Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-03-29
FIRE IS NEWARK'S
s GREATEST PERIL"
Harvard Expert on Housing
Problems Makes Statement to
City Plan Commission.
REPORT PRESENTED TO
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Or. Ford Makes Many Recon-
mendations Regarding Mo-
rality, Health and Safety.

The housing report to the City Plan
Commission by E. p. Goodrich and
George B. Ford was presented to the
The report was made for Mr.. Ford
and Mr.. Goodrich by DIR. James Ford.
of Harvard University.
Among the remedies for existing
: evils in housing conditions in the city
is one suggested to do away with the
"Coast." The Investigators recon-
mend the opening of Augusta street
toward Broad and also toward
Springfield avenue. This is in line
with the improvement of Bradford
place, an ordinance for which has
been passed. The section would be-
come a good commercial district with
the opening of the new street, it is
declared. The report in part is as
follows:
The homes of Newark are mostly
built upon the hills. which are of
easy grade. The residence streets of
the well-to-do of generation ago
are broad, with old stately trees,
broad lawns and large detached
brick dwellings of marked dignity.
. The capitalists of today have built
attractive homes of English or CO.
lonial types set well back from the
street and from neighboring dwell
ings and we'll maintained.
The homes of skilled worldngmen,
clerks and small shopkeepers and
one-family, two-family and three
family houses are usually built of
wood and are in general we'll kept
and wholesome. Back yards are deep,
leaving large open space in the in
terror of each block for the penetra-
ton Of air and sunshine, with fruit
trees. vines and flowers, and the open
spaces give a suburban character
even to the homes near the heart of
the city,
50. Streets Are Well Paved.
The streets of the city are we'll
paved and drained. The Shade Tree
Commission, which has achieved a
national reputation for its campaign
of public education in care of trees,
cares for $4,000 trees and adds sew
eral thousand new trees each year
to beautify the streets of the city.
. Newark has had no comprehensive
housing investigation made during
the past decade, hence It was neces-
sary to devote a large percentage OF
preparation of this report to care
,ful examination of the existing hous-
Ing conditions in old and new quar-
tiers of the city.
The districts chosen were as fol-
lows: First the block bounded by
Springfield avenue and Shipman, Au-
gusta and Arlington streets, includ-
ing Ladders alley. This district was
~tihosen to offer an extreme example
of bad housing conditions in old
buildings.
The second district bounded by
: Prince street, Waverly avenue,
Broome and Spruce streets, was
chosen because it contained a large
number of tenement houses built UNI
der the present tenement house act
of New Jersey.
The third block chosen is in the
Island district, bounded by Joseph
Esther, Albert streets and Euclid
avenue.
A part of large block in Eighth
avenue was studied.
The last district lies in the Silver
/, Lake neghborhood, bounded by
North Eighth street. Delavan avenue,
North Ninth street and Chester ave-
nue..
Where Housing Problem Exists.
4 housing problem may be said to
exist wherever any portion of popu-
lation dwells under conditions danger-e
Gus to health, safety or morality. The
problem is present to some degree in
. every American city.
The safety of an urban population
Is in many ways affected by housing
conditions. The overcrowding of lots
with buildings erected of combustible
material creates a serious confiagra-
ton risk. especially where buildings
. are of frame exterior or are used both
as stores and dwellings,, as is COM
mon in our large American cities.
Fire-escapes reduce the danger to
tenants from fire, but improperly con-
structed fire. escapes constitute a new
risk from accident. The presence of
stores, bakeries and workshops in
.non-fire-proof tenement houses, the
storage of combustible materials
rags. paints, ETC., the encumbrance. of
fire-escapes, the proximity of rail-
roads and manufacture OF explosives,
affect in varying degree the safety of
the tenant.
A careful study of the housing con-
ditipns in American cities shows that
many of the housing problems which
are serious in other urban commune
ties scarcely exist at all in Newark.
For example, Newark, unlike New
York and Boston, is not cursed with
extensive congestion of buildings