Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-03-28
TENEMENT HOUSE
OWNERS D|SOBEY
THE STATE LAWS
From One to Twenty Violations
on Each of Nearly 50,-
900 Buildings.
LEGISLATURE ASKED
FOR MORE INSPECTORS
Fire-Escapes Required Only on
Buildings More Than Three
Stories High.

In order to learn just what the Tene-
ment House Commission is doing IN
regard to the carrying out Of the laws
under which that department works an
Evening STAR reporter today called
upon Charles Allen, secretary of the
commission. who said:
Forced Erection Of Fire Escapes.
This department has forced the
erection of fre-escapes on. 1.147 tene-
ment-houses in Newark since the es-
adjustment of the Board of Tenement
House Supervision" said Captain
Charles j. Allen, secretary of the Ten
ement House Commission. ION many
of these houses w or more fire.
escapes were found to be necessary
and were erected.
The owner of every tenement-houss
in Newark on which the law requires
fre-escapes a been notified by the
department that the buildings must be
SO equipped. There are now on file IN
the office of the department notices OF
contract for the erection of fire-escapes
on 1911 tenement-houses in this city,
and there are not many iron contrac-
LOIS Ill ANCN1Ih L ldNS NV W.
tracts for fire-escapes on tenement
houses. In addition to that, the de-
partment now has 90 cases referred to
the encouragement for prosecution,
cases in which owners of tenement
houses have been notified to place fire.
escapes on their buildings, but In
which no attention has been paid to
the notices and orders served by the
department. All of these will be pros
ecuted as required by law.
THE department recently recovered
penalties from the owners of forty or
more tenement-houses in the District
Court of this city, and the other cases
will undoubtedly result in the same
way.
Wholesale Violation of Law.
This department. deals only with
tenement-houses; that is. with houses
which are occupied by or arranged for
occupancy by three or more families.
We have Jurisdiction in all parts of the
State, and have record of 8,642 tene-
ment-houses. There is scarcely one
of all that number on which there Is
not anywhere from two to twenty
violations.
Many people are hat the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Id QOc6 lOI ACQbiA
fire-escapes on all classes of tenement
houses. The great majority of the ten
e~ment-houses in this State are three
stories or less in height. The tene-
ment-house law provides that on every
non-hreproof tenement house in this
State more than three stories high
there shall be hre-escapes constructed
and located as provided In the act;
fHaf &c fharn must ha a ha1COnV at
each floor, above the entrance floor.
directly accessible to each apartment.
The balconies must be constructed of
iron, with iron stairs from one balcony
to another, the stairs to be set at an
angle not sleeper than sixty degrees,
with treads not less than seven inches
wide and risers not more than nine
inches. The stairs must be provided
with iron hand-rails on either side.
Practically every iron contractor In
this vicinity has had full instructions
from the department. as to the con-
struction and location of the fire-es-
capes on tenement-houses, and the de-
partment takes care to see that the
contractors live up to the law In all
respects"
"Why doesn't the department have
fire-escapes placed on the three-story
tenements?"
Bill Changed In Senate.
1.-THE original draft of the tenement
house law, as it passed the House of
Assembly IN 1904, provided that fire.
escapes must be placed on all tene-
ment-houses three stories or more In
height" was Captain Aliens answe
when the bill reached the Senate 1t
was attacked by a powerful organiza-
ton of contractors, architects n the
owners of tenement property, who sue
ceeded in forcing a number of changes
in the bill, among them that relating
to microscopes on three-story tene-
ment-houses, and requiring instead
that the safety appliances should be
provided on tenement-houses which
are more thar three stories high"
"How many inspectors are employed
in the Department.
twenty-five, one Of whom is de-
tailed in the office and another as pho
~tographer, so that we have twenty
men in the field, with which to super
wise the construction and erection of
new tenement-houses in all parts of
the State, as well as to look after the
removal of violations in the forty-six
thousand old buildings. Yes, we have
asked the legislature this year for ten
more inspectors, but We have not yet
heard that we will get the additional
men,