Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 95, no. 2453: Articles]: March 20, 1915

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REAL ESTATE AND NEW YORK, MARCH 20, 1915 iliiiH^^^^^^^^^ ililliiiiffliiiiiiii DOING AWAY WITH OVER-REGULATION IMIIM^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Lockwood-Ellenbogen Bill the Basis of Compromising Negotia- | tions—As Amended It Has the Support of Seventy Allied Organizations I I iilililliiliilililillliliilM^ O INCE the Lockwood bill, to simplify *^ building inspection in New York City, was introduced in the State Senate it has been considerably amended, and has been the subject of hearings and conferences, both in New York and at Albany. A supplementary hearing by the Joint Committee on the Affairs of Cities occurred at City Hall last Satur¬ day morning, and was followed by ex¬ ecutive conferences in the afternoon and 'on Sunday. The bill is receiving the most careful attention in committee, and the present understanding is that it will be the basis of whatever legislation is enacted, rather than the Wagner-Smith bills and others which have also been introduced. With general agreement that relief should be granted, the controversy which sprang up turned upon the nature of the plans for reorganization. Should there be just one central department, or one for each borough? The Mayor's party desired but one, and the Borough Presidents' party want the five. Realty interests said they would accept the plan which promised the larger measure of relief. Just in what shape the bill is in at this hour is of course known only to the members of the committee, but as the result of conferences between the representatives of the Mayor, the Bor¬ ough Presidents and heads of Depart¬ ments, the Executive Committee of the Allied Real Estate Organizations, the Tenement House Committee of the Charity Organization, the City Club and others, certain changes in the bill have been agreed to. Board of Examiners Eliminated. When the committee from the Legis¬ lature returned to Albany it had been agreed that instead of a Board of Stand¬ ards and a Board of Examiners there should be a "Board of Standards and Appeal." to consist of nine members, to be appointed by the Mayor and ac¬ countable to him. It would comprise the heads of six existing departments, besides an architect, a builder, and a real estate man. Whether the Tenement House Depart¬ ment should be included in the consoli¬ dation had not been settled. The chair¬ man of the committee stated that this question would be decided later. The controversy has become very earnest on this point. The Tenement House Com¬ mittee of the Charity Organization has won the supDort of the City Club, of which Mr. Binkerd, the secretary, is the renresentative in the negotiations. The Tenement House champions are exerting themselves in every diplomatic way to avoid being drawn into the con¬ solidation or prevent the enactment of the bill. For the sake of harmony the Confer¬ ence Comrriittee of Real Estate and Al¬ lied Orgnnizations have assented to vari¬ ous modifications of the Lockwood-El¬ lenbogen hill, but thev adhere to the un¬ derlying principle of consolidation by boroughs, instead of putting evervthing into the hands of the Board of Estim^tp, which they say would mean simply that the three superior members would be dictators over the "construction, altera¬ tion and use" of all buildings, including school buildings and courthouses. Behind the Conference Committee of Real Estate and Allied Organizations are no less than seventy pledged bodies, in¬ cluding the American Institute of Archi¬ tects, the Society of Architects, the Btiilding Trades Employers' Associa¬ tion, the Real Estate Board, the Mer¬ chants' Association, the Advisory Coim- cil of Real Estate Interests, the Federa¬ tion of Women's Clubs, the Joint Com¬ mittee on City Departments, the Brook¬ lyn, Bronx, Queens and Richmond archi¬ tects, builders and real estate men acting through their different organizations, the Fifth Avenue Association, the Broadway Association, the United Real Estate Owners—but they are too numerous for all to be named again. On the opposite side are the City Club, the Tenement House Committee, the Mayor and presumably the heads of the municipal departments. The Mayor has been widely quoted as saying there were sinister influences behind the bill, an al¬ legation very much resented by the sev¬ enty organizations. The Purpose of the Bill. Tn a statement given out yesterday by the Conference Committee it is said: "It was not and is not the purpose of the Conference Committee to remove any of the safeguards which the Tene¬ ment House Law places about tenement dwellers, but simply to give to the Build¬ ing Bureaus, which now pass upon all tenement house plans, exclusive jurisdic¬ tion over the construction, alteration and structural changes in buildings; so as to save needless inspection, duplication and expense. The committee has at all times been willing and anxious to have the bill amended, if there was any question in this respect. And the good faith of the committee has been known to the Mayor and to persons interested in tenement house work. "More than that, the proposed amend¬ ments make it plain that the mandatory provisions of the Tenement House Law remain absolutely intact, and those who represented the Mayor at a conference held last Sunday were aware of this. Should not the Mayor have been aware of it when he made his statement last Monday about the 'sinister' attack upon the Tenement House Department and other departments? "The only opposition to this bill has emanated from the Mayor's office, two or three of his department heads, private charity interests and the City Club, which the Mayor now says is the 'un¬ official arm of the City Government.' "The matter of consolidation of build¬ ing inspection functions in New York City has been publicly discussed many times during the past six months, and on each occasion it has been the consensus of opinion that it should be along bor¬ oueh lines; that is to say, that the juris¬ diction now exercised by the various de¬ partments over building construction shoulcl be transferred to the existing Building Bureaus and that they should have sole control of building construc¬ tion. Could jurisdiction over building construction in New York City be more logically placed? A transfer of all build¬ ing functions to the existing Building Bureaus would result in an enormous saving to the city. A New Building Department Proposed. "At a conference held on Monday last those who claimed to represent the Mayor were willing to compromise if the Tenement House Department were excluded and a clause inserted in the bill giving that department entire jurisdic¬ tion over tenements, including that now exercised by the Bureau of Buildings. That was,^ iri effect, to establish an addi¬ tional Building Bureau in each borough. The representatives of the Conference Committee declined to make any such compromise at the expense of the tax¬ payers. "The provision of the bill in reference to the Board of Examiners has been severely criticised. This body was created by Charter provision in 1871. Many of the critics seem to have discov¬ ered it for the first time in the Lock¬ wood-Ellenbogen Bill. In the bill the Board of Examiners was retained and the same bodies were mentioned, with one exception; that is to say, the Real Estate Board of New York and the United Real Estate Owners' Association were substituted for the Real Estate Owners and Builders' Association. In other respects Charter language was closely followed, with one or two excep¬ tions. But in this case, too, the Confer¬ ence Committee has been perfectly will¬ ing to show its good faith by accepting suggestions. "One of the changes discussed is a Board of Standards and Appeals, which will include several of the Mayor's Com¬ missioners and three civilian members, to be appointed by the Board of Esti¬ mate. "The Conference Committee welcomes fair and honest criticisms and sugges¬ tions. It desires that the best possible bill may be presented to the Legislature to secure relief. But it has no intention of abandoning its bill merely because the measure has been misrepresented. The bill is now in the hands of a com¬ mittee of the Legislature, and it rests with this committee as to iust what changes will finally be made in the in¬ terest of the citizens of New York. "The opponents of the bill are trying to block anv legislation which will se¬ cure consolidation." The Flamman Bill. The Cities Committee has also under consideration the Flamman bill Clnt. 1107). to amend the Greater New York Charter, creating a Board of Building Standards and defining its duties. This bill proposed to make a board consist¬ ing of the Fire Commissioner, Health Commissioner, Tenement House Com¬ missioner. Commissioner of Buildings and Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. This board is to have power to make rules taking precedence