New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-05-19
PLEA FOR VENTILATED ROOMS
Proposed Amendment to Tenement
House Law Called Vicious.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: In an attempt TO improve living con-
ditons In existing tenement houses ana 70
prevent their owners from obtaining an I'M
fair advantage over the owners OF tene-
ment houses to be constructed under the
more exacting conditions required In new
buildings tho tenement house law OF
1901 required certain inexpensive altera-
tions In existing buildings. These require
ments are found In Section 70 OF the pres
ent tenement house law.
| Omitting minor details. the scheme OF the
law is that unless a room has q window
opening directly upon the street or yard
or a shaft or to the roof 1t must have a
sash window opening into an adjoining
room, which itself opens into tho outer air.
or which opens by a similar sash windo"
into such an outer room. This sash win
dow Is TO be pully hung and ordinarily pot
less than three by five feet.
It Is, however, further provided that
where the rooms are already provided with
ether windows or doors or openings not as
adequate as the said sash windows the
Tenement House Department may never
theless permit the occupancy OF such rooms
where the entire suite extends from the
street to the yard, thus insuring through
ventilation.
The vicious amendment now before tho
Rules Committee OF the Assembly so modi-
fed Section 70 as 10 make such less ade-
auate openings sufficient in apartments
that do not extend through from street
70 yard. In other words. for example,
an apartment Of four rooms, one behind the
other. ending at the middle Of the building
IN a blank wall. Is made legal II 1t has
these insufficient openings from room to
ROOM even though there IL ample opportu-
nifty TO Insert such sash window as Is
now required by the existing law. The re-
suit is that there Is neither direct light
nor current OF air from the outside WIN
dows into the inner rooms which may be
thus left insuff1ciently lighted and venti-
lated, and even totally dark II the pro-
posed amendment Is enacted into law.
The Tenement House Department under
the present administration has been maxi
of old tenement houses by tho expenditure
oil about SO a room to make their apart
ments decent and livable It has been a
tremendous task. considering the large
number OF tenement houses already built
at the time the present benehcent law was
enacted. and the department by reason OF
the magnitude Of its task has been I'M
able as yet to force full compliance with
tho law and there are still in Brooklyn
alone about 10000 Ill lighted and poorly
ventilated rooms. which exist In violation
OF the present law. 1t Is these rooms that
the proposed amendment will legalize.
The amendment is a long step backward
and is in opposition 10 the Views OF the
present officials Of tho Tenement House
Department and In defiance Of the en-
lightened sentiment Of the people OF New
York City. This sentiment was emphat-
ically expressed at a large mass meeting
recently held In the Brooklyn Academy Of
Music, where prominent citizens insisted
upon the immediate elimination Of all dark
rooms and where the Tenement House
Commissioner and his Brooklyn deputy ex-
pressed approval OF the existing law and
pledged their best efforts to enforce It.
These demands and pledges were backed
UT by the unanimous approval OF hundreds
OF people. representing thousands OF citi-
zens, who insist that the present law pro-
vides little enough for the health and
safety Of the community and who are
Mortified at an attempt to lessen these
safeguards and TO restore the dangers to
the public health and morals which an en-
lghtened sentiment has once removed
w. F. PRATT. NJ. d.
Secretary Tenement House Commission OF
the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities.