Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 46, no. 1173: September 6, 1890

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September 6, 1880 Record and Guide. 305 I of Canda St Kane, rather takes y otir association to task for wuAiing to break their contrads.*^ " We do not wish to break otir contracte," said Mr. Hammond. " We wish it to bs known that it Is the sense of the association that a contract is sacred and should dbt bd Ivoken. We only ask that the fulfllllng of the contracts shall be deferred. One object in doing that is to have the dealers pennit us to stop shipmente of * contract' brick temporarily, so that we shall the quicker denude the market of brick, and thus win our cause without a long struggle. Tbe loss to the dealers from such a course Would be less, for they are now paying high prices for ' sucker' brick." " What percentage of t' e total production is controlled by the Manu- fadturtirs' Assclciation f' "About 97 per dent now, as nearly all have wheeled into line. There are only three manufacturers at Haverstraw not with us (they are called ' suckers') and one of these is not shipping.'^ Continuing, Mr. Hammond said: " It is the general dtlinlon among the manufacturers that the brick season is ended. A resolution was offered at the meeting on Monday to stop manufacturing on the 10th inst. This met with general approval, but several of the members wanted longer time so ftS to fulfill contracte, while others said it would be hard on their employes td have td disnliss them so early in the season. The date was then extended to September Itth, and stlbfiequently to the 27th, but no definite action was taken on tbe matter, which will bd brought up again at a meeting in a few days." From inquiries made among manufacturers and dealers it Is learned that the latter are not receving their contract shipmente as promptly as they would have done bad there been no brick trouble. One of the manufact¬ urers interviewed by The Record and Guide did not hesitate to confess that the manufacturers were not hurrying contract brick foi ward, and it Was intimated that they did not intend to. They propose to put every obstacle in tbe way of getting bnok to the market One manufacturer started to load a single barge up the river with contract brick about nine days ago and he is still loading it, when dnder ordinary circumstances it would now be in a New York yard, or quite possibly in a New York build¬ ing. Tbe dealers are feeling tbe result of this, and in addition they have to put .up with the difficulty of getting boycotted brick handled by Union men. This accounte for Mr. Kane's statement that he is paying $1 more than necessary for non-contract brick because his firm wishes to get a supply to keep faith with their customers. A brick manufacturer seen, said: " Ijarge stores of brick were pur¬ chased by builders before the trouble commenced, but these supplies have been rapidly consumed and tbe piles of brick seen in front of many build¬ ings during the last week or two have dwindled down to almost nothing. Many builders, anticipating the trouble, put on more masons and rushed tbeir buildings up as fast as they could so as to advance them as far as pes sible. There is no brick in the market now and the shipmente do not meet much more than one-fifth or one-sixth of the requiremente." It bas been generally estimated by manufacturers and dealers that the New York market requires a supply of about 5,(X)0,000 brick per day. To meet this tbe receipts this week have not averaged over 1,000,000. On Monday five barges arrived, of which two wero " sucker" and three "contract." On Tuesday four arrived, of which three were "contract" and one " sucker," and on Wednesday flve arrived, of which four were "contract" and one "sucker." This was an average of about 1,000,000 per diem. IN TWO BIG builders' OFFICES. In the office of David H. Eang, Jr., it was ascertained that Mr. King has enough brick on hand to supply immediate wante. The principal buildings which he has under way are the Racquet Club, the Huntington residence on 5th avenue and 57th street, the Grosvenor Hotel on 5th avenue and 10th street, the towers to the Madison Square Garden, Delmonico's new down-town building, and King's Hotel, opposite the Racquet Club, on 43d street. " We have plenty of brick " said Mr. King's representative in his absence, " and we are being supplied all the time with brick for which we have contracted. We have started our large building operation of seventy-eight houses up town, and we do not think the brick trouble will affect us at all." Isaac A. Hopper, said: "I have enough brick to finish the Carnegie Music Hall. I am starting the four-story building of Kocb Sc Co., on r25th street, between 6tb and Tth avenues, which is to be 100x3(i0 in size, and I expect to be short of brick on this job if tbe manufacturers continue to stop shipmente. I have, also, buildings to put up ou Tdd street 15Uth street and Edgecombe avenue, 68th street and Amsterdam avenue, 100th street and Amsterdam avenue (St. Michael's church) and elsewhere, and I shall probably be short of brick. I think most builders are pretty well run out o' brick and are depending entLiely on tbe few contract and " sucker " brick being brought here. If the shipmente are not increased we will all be in a hole." A gentleman connected with a prominent flrm of dealers said: " The only way to win would be to stc^ building operations eutirely. That would put the workmen out of employment, and the latter would soon force tbe walsing delegates to raise the boycott at Verplanck's Point" A member of the Building Material Exchange said: "The reason why the manufactm-ers are having a long fight of it is because the dealers will not stand by them. The majcn^ty at the latter would like to help the manufactorers, but are unable to make up their minds to stand together to do so. If the dealers stood by the manufactiu-ers the fight would be won in a few days." J. N. Manchester, <^ Manchester & Philbrick, brick dealers, said: " We have all the bnck we want We had thirteen cargoes of brick—four barges aud nine sailing vessels—at our Mott Haven yard Thursday, more than we ever had before. I think the trouble will be felt this fall rather than at present It will be seen in a f neat faUing oflF oi new work. Builders and othea will not oommenc0 gfaattiaas while this brick trouble lasts. There wUIIm an »t»yiijl|ipge (^ Mbgr and a large sarplustrf brick tbis taSL^ A dealer who declined to have his name mentioned, said: "I do not think that the manufacturers will win." " Why V asked the writer. " Because there are too many Jersey, ' sucker' and • sneak' brick being shippecKbere." " What do you mean by ' sneak' brick f " I refer to brick forwarded by members of the Manufacturers' Associa¬ tion, who are sending brick here on the quiet, although having agreed to stop shipmente." Chairman W. K. Hammond, of the Manufacturers' Association, was seen, and this statement was repeated to him. He at once said, very emphatically, that this was a mistake. " I have kept close wateh of the arrivals of brick, and there is not a " sneak " barge in the whole lot. Up to Thursday afternoon twenty-two barges had arrived. Of these thirteen were contract, six sucker, two destined for Jersey City and one will not be sold." Mr. Martin, of Peck, Martin Sc Co., said: "The manufacturers with Whom we have contracts have asked us to defer the delivery of brick which they have contracted to supply to us. We are perfectly willing to make such a concession, if the other dealers will agree to do it, but until then we will do our best to supply our customers. It would be useless for us to fight single-banded. I may add that no manufacturers has asked us to allow •them to break tbeir contract with us. Tbeir object in asking contracte to be deferred is to help ihem tbe better to win in the fight which they have undertaken." A Bachelors' Home on Fifth Avenue. The bachelors' apartment house is a product of our modem life. It is not a social fad, ready to disappear directly it has ceased to be a novelty. It bas come to stay, for it fills a gap in the life of every unmarried man who has become weary of the boarding bouse, the furnished room, or the hotel. There is a large and increasing number of men in New York whose relatives live in other cities, and who are deprived of home life through force of circumstances. To these there comes a strong desire to obtain something which, while not a home in the true sense of the word, shall in a measure take ite place. The boarding bouse or hotel is at best a sorry makeshift. Only in the bachelors' apartment house can the unmarried man bave those little comforts wbich are so dear to the bachelor's heart. There be can play his piano or his banjo at all hours without disturbing his neighbor; he can smoke at will, and come home at any time of the day or night, and can find an elevator to take him to his particular floor. No lateh-keys, no worry. There can he gather around him his lares and penates, and he can purchase his own particular furniture, and decorate his own rooms to suit his own particular desires. Hence it comes that the idea of the bachelors' apartment house is associated in the public mind with taste, elegance and comfort. The latest addition to the comparatively few bachelor apartment houses, pure and simple, in this city is tbe " Wilbraham," on the northwest comer of Sth avenue and SOth street It has just been completed, and is certainly the " crack " apartment house of ite kind in New York City. It stands, with the mansard roof, nine stories high, and ite exterior, with ite carved columns and numerous window openings, is quite an imposing piece of architecture. The property is owned by Mrs. A. Moir, and has been two years under construction. Although valued, with the groimd, at about $500,000, it will prove an excellent investment. The main entrance to the building is on SOtb street It is wide and spacious and the vestibule and main hall are tiled in mosaic, while the wall bave high wainscotings in mahogany. The ceilings are decorated, and a large stained glass window meete the eye at the northern end of the halL At the southeast part of the hall there is a superintendent's room, wbich contains electric bells and tubes communicating with every apartment. Passing under tbe handsome hall lamp we approach the elevator—which is one of the most substantial of the Otis type—and we are taken up to the eighth story within a few seconds. Here we find a sample of the apart- mente which the bachelors are to occupy. Each suite of apartments oon- siste of two rooms and a tathroom, and these can be enlarged at will by throwing two or more suites together. The rooms which comprise each suite are arranged so that one can be used as a sitting-room and one as a bedroom. The sitting-room has a handsome mahogany mantel, with mir¬ rors encase!. The fireplace, which is tiled, contains an oraaraentel basket and brass fenders and andirons of special design. The fioors have inlaid borders of hardwood, while the centre flooring is of selected timber, flnely planed and ready to be stained and polished in any color desired by the occupant The walls are handsomely papered and the ceilings frescoed. A feature of each sitting-room is the handsome gas and electric light chan¬ delier containing self-lighting electric and gas attachmente and electric arcs. The bedrooms are handsomely appointed and have electric side- ligbte. The bathrooms, and there is one to each suite, are models ot neatness and sanitation. It may be said with trath that in no building in New York are.they prettier, lighter and better appointed than in the " WU- braham."* They all open upon the street or avenue or have light and ventilation from skylight roofs. Tbe bathtubs are of chaste white porce¬ lain, the washtubs are of similar material, and the plumbing is nickle plated and exposed to view. The other conveniences are on a par with those described. While there are numerous hotels and restaurants in the vicinity, from Delmonico's downward, a dining-room is provided on the eighth floor. Tbis while not large, is cosy. There are separate tables and a handsome oak sideboard, with plate and crockery, the latter being artistic and evi¬ dently of Chinese or Japanese manufacture. Here the bachelors can obtain their breakfaste and dinners and such other meals as they may choose to (vder. The view from the roof of the WUbraham is imposing. In tbe distant east are tbe Long Island bills; to tbe west tbe North River and the PaU-