New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-04-08
Justices Halt
Evictions by
Using New Law
Ousting of Tenants Held
Up for a Year in Some
Cases; Plans Pushed to
Provide More Dwellings

Cases; Plans Pushed to
Provide More Dwellings
While tenants all over the city were
rejoicing yesterday, as the relief which
has been brought them by the new
laws became more and more apparent,
action was taken in two directions
looking toward the stimulation Of
building and the conversion of places
at present uninhabitable to afford
permanent cure of the housing trouble
The Mayors Committee on Housing
Legislation reported series of meas
ures intended both to encourage build
ing and to induce the repair of old
houses. The program inciuoes exempt
ing new and newly converted buildings
and those bought by cooperative asso
Citations from the law on summary
evictions, remission cf taxation or an
actual SUBSIDY on similar property,
and the granting of power to the Ten
ement House Commissioner to approve
relaxations in the tenement house law.
Mayor Hylan announced that he had
appointed Frank Mann, Tenement
House Commissioner, as chairman of
the Committee on Housing which is to
be formed. Other members of the
committee will be taken from labor,
material, financial and contracting in
terests, and the Mayor predicted that
New York would soon see the biggest
building boom in its history.
The plan backed by the Central Fed
Grated Union and others, including F..
II. La Guardia, President of the Board
of Aldermen, to have the city engage
in S20,000,000 housing construction
venture, received a severe blow in an
opinion that this would be unconsttu-
tlonal. The opinion was prepared by
Acting Corporation Counsel Nicholson
and will be submitted to the Board of
Estimate tomorrow.
Throughout the city yeste rday mu-
nicipal court justices used the new
laws in hundreds of cases to prevent
eviction OF tenants, in some instances
granting stays as long as year. In
other cases rentals were fixed at 20 or
70 per cent increases-often an actual
saving to the tenants.
The report of the committee on hous-
ing legislation is a compromise on the
chief question at issue, that of per-
mitting the breaking down of the tene-
ment house law. 1t has been charged
by opponents of this plan that an at
tempt was being made to change the
law SO as to legalize illegal conversions
of houses which have been made with
out putting in adequate safeguards
against fire.
The recommendations of the COM
mlttee, after declaring that crisis has
arisen and that it is necessary to en-
courage capital to engage in building,
are:
That all new tenements hereafter
constructed or buildings altered for
tenement purposes be exempted from
the law pertaining to summary pro-
ceedings and knowp as Senate Bill No.
l,l34; also exemptlng from the same
law existing buildings where it appears
that the premises have been sold or are
under contract of sale to provide for
tenant ownership upon a mutual or
cooperative plan.
1.-The committee further recommends
for the proper encouragement of new
building that some subsidy or tax ex-
emption which may be decided upon
by the authorities to be constitutional
and proper be enacted into law by the
Legislature. as we'll as a law to exempt
mortgages from income taxes.
"The committee recommends the en-
actment of a law for the period of
this housing emergency suspending
such provisions and requirements Of
the. tenement house law as may be
necessary to admit Of the alteration
or conversion of existing houses to be
made into good and hsbitable quarters
for families, with view particularly
of making available for family living
purposes large number of private
residences now vacant
bill which the committee has drafted
provides:
During the existing emergency af-
fectng public health and safety in cities
having population of a million
or more which require additional
housing facilities for the inhabitants
Of such cities, and until November /,
1922, the tenement house. commissioner
in such a city is hereby authorized and
empowered to suspend such provisions
and requirements Of the provisions of
this chapter (the tenement house law
al he may deem necessary in all appli-
cations for the alteration Of existing
buildings, for the alteration or con
version Of a building for use as a
tenement house: The alteration of "A
tenement house or the alteration or
conversion OF building for use gs
a tenement house during the said
period, with the consent and ap-
proval Of the tenement house commits
sioner, shall be deemed permanent
improvement to such tenement house,