Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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246 RECORD AND GUIDE August 21, 1920 is brought down substantially, either by natural process in the wage scales of labor may be anticipated, but not or by Governmental action, or both, a proportional reduction before. Many Plans Proposed to Relieve Housing Shortage SENATOR CHARLES C. LOCKWOOD, Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee which has been holding pub¬ lic hearings to find a solution of the housing shortage, is preparing recommendations for legislation to be considered by the Special Session called by Governor Smith for Septem¬ ber 20. Senator Lockwood believes that the rent laws are working about as well as could be expected and do not need amend¬ ment. He will urge several measures to furnish "more money, more men and more material for home building purposes." Among his proposals will be the exemption of mortgages from income tax, a measure which failed of passage at the last regular session by a small margin, and a bill to exempt all building improvements for dwelling purposes from ta.xation for a period of ten years also is under consideration. Legislation which would discourage general commercial building in favor of construction of dwellings until the emer¬ gency is passed is looked upon as a possible means of di¬ verting labor into the business of building dwellings. Henry H. Curran, President of the Borough of Manhat¬ tan, proposes an amendment to the Constitution which would permit the city to go into the business of building and rent¬ ing dwelling built with city money on city owned land. F. H. La Guardia, president of the Board of Aldermen, fa¬ vors a similar arrangement, but does not believe that an amendment is necessary to give the city the authority. Other measures suggested are that both the city and the State be authorized to lend money to builders and that bonds be issued for that purpose if necessary. The State Banking Department will suggest a bill placing the bonds of State Land Banks under the head of "State in¬ strumentalities," which automatically exempts them from in¬ come taxation, thus offering a special inducement for the in¬ vestment of capital in mortgages. This proposal is advocated by Charles O'Connor Hen¬ nessy, President of the Franklin Society, former President of the National League of Co-operative Savings Associations and a director of the Land Bank of New York. Mr. Hennessy suggests "that at the coming extraordinary session of the Legislature a declaration be made that, in view of the present public emergency, bonds of the Land Bank of the State of New York, when properly secured by dwelling house mortgages deposited with the State Comp¬ troller, be regarded as instrumentalities of the Government of the State issues for a public purpose. "This declaration will, it is believed by competent legal authorities have the effect of exempting the bonds from the Federal income tax. In addition to this, it will be urged that the Legislature authorize the direct investment of State funds by the Comptroller in the purchase of Land Bank bonds, whenever these bonds are issued in response to the mort¬ gage money and loan associations of the State. These bonds would be issued only up to $20,000,000. "The effect of this legislation undoubtedly would be a great and immediate outflow of savings and loan association funds for the accommodation of home seekers who are now turned away." Frank Mann, Tenement House Commissioner, favors the exemption of mortgages from income taxation and the ex¬ emption of new construction from local taxation for a lim¬ ited period, as indirect subsidies to builders, so that money will be induced to enter the mortgage market. Last Link in Complete Interborough Subway to Be Opened E.\STERN PARKWAY and Xostrand avenue subway routes of the Interborough system will be opened to¬ morrow morning. These extensions to the Interbor¬ ough system in Brooklyn total about seventeen miles of single track. With these extensions running, the only uncompleted part of the Interborough system will be the extension of the Queensborough subway line from Grand Central west to Times Square. Train schedules for the extension provide a seven-minute service from the terminal at Flatbush and Nostrand avenues and from Utica avenue and Eastern Parkway and a nine- minute service from President street and Nostrand avenue. The running time between the Utica and Atlantic avenue sta¬ tions, a distance of 3.90 miles, will be nine minutes, and the 4.67 miles between Flatbush and Atlantic avenues will be covered in fifteen minutes. The running time from the ter¬ minal at Utica avenue to Van Cortlandt Park and 242d street in the Bronx will be one hour and eleven minutes.—Transit Construction Commissioner. All the stations on the extensions will not be ready when the trains begin running, and no attempt will be made to use the unfinished stations until they have advanced far enough toward completion to make them safe for the heavy traffic expected. The first station stop after Atlantic avenue will be at Franklin avenue. Other stops on the Eastern Parkway ex¬ tension will be at Nostrand, Kingston and Utica avenues. On the Nostrand avenue extension the stops will be at Presi¬ dent, Sterling and Winthrop streets, and Church, Newkirk and Flatbush avenues. A statement by Frank Hedley, president of the Interbor¬ ough Company, said, in part: "Trains will enter Manhattan through the Clark street ter¬ minal and go northerly over the West Side route, touching stations at Wall street, Park place, Chambers street, 14th street, 34th street (Pennsylvania Station), Times Square and the theatre district, 72d street, from which point part of the trains continue north through Washington Heights to Van Cortlandt Park and part turn to proceed to the Bronx and Bronx Park. The transfer point in Brooklyn for Brooklyn passengers desiring to go to the East Side lines in Manhattan, to Bowling Green, Wall street. City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, 14th street. Grand Central Station, Lexington avenue points, Jerome ave¬ nue or the Bronx or Queens is at the Nevins street station in Brooklyn. "At the Nevins street station there is an 'island' platform and passengers wishing to go on the East Side lines in Man¬ hattan have only to step across the platform from the new West Side trains to the East Side trains." THE U. S. Geological Survey reports coal production and transportation as follows: Despite a decrease in production of 1,523,000 tons as compared with the previous week, due to the strikes of mine laborers in Illinois and Indiana, the end of July found bitu¬ minous production since the beginning of the year to have reached 302,727,000 tons, an increase of 44,500,000 tons over the amount mined up to July 31 last year. Anthracite production also compares favorably with 1919, having reached 50,575,000 tons cn July 31, as compared with 47,307,000 tons at the end of July of 1919. Tidewater shipments during the week of July 31 estab¬ lished what the survey believes to be a new record for coal handled over tidewater piers in a single week. The total tidewater dumpings amounted to 27,461 cars, an increase of 1,771 cars over the previous week. A total of 104,826 cars for the month of July was divided among the various ports.