New-York tribune., 1920-10-04
LaCuardia Asks
For Reports on
Building Plans
Board of Aldermen Would
Know Relief Afforded
Housing Congestion if 1t
Grants Tax Exemption
5OOTenants Form Society
More interpretations of New
Laws Made by Chairman
of the Mayors Committee

Persons who contemplate the erec
ton of buildings in New York were
urged yesterday by F. H. La Guarda
President OF the Board of Aldermen
TO inform his Office OF the locality and
style of building projected. The board
Is anxious to know what relief will be
afforded the housing congestion if it
decides to exempt new buildings from
taxation for ten years.
Mr.. La Guardia said he would urge
the board to give the matter thorough
consideration and that he felt, where
apartment houses are exempted, the
tenants should be the benefciaries
He said the board would want all the
available facts before it could reach
a conclusion on the advisability of
allowing the exemptions.
Tenants Organize Association
Tenants of the Kleban Leader, a
realty corporation, met yesterday at
London Casino, Third Avenue and
Claremont Parkway, and formed a pro-
tective association after being advised
by Albert Cohn, First Assistant Dis
trict Attorney of Bronx County, not to
be worried by summonses, but to re-
main in sheir apartments and let the
landlord worry.
The meeting was attended by 500
tenants of 1860 Wilkins Avenue and
'l490 to 1910 Crotona Park East. They
met to protest rent increases begin
ming October /. Some of them it was
said, had signed leases last August
under duress. These provided in
oreases on October of from SO to go
per cent it was said.
Mr.. Cohn, who is in charge Of the
rent bureau in the District Attorneys
Office, explained the new laws passed
at the emergency session Of the Legis-
lature, and said:
summonses are served on you. Under
the new law the landlord is the one
to worry. Your interests are safe
guarded and the shoe that hurts has
been transferred to the other foot"
Advice to Tenant
Further Interpretation of the new
measures was made yesterday by Ar
thur J. W. Hilly, chairman of the
Mayors Committee on Rent Profiteer-
ing, for the guidance of tenants who
do not clearly understand their provi-
sions. He said:
at has been held by the courts that
agreements entered into before April
|. 1920, were not affected by the new
law Agreements entered into subse-
quent to October /. 1920, are subject
to this defense, but the tenants must
bear in mind that the question involved
here is in regard to oppressive agree
ment, md the tenants before availing
themselves of this defense should stop
TO consider all the intent and circum-
stances under which they algn the
lease. If the lease was entered into
after due deliberaton and compromise
on the part Of the landlord and tenant
and considering all the circumstances
of the times, the tenants should not
add to the burden of the courts the
additional burden of trying out the
issue involved in their matter.
'The only time the tenants should
resort to the courts is when they feel
hat they can honestly say that the
Nole consideration in leading them to
sign the lease was the fact that they
lesired to keep the roof over their
beads and that they feared that if
they failed to sign it that they would
be subject to having themselves and
their families dispossessed and that
this fear overcame them that they
ItlI ludJ IL WAS uOl tuclI OWL Tree
end voluntary act that lead them to
sign the agreement
"The laws were intended for the pur-
pose Of relieving oppression, but not
for the purpose of creating d turmoil
Common sense and fair consideration
for the laws OF justice and right
should be the guiding principle to each
tenant in assuming the attitude that
he desires to take in regard to the
rent that he has agreed to pay
81 feel confident that this will be the
attitude that the tenants of the city
will take.
"Of course, each case that comes
before the courts will be decided upon
the facts pertaining to that case Il
tenants who have signed leases desire
to have the circumstances and facts
under which they signed them reviewed
with the idea of obtaining advice in
regard to their attitude they can OBJ
tain this advice by applying to the
Mayors Committee
"If the tenants feel that they were
coerced into the signing of agreements
they should stand by their rights, no
matter what threats may be made
apainSt them nv fhe land ord 4"