Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 97, no. 2505: Articles]: March 18, 1916

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424 RECORD AND GUIDE March 18, 1916 a year behind in its current revenues, it entered into an agreement with in¬ vestors that it would adopt a policy of paying for non-revenue producing prop¬ erties as it went along; and that it would get over to this basis in four j-ears—by including in the tax levy 25 per cent, of all authorizations of this kind the first year (1915); 50 per cent, the second year (1916); 75 per cent, the third year (1917), and 100 per cent, the fourth year (1918). Being without a plan, how¬ ever, in 1915. in order not to swell the tax rate, it included only about one- fourth the average annual requiremeiits and no one even noticed it. If the city goes on this way four years the present administration may escape unfavorable showing, but what will happen during the next four years when 100 per cent. of all authorizations must be included? Either the taxpayer must make up delin¬ quencies or the pay-as-you-go agreement must be revoked. Present Charter Prcvides for Planning. This is not because the present charter does not give the Board of Estimate and Apportionment the power to make a fin¬ ancial plan each year. On the contrary, this is specified as one of the duties of the board. Section 22(i of the charter requires the head of each department bureau and office to submit to the board each year "estimates . . . ,-in order to enable said board to make a budget." The duty of preparing and submitting a budget is imposed on the board, as an executive council, but there is no way of enforcing this duty. There is a further defect: The budget making body, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, is so constituted that it is not responsible; there is no chief executive; the board is not a responsible cabinet; no provision is made to insure unity of action; it is organized on a theory of distrust; and has not over it any representative body or authority for calling it to account. The Present Charter Does Not Ade¬ quately Provide for Publicity. In the present charter there is a mis¬ taken notion of publicity requirements. The burden of criticism is placed on the public with no adequate provision for having the budget, as proposed by the Board of Estimate, explained, re¬ viewed, criticised or discussed by the Mayor or any member. .Another false assumption is that the conferences be¬ tween the official subordinate and the executive ofiicer is the occasion for pub¬ licity. The effective thing is not to re¬ quire the Mayor or other executive to put his own subordinate on a spit and publicly roast him; but to put the bud¬ get makers on the spit after they have assumed responsibility for proposing and submitting a financial plan. Other Charter Defects. Not only is the charter defective in making provision for planning and for publicity, but it is also defective in that it does not provide for the other three essentials of responsible government. It makes no provision whereby the officer can find out whether a majority of the people or their representatives will sup¬ port any proposed plan before it is ap¬ proved; it makes inadequate provision for holding officers responsible for faith¬ ful execution of the plan after it is ap¬ proved; it makes inadequate provision for promptly retiring executives who do not give a satisfactory account of their stewardship or who do not retain the, support of the majority. Each of the members of the executive council (the Board of Estimate) is elected for four vears and nothing short of removal by the Governor of the State or by court proceeding will vacate the office. The result is a piling up of popular dis¬ trust and discontent till the end of a four-year term when action by the elec¬ torate is both unintelli.gent and indeci¬ sive of any issue. Under such circum¬ stances there can be no such thing as effective home rule. The fact that the charter is defective does not mean that the members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment can do nothing to make a budget pro¬ cedure effective. 1. The Board of Estimate can make a budget—it can prepare and submit each year a carefully pre¬ pared plan which can be under¬ stood, criticised, discussed and voted on by the Board of Aldermen; and in case there is a dissension in the board it can submit a majority and minority reports. 2. The Board of Estimate and Ap¬ portionment can prepare its pro¬ posed budget in such form that ma¬ jority and minority members can ex¬ plain its "work program," its "im¬ provement program," the "proposed terms and conditions governing purchases and contracts," its "reve¬ nue and borrowing program." Both the majority members and the min¬ ority members can go before the Board of Aldermen to answer ques¬ tions and defend the plan submit¬ ted in their majority and minority reports. The meetings of the Board of Aldermen on the budget (if one is prepared and submitted) can be made a real forum. 3. The Board of Estimate has power to raise and discuss real issues; to make news out of ques¬ tions raised concerning past expen¬ ditures as well as proposals for fu¬ ture expenditures, revenue and bor¬ rowing measures. They can make it possible to find out whether the bud¬ get proposals of a majority of the Board of Estimate and Apportion¬ ment are supported by a majority of the representatives of the people in the Board of Aldermen. 4. The members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment can work out a charter amendment which will give to them an opportunity to locate and to an¬ swer publicly the "opposition" of their measures; they can propose an amendment which will enable them to know whether they are supported by a majority of the electorate in case a majority of the Board of Al¬ dermen votes against the plan sub¬ mitted. The reason why executives have been given a four-year term, is to enable them to become familiar with the duties of their offices and to become more effi¬ cient as managers. Four years is too long a term for an officer who is dis¬ trusted; it is too short a term for one who is trusted. Given a means wereby public opinion can be kept behind an administration, an election is only" a method of expression of continued sup¬ port of effective leadership. Such a method brings big men to the front; it makes for stability of government, for continued progress, for the development of ex- pertness, for improved public service. This is essential to an effective bud¬ get procedure; it is essential to the suc¬ cessful operation of home rule. Whether charter changes were made to give New York City home rule under a commission manager plan, or under a chief executive and council plan, the only way to make the citizenship trust the government is to give the government an effective means for meeting the opposi¬ tion openly, and to have issues which affect the welfare of the city settled by a well informed electorate when these issues are raised. An effective budget procedure is the most powerful instru¬ ment for the accomplishment of such a result. To make such a procedure effec¬ tive it is necessary to make the executive responsible for planning, as well as for the execution of plans and to make the representative body responsible for giv¬ ing full publicit}' both to past acts and future proposals, before further grants are made. Such a change can be effected by a few very simple amendments in the present charter. :! 1 HAMPTON SHOP IN NBW QUARTERS New Edifice, Opposite St. Patrick's Cathe¬ dral, Another Addition to New Art Center THE Hampton Shops are now located in their new building at 18 East SOth street, opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral. This structure was designed by Rouse & Goldstone and L. A. Steinam, architects, 38 West 32d street, for the exclusive use of the concern, and will be devoted to the exhibition of high grade period furn¬ iture and decorations. In this building the owners will be enabled to demon¬ strate the belief they have held for years, that not only each piece of furniture but each hanging and covering should have its own meaning and should emphasize the intimacy of its relation to its sur¬ roundings. The facade of this interesting struc¬ ture has been designed in the style of the Perpendicular Gothic, to harmonize with the architecture of the cathedral di¬ rectly opposite, and has been built of terra cotta laid up in random ashlar, with a varied but harmonious range of color. This style of architecture has been carried out in every detail of the first floor. The upper portion of the building has been treated with a loggia and flank¬ ing towers. The entrance to the build¬ ing, through gateways of wrought iron and stained glass, leads into what would almost appear to be the courtyard of some mediaeval castle. This effect is enhanced by the small windows which look down into this court, and beneath which are hung boxes of flowering plants. The entrance leads into a great Gothic Hall, twenty-five feet in height, which takes in the entire first floor and which is lighted by hanging chandeliers and a beautiful stained glass Cathedral window in the south end. A gallery occupies three sides of this hall. The balance of the building has been devoted to eleven spacious galleries for the exhibition of furniture arranged in a series of room interiors. Each room has been treated Rouse & Goldstone & L A. Steinam, Archt's. Bing & Bing Const. Co., Builder. in an individual manner and is decorated and furnished in strict harmony as to period and usage. The building was erected under a gen¬ eral contract by the Bing & Bing Con¬ struction Company, 119 West_ 40th street, and the cost of construction is_ estimated to be in the neighborhood of $200,000.