New-York tribune., 1896-11-22
DANGEROUS OLD BUILDINGS.
THEIR PROPER INSPECTION HAMPEREp
BY LACK OF FUNDS.
s,p,,,,vrrvnrvr CONSTABLE COMPLAINS OF
THE PRESENT IAXITY-TIIE LAW
NOT ENFORCED

NOT ENFOk'fb
When man Is knocked down in the public high-
way sometimes the police are Immediately pian'"
for not having had sufficient foresight To have
souod OF men waiting on the spot in readiness 10
catch the criminal Then fire breaks out. inVoiV-
ing a large loss. and people ask why the hf' u'
partmcnt WAS not able TO deluge II with water p'
fore IL got started. Next building collapses ana
the pubic-spirited citizen who pays his taxes Il
ready with the question. What do "" nave
Building Department for?" All these Instances give
the officials of these different departments an oP-
portunity 10 air their grievances ana cal pupl'
attention TO the work the department might no IL
il only had the funds or the men TO do 1t with
And In a way this Is good thing for the pup'ic III
general. for certain defects and faults are thus
discovered and possibly rencdied
The falling-in OF the floors OF tea warehouse !"
vesey-st not long ago recalls many similar occur
rences in the past where human HE mas peeh ioS'
in frightfuI numbers. In a city like New ork
whose history dItes back to ante-revolutionafN
times there many Old quarters OF the town
where the buildings are in diIapdaied condition'
and their fitness for occupancy even as tenemohts
Is under grave suspicion.
Stevenson Constable. superintendent OF the Do
partment of Buildings. when seen by a Tribune
reporter expressed himself In strong terms on 'h'
subject saying that one of tho crying needs OF MS
department was money TO prosecute invcstiga-
ton of violation OF the building laws and to enforce
these laws.
Are there many more buildings In the city IN
which accidents Ike that Of Nos. q and 81 Ncsey-
st are likely to happen" tho reporter asked MI
Constable.
Yes There are thousands OF old buildings. es-
pecialy in the lower section OF this city. that
should be Immediately inspected. as from the
change OF occupancy and use and IN" Increased
loading of the floors etc. they have become dan
gerous'
The law of 1892 reads thus:
In all warehouses; storehouscs. factories work
shops ana stores whore heavy materials are Kept
that each floor will safely sustain upon each super
fetal foot thereof shall within ninety days att, after
occupant. or by competent person "nploy'i
estimate Of the weight that tn" floors In any such
building will safely sustain has been asc'rtAincd
The S'perniend.n, Of HuilAnps shan approx. thc
same. and theroupon th" owner or occupant oi
a copy Of such approved estimate In q conspicuous
place on each story of the building 10 which IT re
is occnI',cd and used. in whole or in part, for any
Of the purposes aforesaid. and hefore any building
Al such time oc,ngicd for any Of IN, "toTr-id
hoof Will safely sustain sha! T." asc"riHin"d and
place. or cause or permit, 10 he placed. on any
floor of any building any greater load than the
herein provided.
Replying TO question TO how tho law had
been compiled with. Mr.. Constable said:
This ha. he,n done only TO q very imI,cd cN-
month | Informed The proper CITY officials of 'hc
great nccd Of imn.diaie attention hong ,sircn to
Apportionmcnt have strongly dwelt upon it, i'm
Is so gross that only hous" Inspection viii
enable us TO discover thr great danger lurking In
now subjected to This ircn' ndous risk dee IN this
OF the utmost importance.
buildings ia this city Of which IN" aC" of many
and the condition I'm which thoy would le found,
nat fh.4 q iIiIi had
been done in repairing them. the chang. Of occu-
Iancy and Us" OF many Of nom as mnnufaci"ri.s.
tions OF adjoining buildings. wcr" likely 10 cause
many accidents and loss Of NE At thu same time
up and determine that this Department shall be
out the las rertainins TO fty ana o'y
OF construction and prevention OF accident and loss
OF life. cannot answer for what may happen or
the effect upon the building and real estate in
tcrcsts Of this city. certainly know and from
the short experience have had here that the in
vcstors III property are not getting what they pay
for. and that Tho constructonal defects ana weak
h"sS'S caused 10y cafel"ssn"ss and incompctcnt
Daen are likely only to increase the dincultics.'
"The grcai"' part Of what have complained Of
couh d" i"n"d'd II ! had sufficient force Of
competent men "a make the necessary inspections
ants ana .mpio}cs In various buildings through
ou' the city. calling attention 10 these facts ON
inspection. such complaints are frequently vert
been avcred.
that out Of thousands Of buildings requiring al
t"ntion. only In the cases OF Goi has application
by this Department according to law Since the first
OF January 1896. up TO the present time. 3l22 build
ings have been found unsafe, upon which nmc-
diate action has had 10 bc taken
Il applied for IN" Institution OF an emergency
corps for the Department OF Buildings I'm my re-
ports TO the Board Of Apportionmcnt OF 1895 but
as faicd 10 get II Mcssrs. Thomas T. t;alipan
d Sons were public-spiried enough to establish a
corps OF ther own AT an expense Of several thou
In emergency cases whore quick action was ncccs-
sary. with so much satisfaction that buildings in
ali cases have been temporarily restored 10 ibcr
former stability, or made permanently safe "A
the case required" '' "