New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-04-23
Hotels Housing
Families Face
Couge Inquiry
Mayors Committee to Seek
Prosecution of Owners
Who Have Been Guilty
of Profiteering in Rents
Rail Strike Hits Builders
Many Operations Stopped
by Shortage of Materials;
Tenants Win More Cases

An effort to bring under court con-
troll the apartment hotels, which have
so far escaped the effect Of the anti
rent hog laws, and stop the heavy prof.
teering in some of them will be made
by the Mayors committee, Chairman
A. ]. w. Hilly announced yesterday
The matter has already been taken up
with the members of the Joint Legisla-
tive Committee at Albany and will be
brought to the attention of the Mayors
Committee on Housing Legislation.
further dimmng of the hope for
relief in the housing situation through
building came yesterday when it was
learned that owing to the railroad
tie-up there is a shortage OF building
materials amounting to nearly 80 per
cent. Many builders are abandoning
plans for constructions
Tenants Win More Cases
More decisions in favor of tenants,
including one in which the court re-
fused increases because profits were
an excessive rental was ordered re-
funded, marked the day in court
The most remarkable case was one
in which several small insects which
infest filthy houses were produced to
show that the landlord was not taking
good care of his place. This was the
case Of Mrs. Rebecca Peltz, who had
refused to pay her landlord, Feigen-
baum, the rent for her fiat at 639 East
13Sth Street, She brought in a sheet
of plaster which she said had fallen
from the ceiling to show neglect Of the
premises and the other inhabitants
came with it. The justice ordered her
to pay the rent, nevertheless.
There were several cases in which
Justice Shiel, in the Second District
Court, the Bronx, who passed judgment
in the bug case found that landlords
were entitled to more than Is per cent
and made orders accordingly. lr
others the price was cut to this figure
Justice John Davies. in general, hele
to the 25 per cent basis in his cases
in the Seventh District Court, Man
haitian. The case Of the 150th Stree
Corporation was the first yet brough
I'D in which a landlord had refused tt
carry out court orders. The case hat
previously been before Justice Davie
in an attempt to get $4S a month from
tenant named Manley, and the land
lord had been ordered to accept S32
In spite of this he collected $40 AM
gave an unsigned receipt. The justic
made him refund S. and added sharI
warning.
Samuel Rosenstein was in court try
ing to evict forty tenants for refusa
to pay increases from $40 month W
1t was shown that under the old seal
: his property was paying $1.o82 a yea
and the new one would produce S6,24(
, The justice held this increase i
profits was excessive and fixed rental
on the 25 per cent increase basis:
E A landlord named Zoretzky, of 1885,
I Street and Lenox Avenue, was show
: to have cleared white tenants out o
f the house and filled it with negroes
; In the case of one man, Sears, who wa
i, in court, he had raised the rent trol
= s38, which a white preacher paid, t
$50 for the negro. When asked to e4
0 plain this 10s per cent jump ne sal
e he was trying to provide homes Tor tn
n colored people, Of whom there wer f
many without decent shelter. The Jus
tice intimated this was rather a mig
jump for benevolence. but reserved az
cision.
Chairman Hilly of the Mayors con
; mittee. announced he had just learne
of the profteering in the apartmer
IS hotels and that he would start actio
l. at once