The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-16
l,sB REAL ESTATE MARKET.
,vpORTANCE or THE SUBWAY
TJyNEL TO THE BRONX.

RSa
!" y,,. Tnu for the Houses Nearing
rompIc,im-They VIII, II Is Est'.
mated. Room 1T Least so 900 Persons.
The completion Of the rapid transit tunnel
,or ,he Harlem River at this time has
Moved the only serious doubt which
',o;ned as to the financial outcome OF
,to existing building movement in The
W., ny Upward Of s21 100000 has been
,",es,ed in construction work there since
Ian. (. "a against some $lo,ooo,ooo IN the
corresponding period OF last year. Inc
areat bulk Of the new buildings are brick
S.,s and tenements and frame dwellings
!, ia estimated that these constructions
iii house about 10 900 families or popula-
,ion Of 5000. Perhaps a majority OF them
m;, he orened for occupancy between now
.,d fine close of September. With I'M
,.,rortant exceptions, they are located
=" the eas,ery part Of the borough, adjacent
- ,be ra,iid transit road and to the Ford
tor extension of the Third avenue elevated
line. .,..
Considering the excessive rents which
..o,,u in overcrowded Manhattan. and
nlovng for the fact that the population
~ the city Is growing at the rate of 5000
n, more year from foreign immigration
.onc there can be no doubt that the now
bousinr In The Bronx will be taken UP as
coon as It becomes available. One factor In
determininr its availability however, Is
TRANSFORMATIONS and until the opening of the
subway tunnel transportation from The
prony was taxed to it's utmost capacity.
The bridge traffic was incapable of further
expansion. The only promise of relief was
the prompt completion of the subway
tunnel,
In the building Of this important addi-
tonal connecting link between Manhattan
and The Bronx novel method Of construc-
ton was employed, The method was in tho
nature of an experiment. and fear was en-
tertanad that the tunnel might not be
ready for use by the beginning Of the
present renting season. In that event a
large proportion of the new housing would
have sought tenants in vain this fall, for
want Of transportation, which, in turn,
would have meant ruin or at least serious
loss to hundreds of speculative builders.
The capacity Of the tunnel is about $4,000
passengers an hour. The travel each
way during the rush periods Is spread
over two hours. Handling $4,000 pas
engers during the rush hours in the morn
Ing and again during the rush hours in the
evening, the tunnel will enable The Bronx
to add, say, $1,000 families. or $50 900 resi-
dents to it's existing population. Pas
engers are furnished transportation at
five cent fare from West Farms or Ford
ham to the Battery. Prosperity is assured
Tor this years building operations. and
there Is room for all the capital and enter
prise which the building industry can give
10 the borough across the Harlem in the
next few years.
The fact that the bulk OF the new housing
IN the The Bronx consists of tenements is
giving rise to some uneasiness in that
borough. A couple Of years ago the con-
srlction work there was directed chiefly
toward the production Of two family houses
and detached private dwellings. The
change to tenement house const lotion
will, it is believed, affect local business
interests by bringing in population OF
comparatively low purchasing power.
tenant in a private house is likely to be
more profitable as Gust omer than tene-
nent house dwelier.
A movement has, consequently, been
set on foot to check the building of tene-
ments and encourage that of private dwell
ings, The North Side Board of Trade has
sent out letters Of inquiry to about 500 real
estate men, with a view to ascertaining
what can be done to promote the building
Of higher grade Of housing in the borough.
The result of the inquiry will be awaited
with a great deal of interest in other Sec
tons, as well as In The Bronx, for all the
cheaper and more accessible residence
parts of the city are confronted by the
same problem.
This, however. is essentially merely a
phase of the immigration question. So
long as immigrants without means con-
tinue to arrive they must be housed in
cheap tenements. They come because the
city offers them work, but the work is of
the unskilled low waged varieties, and
the character of the work determines
the class Of immigrants.
The amount Of employment offered. in
stead Of decreasing, is evidently increasing,
and its character is certainly not improving
from the standpoint of wages. During
the first half of this year $4,000 900 was
expended in new business buildings, as
against sll 900 900 in the first six months
Of last year. Most Of the present CON-
sructions are lofts and factories on the
outskirts of the midtown shopping dis
trict and in the tenement districts Of the
Fast and West Sides. In other words,
they are designed for the trades in which
sveatshop labor and wages predominant.