The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-10-04
The Great Change i'm New York.

The work Of turning New York from city
Of private, individual dwelling houses into
one of tenements, each inhabited by large
numbers of families, is now going on moro
rapidly than ever. 1t will not take many
years to make the city very closely resemble
Paris, for instance, in that respect A COM
paratively small number of people will have
houses to themselves-hotols, as they call
them in Paris. The great mass of the popula-
ton, poor and well to do will be crowded in
tenements.
During the first six months of this year
/, 2O0 buildings, of an estimated cost of s27,-
9U9,305, were undertaken in New York OF
these 322 were fiat houses, POS tenements, and
LOG tcnements with stores. Nearly half of tho
money spent in building was laid ont on these
classes of structures. OF first-cass dwell
ings the total was only 2l7, and of second
class -. Tho number Of separate dwelling
houses, therefore, was go merely, while of
tenement houses of ono sort and another the
number was 5J6,
The separate dwelling houses of late years
put up, and especially this year, have been
usually of the more expensive sort They
cannot be bought or rented except by people
VI u bDlil hIdl OF HlttiN, Lana III utSllNDlt
nci9hbOThOld, is now SO high in price that il
is only fit for the most costly dwellings, 1t is
too valuable TO put others on ii, whether they
be homes for single families or apartment
houses. 4 residence which can he called at
all elegant, with the finishing which is now in
vogue, placed in a fashionable vicinity, sells
at from fifty thousand TO one hundred and fiji
tythousand dollars; and, Of course, its rent
must be accordingly. Only man with a large
capital can afford such house, and the whole
number of people so rich il not great even in
New York. Their houses grow to be too yalu-
able for the occupancy Of their owners in very
many cases They cannot afford to have 50
much money locked up, unless they are able
to hold them for prospective rise
Already the vast majority of the people of
the city hive in tcncments, either those so
called or in apartment houses, which are the
same thing made more elegant and more con-
venicnt Add to these tenement houses at The
rate of thousand Il year, and their total will
soon be enough to accommodate not half and
more, but wO-thirds and three-quarters Of
the people; even all except a small fraction
These apartment houses are now proving
paying investment for money put INTO build
ing They are speedily let, and the demand
for others does not at all diminish, On the
contrary, it is apparently greatly on the in
crease This tendency to find homes in apart
mcnts is strong, though they still rent at com
paratiYcly high prices. The time IS likely TO
come, however, when a man will be able 10
get desirable apartment in New York at a
price not above that he has to pay in Paris.
Nor is the day far off, apparently
Happily, while this transformation is going
on, tile tenement houses for the poor are be-
ing much improved. The new ones put up
are of far better construction than the old,
healthier lighter more airy. 1t is making of
New York more desirable city for the great
mass of families to live in. People of modcr-
ate means will not be forced to live in board
ing houses, and family life will be more agree
able, more salutary.