New-York tribune., 1909-05-25
FOR CODE HEARING
Public to Gire Pieces on NP7C BHfd-
inG L0zcS.

The Building Committee Of the Board Of Alder
men will announce to-day public hearing on the
building code revision. which will probably take
place on Friday Of this week. committees from
the Building Trades Employers Association, the
New York branch OF the American Institute OF
Architects the Concrete Association of America
the real estate interests and civic organizations
viii attend.
In discussing the proposed new code. Paul star
rett. og the George A. Fuller Construction Com
pany said
# believe the majority report provides Tor buld-
ing code that Will decided improvement over
the old When that code was prepared concrete
construction, and especially hreproofng by that
process was unknown. What legislative powers
the Superirtendent Of Buildings has are entirely
by amendment as the exigences of the situation
due Increasing use of this material detnande9a
from time to time. In other words, the proposed
code clothes the buildings department with au-
thority which it did not have heretofore in deter
mining true Interpretation Of the word hreprooI
as Il applies to concrete. While II Is not ldeaI IN
every respect Il covers q situation which mas
needed covering for long time A. least Il Is It
start in the right direction.
''As far | the proposed ordinance VIII
not hamper building construction in this CITY As
to cost there is reason 10 believe mat II VII
entail much additional expense 1t VIII merely
compel class construction and place every com
pany on an footing BY that mean every
company that figures on construction Job VIII
have to put in genuinely hreproof material and the
builder will he sure that he is getting what he
wants"
A. L. A Himmel wright Of the RoeblnS con
struction Company. took different view of the
situation He said,
The nreproohng recommendations in the majority
report are indeed the most serious Everybody
who has given any attention at all TO various
methods OF hreprOof construction knows that all
the methods heretofore used have not proved salts
factory Several large fires In this city have dem
onstraied the truth Of that. but the majority re
mort not only permits the methods 10 be uSed
IN the future but provides for thinner arches. me
Is limited 20 Ia Inches root OF span
while the ma jority report provides for only III
inches In other words. the hollow Ule arch' "Hch
has heretofore been less expensive than concrete
IS reduced in thickness. and regulations are placed
on concrete hy eliminating CIndtrS IL HcnF con
struction which increases It's cost Where there
Is fair and square competition now. the majority
report makes the one cheaper and the other more
expensive
Edward J. Dougan, Of the Standard Arch Com
pany. said;
II the investing public and the public in general
are satisfied 10 sit back and allow the men that
they have elected their public servants 70 enact
laws that detrimental 10 the pest interests
of the city and give one large corporation ab-
soIute control OF the hrepTOOhng industry without
anv competition then II is useless for the minority
10 complain But Il is the duty Of all Interested
i'm the future Of building construction 70 demand
Of their representatives In the BOARD Of Aldermen
a code that Just and one that gives 10 al f"IIlS
Of construction II equal merit equal opportunity
fair competition. ,
not eliminated concrete construction IN tBe pro
posed new code st the requirements Of concrete
as set forth I'm the lreproofng sections OF the pro-
nosed new code are such that il would be i'm
the Increased cost and the increase I'm the weight
of concrete.