬ pants. It also consumes the air of these rooms to create combustion in the fire chamber to such an extent that a higher degree of temperature is necessary to comfort than any other medium of heat¬ ing except the gas or oil stove or radi¬ ators that consume a very large pro¬ portion of the 27 per cent, of oxygen contained in the air, as without oxygen no combustion can take place and no heat can be generated. Life cannot long survive in a tightly closed room warmed by a coal, gas or oil heater, the fuel of which will only burn while enough oxygen remains to continue combustion. The person or persons remaining in the room who also consume oxygen would unconsciously drop to sleep and die of asphyxiation, so that much caution should be used in the use of stoves, gas or oil heaters. Probably the most wasteful heating apparatus is the hot air furnace that takes its air supply or heatinsr medium direct from outside the building to be warmed. This air at outdoor tempera¬ ture is passed over the heating surface of the furnace into the rooms to be warmed to a comfortable temperature of about 65 to 70 degrees. A lower tern- perature is comfortable if the air is moistened by placing a vessel of water in contact with the heating surface which has the effect of restoring some degree of humidity to the air after it has passed over the hot surface of the fur¬ nace. This would also apply to heating apparatus located in the rooms using coal, gas or oil fuel. A great saving could be made by cir¬ culating the air within the house by closing the cold or fresh air intake to the furnace and cutting an opening in the outer jacket of the furn'ice near the base. This opening should be equal in area to the cold air intake. Then cut a register opening in the floor above the furnace so that the air from the rooms may find its way to the opening at the base of the furnace by gravity: opening cellar door leading to the furnace in cel¬ lar from the upper portion of the house will do as well. Indirect steam heat, which Is also very extravagant in the consumption of fuel, may be treated in the same manner as the hot air furnace by closing- the cold air supply from the encased indirect radiators in the cellar and drawing the air down from the rooms above. The low pressure steam heating ap¬ paratus with radiators located in the rooms, when carefully installed and man¬ aged, is probably the most economical for large buildings such as office. Ioft, factory and apartment. Hot water beat¬ ing with direct radiators located in the rooms is probably the most economical for house heatine. This method must also receive careful attention in detail of construction and firine. Care should also be used in closing the valves on hot water radiators to avoid leaving the rooms without heat in zero weather. If the water in the radiator shoi'M ft-^eze miif-h damage miorht be done the house and furniture. Lender the law reqrulatintr the vent-la- tion of school bnildino^s. larc?e onantit'es of fuel mtist be burned to ra'se the tem¬ perature of the air taken direct f^^^m out¬ side to a comfort->hle depree. TI-"* cost for fuel to vent'late school bn'lHincrs prohablv evceerlq the co<;t of heat-np^ t^e buiMintrs bv d'^ect rad'a*'on. Tn verv cold weather, but few, if any, of the This department is intended to be of serv¬ ice lo all inierested in the real estate market, whether as broker, agent or property owner. The readers of the Record and Guide are in¬ vited to send in questions on matters per¬ taining to real esiaie, building and builaing management, though legnl questions will not be answered in this column. Questions should be stated as fully but as briefly as possible so as to allow intelligent answers. Arrange¬ ments have been made through which the questions will be answered by a Committee of the Real Estate Board, including 1 le following E. A. Tredwell, real estate broker. Frederick D. Kalley, real estate broker. Rob-rt R. Rainey, real estate broker. B. E. Martin. , .,, William D-ius-las Ki'na^rick, builder. H. H. Murdock, architect. Question No. 2^7.—What clauses should be in¬ corporated in leases of manufacturing loft buildintis to protect owners in regard to locked doors and niuht -^"d Sunday work, as covered by the Labor Law? A. V. T. Answer No. 297.—Section 94 of the Labor Law provides * * * "Except as in this article otherwise provided, the person or persons, company or cor¬ poration conducting or operating a factory whether as owner or lessee of the whole or of a part of the building in which the same is situated or other¬ wise, shall be responsible for the observ¬ ance and punishable for the non-ob¬ servance of the provisions of this article, anything in any lease or agreement to the contrary notwithstanding." The con¬ cluding clause of the provision answers the foregoing question in my opinion. The relief desired may be accomplished only by appropriate legislation. modern school buildinirs are equ'pped with sufficient direct heating surface to warm the class rooms adequately if the indirect heating used for ventilation were shut ofiF. The prime factor of combustion in any heat generator is oxygen to feed the fire. This is often overlooked entirely. A con¬ siderable volume of air is absolutely nec¬ essary, the volume of course depending on the area of the grate and the amount of fuel required to raise the tempera¬ ture of the building to be warmed. An air supply direct from the outside to the underside of the grate with a proper damper for regulation is tlie surest way to get proper air supply for conihnst-on. A good draft is also very essential to every type of heat generator. The large sizes of coal require less draft than the stnall sizes and burn more rapidly. By covering a fire of large coal with pea or chestnut at night and in moderate weather a considerable saving will he made in the total quantitv burned. The small size of coal is more liable to con¬ tain a greater numb'^r of heat units per pound than the large size. This is es¬ pecially true at this time when owing to the demand less care can be given to sorting at the mines. I am of the opinion that it will be necessarv, if present conditions continue, to establish an education of conservation in fuel before much progress is made in the direction of economy. A. J. O'NEILL, M. E. Brooklyn Board Increases Rates. Following the recent action of the Real Estate Board of New York in in^ creasing real estate brokerage rates in Manhattan the Brokerage Board of Real Estate Brokers this week an¬ nounced the following rates for the Borough of Brooklyn; Sales 21/2 per cent, instead of 1 per cent. The rate for country property will remain at 5 per cent., while the commission for rentals will take an up¬ ward stride. For the first year the rate will be 3 per cent, instead of 2;/<, and for the second year 2]/2 per cent. instead of 1 per cent., and 2j4 for tlie third year instead of 1 per cent., and 1 per cent, for each adclitional year. For the management of property, such as collecting rent, care of repairs. etc., the rate will remain at 5 per cent. BICCORD AND GUIOG IS IN ITS FiFTHRTH VEAU OP CONTIN^OVS rUULICATiON,