New-York tribune., 1919-10-02
Increase in Tentative Fig
ures for 1920 More
Than Double Jump in
1919 Final Assessment
Owners Who Raise
Rents Not Hard Hit
Boost Office Buildings;
Large Budget and High
Tax Rate Are Expected

figures and estimates Of tentative 1920
lie yesterday by the Department of
Taxes and Assessments. Real estate in
the city, it was said. will be assessed
at more than $21O,00O.Onn n excess of
the 1919 final figure. This is more than
double the final increase for 1919. 1t
would increase the borrowing capacity
$2l 900 600.
Tax Commissioner Jacob A. Cantor
said that the assessments were made
"in the usual manner" and rent prof
itee ing did not form the basis of in
creased assessed values.
Office buildings were particularly
hard hit as compared with proportion
ateiy smaller increases in the fashion
able apartment house sections of Man
haitian.
Real estate and personal property
Will be assessed, it is estimated. at
more than $4,000, 100000 in 1920.
The tentative assessed valuation of
Manhattan real estate for tax purposes
in 1920 will be $4,S10,887,7 TAO. This is
an increase of S68,805,700 over the
present year.
Queens realty vas also raised by
Commissioner Cantor and his associ-
ates in the department. Owners Of
real property in that borough are asked
to pay on a valuation Of $570,52 800,
an increase of $30,716,33O.
The realty assessment rolls Of the
other boroughs were not opened for in
spectlon yesterday, nor were any of the
valuations placed on personal property
for the coming year, with the exception
of some of the personally assessments
in Brooklyn
All, however, will be public property
to-day, and, according to statements
made at the office of the Tax Depart
ment, the total increases in values
placed on realty throughout the city
viii be in excess of $4,000, 900 over
the present year.
This years tentative realty valuation
was $4,000, 900 in excess Of 1918's,
but this was reduced to S103 .O93,186
had been heard. The total figure on
which taxes were raised this year, real
and personal property, was $S,790,73
533.
Real estate experts who examined the
rolls declared that there was nothing
in tho Manhattan figures to substanti-
ate the repeated statements OF men,
bers Of the Hylan administration that
the increased cost of government
would fail on the rent protteer.
Commissioner Cantor. when asked if
the question of rent profiteering had
been taken into consideration by his
appraisers in making the assessments,
said
Estimates in Usual Manner
mo reports of rent profiteering came
to me as Tax Commissioner nor to any
of my deputies, SO they went ahead
making their estimates in the usual
manner.
Several apartment houses where it
was known there had been very large
increases in rents during the past year
were assessed at last years figures.
Three sections OF Manhattan, where
complaints of rent profteering had
been made, and the assessments Of the
present year and 1920 follow:
From Morningside Drive to Riverside
Drive, between l16th and 138th streets:
1919, s6s,1O4.l00; 1920, $6s.7s5,Oo0.
Between Columbus Avenue and Cen
trail Park West. from Ninety sixth to
116th street: 1919, Sl23, 1885, 700; 1920,
$124,510, 600.
From Columbus Avenue to Riverside
Drive. north from Ninety-sixth Street
10 lloln ptIeel. 1919, pol ,44O, ,UOU, ISZU,
$51,77A.600.
Big Budget and Tax Rate Expected
1t was said by tax experts yesterday
that the rates in 1920 will be new
high record This years tax rate was
2.32 in Manhattan, 237 in The Bronx
236 in Brooklyn, 233 in Queens and
24l in Richmond. The rate will not
be fixed until early in March, and will
be based on the budget, which will not
be completed until the end of this
month. That the budget will also be
a record breaker is evident from the
departmental estimates. which provide
TO increases to most of the city's en-
ployes.
Three Of John D. Rockefeller's
houses, private homes. at 10, II and
10 West Fifty-fourth Street, which were
assessed at 100000 each this year,
were increased $4,000 each.
Several of the downtown office build
ings were also increased in assessed
valuation. Among them, the Equitable
Building, from S25, 900, 900 to see, ,oO0,-
600; Whitehall Building, from $6,20O,-
600 to $1,000, 900; the Woolworth Build
ing, from S9,5OOOO0 to $10,00O,O 900; the
Broad Exchange Building, from $4,90O,-
600 to S5.300,0OO The Stock Exchange.
which recently acquired small parcel
of land, was increased from 5000 900
to S5,95O,0 900.