Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 95, no. 2463: Articles]: May 29, 1915

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REAL ESTATE AND NEW YORK, MAY 29, 1915 ■■■■■IH ■illllillllllll GOVERNMENTAL ATTITUDE TOWARD REALTY As Observed at Albany and City Hall—No Strong Desire for Economy — Public Opinion Must Be Changed — Views of Two Leaders iHIillilillillll wms' '''Iiiiiiiii HON. Cyrus C. Miller, chairman of the executive committee of the Advisory Council of Real Estate Inter¬ ests (formerly Borough President of the Bronx and member of the Board of Estimate}, when asked for an expres¬ sion of Opinion on the meaning and effect of recent city and State legislation and the apparent attitude of officialdom toward business interests, dictated the following: Ex-President Miller*s Views. "There seems to be an idea in the minds of some real estate owners that city and State officials have a settled enmity towards real estate. I think this is an error. To be sure, isolated cases of indifference to real estate interests may point to such a condition of mind, l^ut I think it is far from general. "The record of the last Legislature towards real estate has been a mixed one. In the first place, il passed a good many bills, such as the Lockwood-Ellenbogen hill, and others to ameliorate the condi¬ tion of real estate. On the other hand, the percentage of waste in the bills mak¬ ing a direct State tax necessary was prejudicial to real estate. The People Were the Spenders, "The spending record of the municipal government for the past twenty years has been the result of pressure by citi¬ zens themselves. "We must not forget that one of the functions of officials is to appropriate and disburse the moneys necessary to carry on the government, and that eventually all taxes get back to bear directly on real estate. Appropriations therefore, be they little or big, must fall eventually on rea! estate. The question is not how to avoid such taxes, but how to see that they are expended economi¬ cally. Here must arise a difference of opinion. "Social workers and persons who do not own real estate naturally do not take the same direct interest in limiting ex¬ penditures as the owners of real estate do who pay the taxes in the first in¬ stance. "Of course, everybody in a community pays taxes directly or indirectly, but the indirect payers are not so apt to realize it. Large organized bodies in the com¬ munity, which are composed of indirect payers, constantly press officials to make expenditures which are designed to fur¬ ther plans for educational, charitable, re¬ ligious or social work, or to grant ex¬ emptions of taxes or assessments which fall on the rest of the community; ac¬ companying such pressure with lauda¬ tory articles in the public prints which tend to make the official popular and to favor his political fortunes. Many of these schemes are good, and in line with our advance in civiHzation, but many are bad. "The real estate interests, on the other hand, which are directly interested in such expenditures, are individualistic and unorganized. It must not be forgotten t) at in the past many of the official ex¬ travagances have been urged by real estate people themselves, and also that every good reform for the betterment of housing and working conditions in the WHAT is the attitude and pur¬ pose of official and social forces in New York City and State toward real property interests, as evidenced, for example, by the re¬ sults of the late session of the Legislature and, for another ex¬ ample, by the record of the munic¬ ipal government? The question was asked of two gentlemen prominently identified with real estate interests, in order to obtain a definite expres¬ sion of opinion. Disappointment over the unwillingness of the Mayor to sanction the Lockwood- Ellenbogen bill to reduce the over- regulation of buildings, and resent¬ ment at the imposition of an extraordinary direct State tax on top of an increased city tax, have been very marked in business circles, and coupled with expres¬ sions of conviction that the law¬ making powers were either hostile or indifferent to the general wel¬ fare. city has been made despite the opposi¬ tion of some of the less intelligent real estate interests. This is apt to create in the minds of officials the impression that all reforms will be opposed by real estate, which is an unfortunate condition for both parties. Social Workers Skilfully Advised, "While we see the forces for spending money organized and exerting constant pressure, the real estate interests are un¬ organized and do not bring their intel¬ ligence to bear on the subject in a con¬ certed way. The mercantile interests, the banking interests and all other large interests in the city are organized to pre¬ sent their best arguments to city. State and National officials. They retain the most talented men in their ranks to ad¬ vise them. "Real estate should do likewise. It should not maintain the attitude of op¬ position to progress, but should adopt an enlightened policy to advance with the progress of the city, and at the same time to prevent waste. "There are many questions of policy in fields of expenditure which have not been worked out in the best way. The city has not had a settled financial policy. Until recently not even a begin¬ ning had been made in this most neces¬ sary part of the municipal government. Until this is done we must drift along in the haphazard way of the past. Per¬ haps the'Constitutional Convention sup¬ plemented by the best thought of the city expressed in the new charter will give us the relief we need." False Impressions, Says Pres. McGuire. President Laurence M. D. McGuire of the Real Estate Board, remarked: "My experience with the city. Legis¬ lature and Governor has convinced me that the most important work before the real estate interests to-day is to efifect a radical change in public opinion and in official .opinion. "Ihruu-h the zcduus ctturts of cer¬ tain types of social uplifters, unloriu- nately given wide publicity in the news¬ papers and through extensive circulariza- tion for mercenary purposes, there has been created in the minds of the ordin¬ ary citizens a false idea of the property owner and landlord. "He is represented as a scheming, heartless and avaricious man, careless of the lives and comfort of his tenants and seeking only to wring the last cent of profit out of his investment. "To the official the property owner is a mere minority, whose vote is not worth considering, when it is remembered that there are eighty-six tenants to fourteen landlords. "There is also ;.n impression in of¬ ficial circles that the landlord is what the tenant considers him, and that, in addition, landlords as a class are ab¬ solutely without gratitude. "The Lockwood-Ellenbogen bill, an eminently meritorious measure, was ve¬ hemently opposed by the press and by a large class of well meaning citizens who believed the misrepresentations of in¬ terested office-holders and social up¬ lifters. This bill, which made for econ¬ omy and simplicity in building inspec¬ tion, should have received the unanimous support of the community. "It is for the reasons given above that economy in city administration does not receive the support it should. Economy Measures Vetoed. "None of the various measures intro¬ duced in the Legislature looking toward economy received enthusiastic support, and even when we succeeded in getting them passed by the Legislature they were vetoed either by the Governor or the Mayor. "The Sanders bill, introduced at my suggestion, to do away with an entirely unnecessary labor building bureau in cities which have competent building bureaus, would have saved the State sev¬ eral hundred thousands of dollars. But it was vetoed by the Governor, and I am not aware that there was any adverse editorial comment in the daily press any¬ where in the State on this veto. "The Department of Purchase bill, which, it is estimated, would have saved the city $2,500,000 a year, was vetoed by the Mayor because it took some patron¬ age from him and gave it to the Board of Estimate, and again there was no ad¬ verse editorial comment in the daily press. City officials have indulged in a great deal of talk regarding mandatory legislation, yet the city gave no support whatever to a bill giving the city ab¬ solute control over all city and county salaries; and again there was no criticism of their action. The First Duty. "In my opinion there is no strong de¬ sire, either among city or State officials, or among people generally, for economy in government administration. It should be the first duty of the real estate in¬ terests to educate public opinion and show that the tenant and landlord are partners and that municipal misgovern¬ ment and all governmental waste affects everyone in the community.