The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-02
MANHATTAN VALUES
RAISED S6S,SO5,7OO.
Figures Of Tax Department
Indicate City Increase of
$i87,611,40O.
RENT PROFITEERs ESCAPE
Apartment Houses Pay More,
But Board Asserts No Punt
tive Action Is Taken.

A tremendous jump In the real estate
wealth OF Manhattan In reflected I'm the
books Of the Department of Taxes.
thrown open to the public in the Munich
pal Building yesterday. While no on
cial totals we're availabls hasty exami-
nation of the data indicated that the in
crease in the valuation of the borough's
real property for 1920 over that for 1919
is something In the nelghborhood OF
$6s,S05,700. The increase Of 1919 over
1918 was only s37,197,740. The total
valuation OF all the real property In
Manhattan for 1890. according to the
unofficial computation, is s4,sl0,ss7.746,
as compared with s4,742,0S2,o46 for
1919.
Record breaking increases are levied
against some of the city's big sky
scrapers in the new assessment rolls.
The Equitable Building at 100 Broad
way is assessed at $26,000,000. or ST.
100000 more than it's value for 1919.
The next biggest advance was recorded
i'm the case Of the New York Stock
Exchange, at so Broad street. which Is
valued at $500, 900, as against S5,20O,-
0e0 for the year preceding.
Increases of 100000 each are also
made in the valuations of the Wool
worth and the whitehall buildings. The
former is assessed at 100000 as
against ss,boo,oOo for 1918, while the
latter is valued at s6.7oo,000 ais
against s6,200,0o0 for the year preced-
ing. In the case Of the Broad Exchange
Building at SO and 50 Broad street
100000 is tackled on to the valuation
for 1919 which was S4.900,00o.
Empire Building Unchanged.
BY no means all the city's valuable
business structures suffered an increase.
however. Even a few of those that have
changed hands in notable deals recently
were untouched. This is true OF the
Empire Building at Il Broadway
which was purchased only few months
ago by the United States Steel Corpora
ton for a price which at the time was
said to be 81, 900, 900 cash. This building
retained its valuation of S4,100,000. The
Liberty Tower ut 55 Liberty street. re-
Gently purchased by the Sinclair OH
Company, also marked time at 1880
900. which was its valuation last year.
The banking house Of ]. p. Morgan q
Co., at the southeast corner OF Broad
and Wall streets, retains it's 1919 valua-
ton of S5100,000. Some of the other
big buildings In Manhattan whose valua-
tons remain stationary are as follows:
Mutual Life Insurance Company, 2S
to 40 Nassau street, s9,35o,o00; United
States Express Building. Rector street,
sa,70O,000, III Broadway. $4,000, 900
115 Broadway, $5,200,000 City Invest
ing Building, 1875 Broadway, $685. 900;
Singer Building. 149 Broadway, $1,000
00o New York Telephone Building.
Broadway and Cortlandt street, s5,375.-
600 F.: New York Life Insurance Company
Building, 346 Broadway, $4,000, 900
South Ferry Building, and State
street, 100000; Astor Trust Building,
southeast corner OF Fifth avenue ana
Forty-second street, $2.7O0,O00; the Fire
Companies Building. Inc, so Maiden
lane, $3,700,0O0; The Sun Building, $50
Nassau street, S1.400, 900; the Stewart
Building, Broadway, from Chambers to
Reade street, soon to be the home Of
THE SUN and THE EVENING SUN,
S2,500,O00.
A jump of $4,000 is noted in the
assessment of the Title Insurance Com
pany Building at 1876 Broadway. which
this year is valued at S1,S50,000.
Increase for City s137,gII,4O0.
No method Of computing the increase
in the total value of all the real estate
in the city will be available until the
Tax Board issues its official recapitula-
ton of the tax figures for the various
boroughs. Jacob A. Cantor, president of
the board, probably will issue his figures
to-day together with the assessment OF
personal property. 1t is worthy Of note,
however that last year the total valua-
tion for Manhattan was more than half
that for the entire city. On this basis
the total valuation throughout the city
would present an increase this year OF
s197611,400. It is freely predicted,
however. that the increase will be in
excess of this figure.
Rumors persisted yesterday to the eff
feet that an added assessment OF at
least 100000, 900 would be heaped upon
the real estate OF the city because of
the advance in rental values. due to
the housing and office shortage. Mr..
Cantor said this estimate was not based
ON any official computation. He. did not
deny, however, that the increase might
not be 100000. 900. He added that he
would not know the actual advance until
the survey is completed.
Although some of the high class
apartment districts in the city showed
increases there is nothing In the records
so far examined to indicate that the
city administration had carried out the
threat attributed to It of Furnishing
rent profiteers by adding to the valua-
tons on their properties. Mr.. Cantor
asserted emphatically that it was not
the intention Of the tax board to carry
out any such programme. He admitted
that there would possibly be increases
based on rental mutations, especially
where they were made the basis OF re-
sales at a proht. These increases, he
said, would not be of a punitive nature
TN ascertaining the value of prop
erty," said Mr.. Cantor, 1.-THE Deputy
Tax Commissioners have made their in
vestigations independently. This de-
partment has not cooperated in any way
with the Mayors Committee on Rent
Profiteering. but has proceeded along
customary lines. taking into considera-
tion three factors, namely the number
of sales in the neighborhood OF the prop
erty assessed, the amount of mortgage
on the property and the rents derived
therefrom."
Apartment Houses Unchanged.
Two large apartment houses which
have changed hands frequently since the
boom in real estate started last January
are unaffected by the assessment in
a.ra he