Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 89, no. 2308]: June 8, 1912

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^^^ JUNE 8, 191-2. SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT OF LONG ISLAND New York, Heretofore a Compact Urban Unit, Is Beginning To Respond To The Influences That Have Built Up the Charming Suburbs of Foreign Cities By CECIL C. EVERS. ■Vice-Presideat of the Lawyers Mortgage Co. P LIMIXATING those portions of Long *—' Islahd. such as Brooklyn and Long Island City, which are in reality integral parts of the Greater Cily, we shall con¬ sider only the territory within commuting distance that is susceptible of develop¬ ment for suburban residences for those whose occupations require their daily or frequent presence in New York, This ter¬ ritory will comprise part of Queens County, all of Nassau County and about the westerly one-fourth of rSuffolk Counly, The a\"erage annual increase of popu¬ lation in these counties in the past len years has been S,5 per cent, for Queens, 5,2 per cent, for Nassau and 2.5 per cent, for Suffolk County, as compared with a similar increase of 3,87 per cent, for New York City, showing that proximity to the city is the principal factor controlling such increase. The sale of commutation tickets by the Long Island Railroad In the past flve years shows an average annual Increase of 17.5 per cent, as compared with the 6 per cent, average annual increase in the population of the three counties; and. moreover, a large part of this increased population in Queens County is served hy the surface cars and does not com¬ mute. In Pebruary, IDll, the month of leasf travel, the Long Island Railroad sold 11,- 247 monthly tickets; in August. 1911, the month of greatest travel of this class, the tickets sold were 20,198.* A unit of four being frequently adopted as that of the average family, we may, making al¬ lowances for Lhe cases where more than one member ol the family commutes, use a unit of three, tlius arriving at a subur¬ ban commuting population served by the railroad of 33,000 in the winter and 60.- 001) in the summer months, a very small number when the population of New York and the area served is considered. These flgures do not of course include the great num.ber of people wiio spend a few weeks in the summer on the Is¬ land, and who are only temporary subur¬ banites. Dlstrlliution and Deusify of Populntion. The three principal lines of the Long Island Railroad traverse the Island from west to east, starting from the Pennsyl¬ vania station in Manhattan, from Long Island Cily and from Brooklyn, at the north, the center and the soulh of the is¬ land. The commuting population is to be found principally in the vicinity of the stations, massed in settlements which are separated by large areas of thinly settled or idle land. Large tracts of *The above figures of pa=senger trafflc are by lhe courtesy of Ralpli Peters, presideot of the Long Island Railroad. sparsely settled or unoccupied land lie also between the tliree lines, as owing to the width of the isla.nd (between flfteen and eighteen miles) these lines are too far apart to furnish suburban service to this entire territory. The density of population is as fol¬ lows: 5,000 per square mile in Queens (in- cludiiig Long Island City), 238 per square mile in Nassau County and 80 per square mile in Suft'oik County. It Is Interesting to compare with these figures the aver¬ age density in the Borough of Manhat¬ tan ot 77.440 per square mile, 25,600 per square mile In Brooklyn and 10,800 per square mile in the Bronx, the average Eor the Greater City being 51,200 per square mile. In London the average per square mile is 33,865. The yearly commuter must be differ¬ entiated from the summer resident, in that he is far more useful in building up the community. As a permanent resi¬ dent, and especially when he is the owner of his home, he is a client of the rail¬ road, a taxpayer, and a consumer during the entire year, whilst the summer resi¬ dent is less permanent, more liable to move elsewhere, and frequently looks upon his summer residence as a secon¬ dary home and one in which he takes less interest than in his permanent city home. The commuting population Is made up largely of two classes: 1. Those who, owing to the nature of their occupation, are able to use some selection in their choice of residence-and to whom delay in arriving at their offlce or place of busi¬ ness is not of flrst importance; 2, Those whose po'wer of 'selection is greatly re¬ stricted by the necessity of their early arrival at business and by the importance of avoiding delays. Under the present conditions of suburban transportation the gi'eat majority of artisans and meclianics are unable to live far from their work and need not be taken into account. Country A'crsiis City Life, The principal motives impelling people to live in the country are as follows: the desire for greater freedom, more healthy surroundings for the bringing up of chil¬ dren, love of outdoor exercises, boating, golflng, driving and tlie like. As opposed to these are the motives favoring resi¬ dence in the city, whicii are: convenience and economy of shopping in central loca¬ tions, proximity to centers of amusement and recreation, better educational facili¬ ties and medical service, and with many, the social possibilities of city life. It may be well at this point to call at¬ tention to the difference which exists be¬ tween the semi-suburban sections of great cities, contiguous to their built up portions, and those suburban settlements which, lying at a greater or smaller dis¬ tance from the city, are surrounded by open country and are not an actual ex¬ tension of the city's growtli. In the former there is always the probability of a change of character taking place and of the growth of the city overtaking a section before it is fully established, when it is encroached on by apartment houses, shops and dwellings of an urban char¬ acter. These possibilities are much smaller in purely suburban settlements -wliich, when properly esta.blished, may preserve their character for a great many years. Moreover, owing to the cheaper cost of land, more of it may be used, thus ob¬ taining a more attractive and countrified appearance. Rents Cheaper iu Suburhs. At the present time life in suburban settlements is to a certain extent a lux¬ ury, as, with the exception of rent, most of the necessities of life are more costly in the suburbs than they are in the city. The city, wilh itg known power to attract and drain the -country surrounding it of produce of all kinds, is generally the market from whicii all the outlying set¬ tlements are obliged to procure their sup¬ plies. Moreover, though suburban settle¬ ments on Long Island may boast in most cases of a good supply of excellent water, their drainage and sewerage are of a very primitive character; and tliough taxes e.re frequently liigh, the money is spent in such a way that very little direct ben¬ eflt seems to be derived from it. AUliough commutation rates are reason¬ able, the cost of travel for members of the faniily or visitors using mileage or regular tickets is far from cheap. The evolulion of long distance travel to a point where It meets the require¬ ments of a suburban population moves but slowly; railroads do not distinguisli sufficiently between the different needs of these two classes and frequently try to ■combine them. Suburban transportation shoukl to some extent approximate urban transportation, and to attain a full degree of efficiency calls for a four-track system and local and express service ol far greater fre¬ quency than is now customary, especially at the hours of greatest travel to and from the city. For the casual visitor to tlie city the present service is excellent, but for the commuter who misses a train and has to wait an hour until another one is available, the service is inade¬ quate. The poor service and high charges of express companies are another element Increasing the cost of suburban living, though this is to some extent being over¬ come by the excellent system of subur¬ ban deliveries which is being established by the larger shops. The above reasons account to some ex-