The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-12-05
HOUSING BUILDING
FOR MIDDLE CLASS
VIRTUALLY STOPS
Business STRUCTURES and
Costly Apartments Get
Preference.
REIMBURSEMENT SEEN
Topsy-TurVy Due to War Is
Slowly Fighting Itself
in Flat Situation.
EXPERTS VIEW FUTURE
Realty Men Blame Legislators
and Changes in Law Are
Called Necessary.
EXPERTS VIEW FUTURE

where moderate priced quarters may
be had by members of the middle
class or white collar tribe has prac-.
tlcally ceased in New York. The. song
of the riveting machine still dins in
our ears. but the urban woodpecker
is engaged not in constructing tene-
ments or the less expensive kind of
apartment houses but in rearing great
Office buildings and, in fewer instances,
palatial apartment houses of the sort
which ornament Fifth and Park ave-
nues. GlTr So
But, despite this cessation of ac-
tivity in the erection of moderate
priced apartments. the white collar
imam need not fear further rent in
creases, for the topsy-turvy situation
created by the war is slowly righting
itself, and before long, in the opinion
of some prominent builders in New
York, uhere may be slight decrease
in rents OF some types of living quar-
tiers.
What is happening now cannot be
understood without first turning to
what happened during and Immediate
ly after the war. Building, like every
thing else not essential to the prog
ress of the war, slackened and al
most stopped during the war. Many
families with bread winners at the
front crowded into smaller apartments
or doubled up. On the other hand me-
chanics and laborers making more
money than they had ever made be-
fore expanded into better quarters.
The housing situation became more or
less acute during the last year by rea-
son of the decreased building. the de-
mand by returning soldiers for better
quarters. the demand by artisans for i'm
proved living conditions. and other fac
tors. However. the big fact in the
housing situation is that it affected
chiefly the middle class. using the term
to include the white collar or profess
sional class and also the more or less
skilled mechanic accustomed to fairly
high standard of living.
Wide Range In Quality.
At the bottom of the ladder of living
quarters was the cold water tenement.
the building in the poorer sections OF the
: city where tenants lived without steam
heat, hot water or other comforts. There
was no demand for these, for every one
was prosperous except the white collar
man, and he hung onto his standard of
living as long as possible, though his
bank account dwindled In consequence
At the top OF the ladder OF housing was
the ornate, luxurious apartment Of the
upper class, with every modern improve
ment and with door attendants. hall
rlen, elevator operators and other SER
wants galore. These shot up in rent
amazingly. due to labor and material
rises, and many executives. families liv-
Ing on incomes and others whom the
war did not help financially moved out
into the already crowded middle class
elevator apartments and "walkups."
The result was not an actual or phys
ical shortage OF quarters for the people
of the city but congestion. There
was q very great demand for middle
class quarters. Real estate men are
practically unanimous in their declara-
ton that there never was a housing
shortage. They admit there was O. con-
gestion but deny emphatically that there
we're ever more people than houses TO
accommodate them, and cite figures to
prove this. Their contention Is that
there was no legal right to enact rent
laws since there was no emergency"
and declare vehemently that rent in
creases were due to the advanced cost
of labor and materials. Nevertheless.
the rent laws. 1t Is admitted, have
stopped housing hysteria," n disease
with various symptoms, some of which
were wild remarks about sleeping in the
parks and declarations that not foot
of space existed in the city not already
occupied.
There are now offered for rent a num-
Der of high class apartments with
twenty rooms and innumerable baths, a
number of high class suites of one, two
and three rooms In new buildings, some
what lower class suites in remodelled
private houses, n few typical middle
class apartments, both elevator and
walkup, and a large number OF cold
water, walsup tenements. which are
about the poorest accommodations the
city offers.
Numerous Apartments offered.
An instance of conditions in the upper
class apartment situation les an adver-
tsement inserted In New York papers
recently by the Apartment House Asso-.
citation offering for rent eighty-two
apartments of from five to nineteen
rooms. and 500 one. two and three room
apartments.
1--WE. the members OF the Apartment
House Association being DESTROYS OF off
setting l.. measure the erroneous i'm
preston fostered by recent landlord and
tenant legislation, announce the offering.
for rent, in the Park avenue section, OF
the largest Number of vacant apart
ments, with immediate occupancy, that
have been offered after October dur
ing the last few years." the announces
ment states
There is now according TO well in
formed men who have studied the real
estate situation, shortage. slight, but
stu peroeptible. Of tenants for the high
est class apartment houses For ex-
ample, Douglas l.. Gilman, who handles
many high class apartments, admitted
some time ago that there are many va
cancies In high class apartments, but
no single owner has so many az to
brighten him into reducing rents ma-
terially. There have been, however,
slight breaks in the rents of some non
housekeeping suites In small private
dwellings remodelled during the conges-
ton.
Price reductions in the upper class
field may reduce slightly tho demand
or middle class apartments. A greater
factor In reducing the demand however,
js the general economic situation. Wages
rave not dropped appreoiably as yet, but
the number OF unemployed has In
feaAsd. n-sssms asrtain to essl sstats