New-York tribune., 1896-10-05
REAL ESTATE.
pI'SINESS IN THE FIELD.

Tne ss,a.o interest IN this city face to face
Ge TIN the issue presented by the fatal Park
sfs" orcbard-st. and ireland Building dis
Paee II All thcse Instances n!msy and defective
ss"-,,on was al the bottom cf the col
e'n' inspectors paid 10 inspect had not watched
hp''s p',s,rnc.ion Of buildings assigned to them.
me 49,, This neglect OF duty came from ignorance.
".s,ess or bribery is not to the point in
alteration Of the issue, according to the best
era' rsal estate men. The prime consideration,
cN is the efficiency Of the management of the
he' .mant of Buildings. Almost equally important
l~P1 in the security OF buildings, il pointed
a., week are the promptness and efficiency OF
ou' n-ard Jury in placing the blame for such dis
i"' where II belongs and then Of the District
fs,.,,s office in prosecuting and pushing pun
L., the offenders guilty Of the degree of man
laughter involved.
:. well known that the old Buildings Bureau
o,e-ward the Department Of Buildings
-. honeycombed with pulls" and
W., nefic!ency with bribery suspected In
~ ~ background. superintendent Constable took
y. s situation in hand when in a letter to
- -, Strong dated May I. 1856 after having
".r ' in office from March % OF that year. he
y. firth the unsavory state Of affairs dis
s-ed by him in the Department. "after having
.oso. every moment OF my time working daily
~ A. m to y o'clock p m" As the result Of
~. Investigation. Mr Constable made this sum-
:. such that must refuse all responsibility Of
...ords and papers in this Department prior TO
,m" Mr. Constable added: inspectors
rb few exceptions are Incompetent and unrei-
.ne Their ineticiency is proved by much OF the
.orsless work and careless construction which can
:, found all over the city Many OF them are really
aseraee to the Department. The districts
s.rered by the inspectors are entirely 100 large TO
=, ,boroughly and carefully handled. the system OF
,s,.c,,on and following up Of said inspections i
r,-v careless the Inspection OF iron work through
49,, the city amounts 10 almost nothing and yet is
,rs ~ the most important branches of modern
.ors,ruction Only four men are employed 10 cover
60 entire city and inspect iron work in many in
.,,nces whore one man alone would he kept busy
:, ,boroughly examine and take charge Of three
,,ur Jobs No regular. thorough examination is
ada of bottoms or foundations for foojinCs of
s-sa, buildings by this Department: same is left
Entirely 20 the architects and constructors.
The Department has been handled entirely by
,ou,jcs and influence plans PASSED and the
whole scheme from top % bottom founded upon
,rnuerce ana pull. To correct the many care
,sssnesses above mentioned Will take some time
,s there Is still great influence. and will be great
ornosi,;on 10 the handling of this Department. the
treat Department in charge. under the law Of con-
,-u~tion and the safety of the public in this city.
N losing this letter Mr.. Constable wrote: The
sres. mass OF buildings standing now in this city
viii be found from natural causes. the cheap work.
xbich has been continually increasing from compe-
,ion and speculation: the great changes resulting
from the removal OF old buildings and the erection
0, new is likely to cause many accidents 20 the
public and expense TO properly owners II the
citizens OF this city do wake up and determine
that this Department shall be a separate business
organization free from politics. cannot answer for
TIE effect upon the great building and real estate
interests OF this city, l certainly know and
from the short experience have had here that
Investors in property not getting what they pay
for and that the CONSTITUTIONAL defects and weak
nssses caused by careless work and Incompetent
likely only to increase the difficulties in
maintaining strong and true value TO construction
and real estate interests Of this city"
Mr.. Constable has suspended the inspectors In the
Mad!son-aye fathouse case. The Superintendent
says that ne needs money for more inspectors
Mayor Strong retorts that # Mr. Constable cannot
run the Department on the money appropriated ne
ought TO resign.
Touching the general conditions s,ne--r. tandem.
Constable said 10 Tribune reporter f~w day.
before the Madison-ave accident:
fne lorce OF inspectors Tor ,he area and Num-
Der OF buildings 10 be covered is outrageou~ly small
IN the next place. how can ge; competent men a.
,nspeetors-men who ought 10 have thorough
hno"iedge OF construction ana materials and sl.o
eAPerience-at wages which average less = dav ,ha,
common bricklayer ge-s who works under .b. -
VI foreman! have written letter upon letter 70
'ne Mayor about IT, and have received not an ansvyar
10 one OF them / hold the Board Of Estimate and
nppo'uohment primarily responsible for any do
Quoting It, '- a. am CON
ISSUE from any personal cons ieration. bovev.r
aSser' 'ha' IN my present endeavors - noans,,
"'s department on strictly business bssis
e'' 20 haVe the hearty support OF every ,,ia
~ es's'e ces4er' o. every reputable and soi,s i
,,,n 0.'S"'' o. every SOUND banking ins,itp-
.o", And OF every monetary institution :, yhaf.
Vhen ~, ,'ns s money on real estate You v,iv o.
.nts-as.S ssVP 10 tIllk OF L. tnat all fhe-e
or sis5 % mn are directly Or indirectly 80, -
es-n1d :, 'e94 estate transactions arc ,,.si'rss
fns na, go a s-uhl ana DIsInesslke man. - -
's IT. rDepar rtneni Of Buildings 'd= =e"eH' oI
rss ss.na .sH "lo ooriows and the maj u-bo to,s -
sscuri,v ~ a. potn Interested ia usvirp 80, -,
lnsura 0n "-Hcn 20 borrow or leud -, 80,
uorianre pahies musl nnd il OF the ,,rocs, ~
psnn.d 10 improved property has been nronar,. 80,
caarscfsr =, 1'.e pans honestly executed bs rro,,
ion dana,G "a .4eSe plans and their fsItbr,,I pvP,
W ~ uepehd upon the efHcapcy - nun execu-
a,siiu'hgs and tnat efficiency PaI 'ilrhL
All sh OF honesty and competence ~ 3rs ie @ PIe
al Us Is competency requires as one ,b,nsP ~
at the.e snail be sufficient snrrrr'r. ~
rsa, suIiclent number Of jnsnrc. or - ~ sIYH ~
n,n,, Anu or material for such inso.c,or- r me me
oxnar l., BUSINESS man and every h6res, ,,r,.s a,Is
~ ." 'he CITY has strong and Dect,Iiar 49,,