New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-06-01
White Tenants Excited as
the Prosperous Looking
Group Scans Section
With Offer to Purchase
Charge Landlord Scheme
Striking Occupants Say the
Owners Would Be Doing
Spitework by Selling

Four prosperous looking negroes.
carrying gold headed canes, looked
over some choice property in Browns
vile yesterday, with a view, they told
1ssaac Elman, president of the Browns
willie Landlords Protective Association
of purchasing one hundred apartment
houses.
The little groups of tenants, summing
themselves along the sidewalk, were
moved to excited and speculative COM
ment. On Friday, David Spain, secrc-
tary of the Landlords Association, ar
nounced that the American African
Colonization Association had offered to
fill boycotted houses in Brownsville,
with negroes "of the better class"
According to Mr.. Elman, the apart
ments which the negroes looked over
yesterday, vary in value from 10000
TO $4,000. He said that property own
ers would not reject reasonable offers,
in view of their heightening difficulties
with tenants.
Alderman Barnet Wolff, one of the
organizers of the Brooklyn Tenants
/ cague, characterized the project Of
yne landlords as pure poppycock and
onsense."
Owners Would Spite Selves"
p The landlords would simply be cut
-, off their nose to spite their facet"
said. They know very we'll that
minute colored family takes pos
sson of a fiat in their houses, the
Value of the property Geprecia.es tre-
mendously. A glance at the real estate
values III Manhattan clearly brings that
Tut. Property on Seventh Avenue is
North far more than that on Lenox
Avenue. In other sections it is TIE
same.
I'VE are not drawing the color line
Where are negro families living within
"a block of parts Of Brownsville and
people are scarcely aware Of it, The
flats into which the negroes would
move are being boycotted because the
landlords took unfair advantage Of
present conditions and sought to
protiteer. From my knowledge Of col
iored people of the better class, | would
gay that they would back the tenants
On their fight on unreasonable land
lords and would join in the boycott"
Depreciation Contradicted
In contradiction to this opinion
David Goldberg, City Marshal declared
that property depreciates only where
one or two colored families move into
a white district When whole section
is occupied by negroes, he said, the
property is as high, if not higher, than
if it were tenanted by white families.
Mr.. Elman said that rooms now bring
ing 81 and SIS are easily worth Sc, and
\ II.
rent.
You must remember" he said, chat
the value of property is fixed on its
earning power. This earning power
certainly would not be reduced if we
took in negroes"
Other landlords reported to Mr.. Ell
man that they had been interviewed
by groups of negroes, all eager and
willing to purchase property.
One Brownsville landlord, Henry
iSteinhardt, owner of a house at $50
sRiverdale Avenue. appeared as COM
plainant against his tenants yesterday
before the Mayors Committee on Rent
Profiteering
Claims Agreement Violated
This reversal of the usual order Of
procedure was due to Steinhardt's
claim that his tenants are violating an
agreement they had with him regard
ing rents. He charged that some Of he
tenants broke into the cellar and
smashed the range supplying hot water
and later was told that the agreement
was void because he was unable to fur
nish hot water. The tenants charged
by the landlord with smashing the
range will be summoned before the
Mayors Committee.
The Joint Legislative Committee
called off its scheduled session yester-
day because of its inability to serve q
subpoena on Louis D. Baer, pres dcnt
Of the Chemical Realty Company. At
the last session of the committee,
which is investigating ice and housing
conditions here, tenants in houses
owned by the Chemical Realty Com
pany complained of being charged ex
orbitant rents.