The New York herald., 1879-08-03
TENEMENT HOUSE LIFE
Suferings Of the Poor from Dirt,
Heat and 0vercrowding.
LITTLE AIR AND LESS WATER
A Family Living Underground
in East Fourth Street.

tenement houses in the Seventeenth ward east o.,
Second avenue was resumed yesterday. Friday'G
labor gave the sanitary authorities slight idea OF
what colossal undertaking they had begun, but
still the work went bravely on. At eight
o'clock IN the morning the inspectors rendezvoused
at the Board OF Health hoadaluArters in
Mulberry street. No formal report is expected until
each inspector has completed his sanitary inspec.
ton of the block he has been assigned to. conse.
quently they simply compared notes. At nine
O'Clock the main body of officers started out the
districts with hot days work in prospect. HERALr
reporter accompanied one of the inspectors. Mr..
George S. Eastwck. civil engineer. Mr.. Eastwck
was provided with meas uring stick and tape. No
badge of authority was given him. consequently he
had to rely solely the courtesy of the tenement
occupants The block inspected bounded by
Third and Fourth streets, First avenue and ave.
nue. A.
HOUSES OF THE AsToh ESTATE.
Tho first house entered No. So First avenue
It a fair looking five story building. providing
for eight families. They consisted of seventeen
grown people and twenty-four children. The house
belongs to the Astor estate. On each floor were
four dark sleeping rooms. with scant venti.
lation. The hall lighted by skylight in
the roof. and little water could be obtained
for drinking purposes on account of the meagre sup
ply and the great height of the building. The cellar
although they were connected with the This
is because waste water pipe is connected with them
No GO First avenue was also a five story house.
accommodating eight families of sixteen adults
and ten children. The place exceptionally neat
aud healthtu Light and ventilation were amply
provided and the cellar free from dam pness or
decay. The building was in good repair and the
water closets clean and well drained. On leaving
the house the Inspector turned the corner
lnto Fourth street. No. 1873 was entered
and found to be a five story house. There
were twelve families living in it, comprising in the
This house Is also part of the Astor estate in-
deed are all the Others in the block Each floor had
four little, dark rooms. On the third the rear,
family of one man. three women and two children
sx yea ot in tnres rooms fn ,nor One tw was kitchen.
ing rooms. SxS feet No light admitted
and the atmosphere was sitting. In the kitchen.
a lounge. lay woman. with broken leg, who has
not had medical attendance for several weeks. The
pathos OF the scene touched the Inspector
you madam and patted the two pale
little ones who clung to the couch. Adjoining the
dark bedrooms were the water closets which made
the air pestiiential. There was building in tha
rear. No. l40. 1t had but few families and in
cellent sanitary condition. No. 142 the German
Free school No. l44, the next house. four stories
high contained families of twenty adults
and three children. The hallway is lighted ny small
skyligh in the roof. but was in poor order. The
yard was badly paved and had in its pretty
flower garden. whose redolent fragrance strove
in vain to overcome the stencil from four
undrlned closets. No. LAG had four stories and
occupied by six families. twelve OF whose members
were small dark and very hot. Little or no venti.
lation was provided. The cellar was good
DRINKING AND SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS.
Next door, No. l4s was four torres high. The
rooms tenanted by eleven families OF twenty
four adults and nine children. On making tour
through the house it found that the top
floor was not provided with drinking water
OF wassr in ike snis is terr @r.
BILE evil, which forms of the prime
of unhealthiness. The inspector made note of
this fact. The sleeping rooms were Z by 8 feet.
although the law provides that they shall not be lesa
than by s. They were ventilated and
inc
The apartment crowded with household
effects and wearing apparel. which left but
was etid and ill-smelling The cellar. contrary t0
the Sanitary law. was occupied by tenants The
ceiling was only feet inch in height. The closets
III the yard were in good order aud drained by
the aid of the waste water from the yard hydrant.
"The water works charge me 81 year to supply
waste to each closet said the lessee OF the
house That is why SO few OF the tenements con-
meet their closets properly
No. 150 East Fourth street "five stories higA
and no elevator. as the tired inspector remarked.
Fourteen families formed the tenantry. there being
twenty-ni adults and fifteen children. The hail
was lighted by large skylight. and All air shaft in
the roof twenty-two by twenty-six inches in size
ventilated the building. The plan OF the rooms
was very bad. In the each side
of the hall was kitchen. opening from which
was small dark room. eight feet square. The
Uttered with every article ce,vabie in
a household. and in the hall was window by Is
inches. and five inch shaft on the other side.
The latter was stopped up with rubbish aud little
air was admitted " the apartment for sleepers tc
breathe. ON the second floor a man was
sick with consumption. and his apartments were
better than the rest. The cellar OF this tenement
WAS also occupied in the rear The apartments were
very damp and the bedroom only . by feet long
and wide and feet nigh. tiny window opened to
still damper cellar in front. The place was set
down in the statistics Every bad The water
closets were clean and connected with the sewer.
GROUND
The next and last house of the day No. 152.
1t was both overcrowded and i'll ventilated. 1t had
hve stories, containing fourteen families. Into
pie and forty-on children. The hall was filled with
women and children the health officer made his
way to the roof with difficulty. Here u very small
skylight illuminated the of misery and dirt
below. pump in the hall was able to force a few
drank. unrestraincd by their parents. who seemed
to consider water luxury, from the appear
ance of their rooms. sick chiidslay in
room, gasping for breath. while its
mother stirred up hre the heat of which mado
the atmosphere terrible. The bedrooms small
and dark, with windows 1915 inches size for
tilation. These opened on st,hing Railways and ad-
mittcd an atmosphere almost bad that within.
The yard was unclean, were the closets. which
gave forth terrible stenches Under tenement was
cellar. the rear part of which was occupied. The
rooms were four in number and were divided by u
narrow hallway. The ceiling only feet
high. On one side of the pace lived man about
forty years of age. He u dealer in cheese and
stored most OF his goods in the back
little place opened oil the room. 1t contained q
dlapidated mattress, while on the floor was heap
OF accuin ulxted sweepings and rubbish There wcrc
no windows or other means OF ventilation. and the
apartments could not well be foulcr Tho
was squalor visible that revolving "rhis place
ought 10 be condemned. said the Inspector. las
one IL ahoWcu 10 sleep IN COLLAR, much less
such as this" Leaving tho room the officer crossed
the hall and gave knock at dingy looking door.
1t was opened slowly and fearful picture was
viewed In little: dark room. in which
scarcely beam of light couli penetrate.
were hve persons. dusky bohemian sat at
board making cigars and beside him was his wife.
Crouching away Ia the corner. as II AFRAID OF the
light. were three pretty little bohemian children.
Their faces bore traces of what the absence OF air
and cleanliness to the childish thousands who
annually die in these dives. A little room, not
much larger than good sized packing
case was the sleeping room OF the children, and tho
parents slept in the larger room. ''Dis house is
owned py Astor," said the Bohemian proudly.
as the filth spoken of. "Mores tivs
pity, said the humane sanitary officer
as no left the underground rooms and
turned to the foul yard. whose atmosphere seemed
DELICIOUS in contrast. AS 1t was six O'Clock this
finished the days tour.
The Inspector says that IL will be almost two
weeks before tho Inspection of this single block is