The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-23

Of $40 200 900 Invested in New Buildings
Last Year $50 = 90 900 went Into mex
pensi,e Dwellings, Costing From
$500 10 $40 OOO-F1ats Are Scarce.
line drawn across Brooklyn from east
10 west through Prospect Park would divide
the borough into two approximately equal
rarts. The soutberly half is made up OF
the Twenty-si1th Twenty@ninth, Thirtieth,
Thirty-hrst and Thirty-se cond wards, COM
prising the old towns Of New Lots, Flat
bush, New Utrecht, Gravesend and Fiat
lands. The most distant point In the ne gion
4 only bout nine miles from the Manhattan
City Hall In the district lie Coney Island,
Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and
other seaside resorts.
The Ne gion is fitted by its location, by Its
natural attractions and by its public i'm
provements TO be a populous, high grade
residence district. 1t touches both the
city's principal business centers and It's
principal summer recreation grounds. 1t
has splendid system Of parks and drives,
including the noted Ocean Parkway, and
has its fun share Of all the convenienoes
demanded In a modern city Of the FIST
rank.
Nevertheless, It Is comparatively sparsely
populated, and the cost Of living there
Is probably lower than In any other re gion
Of equal accessibility in the city. II seems
70 have been preserved by chance to furnish
an outlet for the great middle class popula-
ton In a critical transition period. Man
haitian and The Bronx have reached the
point OF development where practically
all OF the availab ls space in those borouRhs
Il needed for the great horde Of incomin <
tenement dwellers and for the expansion
OF commerce and industry which Is ca ch
year giving employment to en- army Of
wage eaners equal to the entire popula-
ton OF Albany.
To understand how South Brooklyn has
come TO retain It's suburban character 80
lng-why il is now in a position TO atuact
the cityIs overflow Of middle class popula-
ton because Of the inexpensive houses
and low rents-it Is necessary to recall
the condition It was In when the greater
city was consolidated.
The popularity OF the trolley, introduced
into Brooklyn half dozen years before
the charter Of consolidation went into effect,
caused electric lines to lie installed In the
main thoroughfares leading to the beach
resorts. By the time Of consolidation the
southerly half Of Brooklyn was for the
most part in an anomalous position. Great
truck farms abutted on streets containing
city transit facilities and lighted by cleo
tricity.
The new charter placed the outlying wards
Of Brooklyn on the same footing with other
localities with regard 10 taxation. Truck
gardening became Improbable, and land
failed to pay carrying expenses. The
change from rural to urban taxes acted
az pressure upon the original owners
10 realize present instead Of prospective
profits while the condition Of transporta-
ton facilities appealed 20 speculative
operators Consequently farms were sold
at prices which real estate spectators all
over the country considered low, capt.
talists from Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and else
where joining in the buying movement
irauIurated by local operators.
few months after the new city charter
went into effect the Brooklyn trolley lines
were allowed TO cross the Bridge and pas
sengers could ride from almost anywhere
south Of Prospect Park to the Manhattan
City Hall without change Of cars, and the
fare was reduced from 10 cents to five. In
other words, the southeTly half Of Brooklyn
was for the first time made available for
city homes.
The progress Of the district in the half
dozen years since then has been very rapid.
It has, however been along lines which have
tended TO prevent too rapid rise Of land
values. The territory was big enough 70
allow free play TO the principle OF oompe-
tton. Besides hundreds of individual
builders, many large corporations and syn
dioatcs have been active In developing inn
portant holdings Of land for settlement
and in building houses for sale.
The work Of putting in street improve
Inents, Of laying out building sites, and Of
constructing homes has been done gen
orally on large scale, resulting in sub
stantial economies in respect Of cost, and
the competition for buyers has been sufi-
GENTLY keen to keep down prices TO low
level as compared with other parts OF the
city, like Harlem and The Bronx, where
different methods Of operating In realty
are employed. AtpTesent there are about
thirty distinct tracts In the southerly part
Of Brooklyn that are being built up by cor
porations and syndioates, while indi vidual
builders are at work throughout the entire
region
Some idea Of the growth OF Brooklyn
since Consolidation may be attained from
the'e figures, showing the number OF new
houses erected annually since 1898;
ias............. 1850 ip0z. .............,. ans