Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 100, no. 2590: Articles]: November 3, 1917

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REAL ESTATE AND (Copyright, Ifll", by The Record and Guide Co.) NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 3, 1917 CONDITIONS LEADING UP TO THE TENEMENT LAW Suggestions Made to Permanently Cure Certain Defects in System As It Exists Today By WILLIAM H. ABBOTT First Deputy Commissioner, Tenement House Dept. ARTICLE SIX. I T may not be amiss to voice a few ' sentiments respecting the Tenement House Law, some of which are my own, while others have been gathered from those architects, builders, owners and tenants with whom I come in daily con¬ tact, but all of which I trust may open up new lines of thought and action, and help solve some of the perplexing ques¬ tions that are continually being aired in our daily papers, usually by some prejudiced person, with a mind not broad enough to see the situation except from a biased angle. The Tenement House Law is freely admitted to be one of the greatest boons to the vast multitude of tenement dwellers in the City of New York that has ever been inaugurated and with the honest and strict enforcement of its requirements, the tenants are at least getting what they are entitled to, the landlords are keeping their houses in better condition, and the builder and speculator has to operate under the strict supervision of one of the most careful departments of the City Gov¬ ernment. Those who remember the conditions portrayed in the foregoing articles do not require any further proof of the need of proper housing and sanitary maintenance of the homes of the tene¬ ment dwellers. Many of these facts are also true of the other classes of build¬ ings in which persons live, but over which the Tenement House Department has no jurisdiction, and it is not too much to say that the sooner all houses in which the occupants reside are sub¬ jected to the same regulations that gov¬ ern the tenement, the better it will be for the community as a whole; healthier citizens will be the result and fewer lives lost by inadequate fire egress. In the urban districts throughout ev¬ ery borough there are rows and rows of dwelling houses in which bedrooms are located so that their only means of light and ventilation is through a small covered vent shaft. These same houses contain an interior room in the base¬ ment in which the servant is required to sleep, that has neither light nor ven¬ tilation except by artificial means and by the air that passes in at the open door after having used up all its life giving agencies in the outer room. Possibly you think this statement re¬ quires some proof. Let me tell you, as an architect (prior to my connection with the City Government) I have been called in by many owners to make al¬ terations to their buildings, and have seen from personal observation the con¬ ditions above mentioned. Since our subwaj^s are assured, good roads, bridges and ferries leading out into the suburbs and bringing us to acres and acres of undeveloped country, I consider a more auspicious time for the starting of a housing development could not be found than now and I would advocate not only one zone but a dozen; competition will keep prices down, first in the cost of the land, then in the con¬ struction of the building, and lastly the most important, in rent. RKCORD AND GUIDG WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. You ask how are we going to induce the working man to go to these develop¬ ments? Let us teil the railroad and other transportation companies that 500 homes will be built in certain localities if they will sell a ticket to be used be¬ fore 8 o'clock a. m. and between 5 and 7 p. m. for half the price it would cost during the balance of the day. Would they do it? I believe they would be only too glad to. If they hesitate, let our own municipal ferries lead the way by carrying the people, if not free, at least at a reduced rate, so that a large percentage of our population could be landed in the outlying boroughs within walking distance of their homes for a nominal car fare, and then see how quickly the railroads will cooperate. Overcrowding Wiped Out. This will soon wipe out the over¬ crowding in the cities, reduce the high building to one of reasonable propor¬ tions, and will develop a youth who will in after years be strong enough to ably carry on the duties which every citizen should consider his birthright, so that the hospital, charity institution and the asylum would go begging for patients. Is it consistent for the city to spend so much money in trying to perfect the homes of the tenement dwellers when those very occupants go out into the urban sections and find conditions considerably worse than they left in their city homes? The toilet accommodations in these dwellings dbove referred to consist of a badly ventilated and probably unlight- ed compartment in a cellar, the enclos¬ ing walls of which are never freshened with whitwash nor paint and the fixtures allowed to exist in any condition that may result from the careless use by the person (hired help) using them. The fact that the mistress never goes to this lower story is the excuse for the toilet accommodations existing in many cases, in an unspeakable condition. Regarding the need of restricting the type of buildings erected in the outly¬ ing sections of the boroughs, would it be too drastic to insist on every new building used for dwelling purposes, or every old building converted to that use, being required to be separated from each other, say, by about 30 inches; or if not a detached house, then allow one of a semi-detached design with five or six feet between it and its adjoining neighbor ? Would it then be too severe a step to say that sewage pipes should be a cer¬ tain size for residential sections, and then limit the number and size of water- closet and waste lines entering the pub¬ lic sewer in a given distance. The final step of requiring at least one toilet for every family would clinch the situation, and with these regulations our dwelling houses could not be increased beyond a given height. There is another serious point that should be considered. Why do we con¬ struct frame tenements? Because they are cheaper ? Yes, by a few hundred dollars in their first cost. Take the cost and maintenance of a brick building for ten years as against a frame one for the same period. By the time the frame building has been painted three times, the extra fire insurance, the extra coal bills each winter, possibly a new roof at the expiration of this period, you will find the expenditure almost equal. This being the case, why not eliminate frame buildings and prohibit their use for dwelling purposes. This would tend to reduce the fire risk and I am sure would lessen greatly the loss of life by fire. I therefore think it most wise that all societies and other bodies of civic and social ambition who have any prospect of influencing their political representa¬ tives, draw up resolutions suggesting that a General Housing Law for all dwelling houses be presented to proper authorities, so that no person may live in dark interior rooms, and all buildings be equipped with proper fire escapes and egress from yards to street, that the ratio of water closets be increased so that the boarding or lodging house shall have at least one toilet for every six or eight persons; that private schools and employment agencies shall be so regulated that more conveniences and better fire protection be given them; and that the so-called studio buildings and bachelor apartments, as well as the hotels, be brought within the scope of such regulation. Another matter that should be consid¬ ered carefully with a view to having some proposed law cover the situation is the registering of all buildings, no matter for what purpose the building is being or is intended to be used, a strict account of its history should be properly recorded, and if thought desirable a certificate might be issued every year stating that the particular structure was maintained in accordance with Chapter — of the Laws of -----, which entitled the occupants to run a factory, a lodg¬ ing house, a bachelor's apartment house, a studio building, a stable, a storage warehouse, etc. By this method a closer supervision of the many occupations, IS IN ITS FIFTIETH YEAR OF CONTINUOUS PUBLICATION.