The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-24

been III several years. IneSc NdCdi-
cies, he explains, are in superfine
apartments and cold water tenements.
The present distress, he shows, Is due
to the congestion In the middle class
apartments. Many tenement dwellers
prospered during the war and moved
into better quarters. On the other
hand some of the wealthy, as pro-
test against the soaring rents in the
palatial apartments, took a step down
in the housing scale and IBID up" the
rents in the middle class houses.
BY SAMUEL A. HERZOG.
(Mcnber Of Board OF Governors, Apart
mont House ASsocidtion.)
In recent article In TIE NEW York
HERALD pointed out the fact that there
were on April last more apartment and
flat accommodations in the Borough Of
Manhattan than there were on that date
in 1910. At that time the exact official
figures on housing space and population
in the entire city were not available.
They have since been furnished by the
Tenement House Department They in
dictate the all important and incontro-
vortible fact that there Is no drastic
scarcity of housing and that the pro-
rata accommodations for every indi-
vidual In the entire city are as great or
greater than they we're In 1910.
Boiled down. the figures show that
between 1910 and 1920 there was an
excess OF constructed apartment suites
or flats, over those demolished. of
171.J43. Assuming an occupancy of five
and one-half persons to an apartment,
which Is not crowdlng. the excess of new
construction over demolitlons provides
accommodations for 943.4S6 persons.
while the increase in population in the
ten year period was only S53,165.
ignoring entirety the new so-called
''non-housekeeping'' Recommendations pro-
vided. the housing accommodations In
the entire five boroughs are 1 u per cent.
greater in 1920 than IN 1910. Even IL
the very conservative factor of occu-
pancy Of the Tenement House Depart
ment is taken. to wit, five occupants per
apartment. there Is nevertheless disclosed
fractionally larger amount of housing
available prorata to the residents of the
entire city in 1920 than in 1910.
rive fersoub 10 An Apartment.
In my previous article in TIE NEW
YORK HERALL II was stated that the
number of Iicw apartment suites con-
structed in tenement houses in the bor-
ough OF Manhattan was 1926. and the
number of suites actually demolished
12,1S9 leaving a net surplus of over 81,
900 apartments and that the average
number of persons accommodated In
l
sentative estimate Tho Tenement House
Department has since stated that the
estimate of average number of occu-
pants per apartment is too conservative
that the proper factor Is Ave. with the
result that the new accommodations
available in 1920 are found TO be % per
cent. greater in this respect than was
contended in the last article. On the
other hand the department states (tnis
figure was not available when the last
article was written) that certain
number of buildings have been con-
verted entirely or partly 20 business
purposes involving the additional loss
of 7.2is apartments.
In n letter to the writer, dated October
q. the Tenement House Department
says: Apparently what you wish. how
ever. IL the figure now given you, 29.2TS.
being the net increase since tho begin
ming of 1910" Taking these figures In
their least favorable aspect by assuming
that none OF the buildings partly con-
verted into business buildings contained
any living accommodations of the mon
housekeeping" type. and emitting all
new hotels. apartments hotels. and
buildings altered for dwelling purposes.
but not under the tenement house law.
there have been 29,27s additional apart
ments provided in the borough OF Man
haitian since 1910. while the population
OF the borough decreased 2 per cent II
is also n fac that the new apartments
arc more commodlous than those de-
moilshed or converted.
Built 2o3,71O Flats I'm 10 Years.
The 1910 census gives the population
OF the five borouRhs as f.TGGSS3 the
1920 census. population OF 5.s20.04s, an
increase OF S53.165. In the ten year In
terval there were constructed In the five
boroughs 203.71O Individual apartment
suites or flats. exclusive OF accommoda-
lions In hotels. apartment hotels and
buildings converted or partly converted
into non-residence buildings. or private
houses converted into mutifafnily &C
commodations not under the tenemen,
house law.
In the ten year interval there were de.
moliehed In tho five borouehs 1850 In.
dividual suites or flats and there wer'
converted 10 business use t5.SS7. makiua
total OF 320e1. TO this should Do
added an allowance Of 100 for CONVEX
slous and demolitions In outlying bor
oughs i'm 1910. OF which the department
VI. 20