New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-09
10000 Apartments De-
handed and Only 800
Are Vacant i'm New York
City, Survey Indicates
New Leases Show
Pronounced Raise
Tenants Must Pay 25 to
100 Per Cent More or
Face Possible Eviction

A comprehensive survey of the hous-
ing situation as it exists in the City
o. New York to-day. made by The Trib-
uue. discloses a condition which, in the
words of Harry Robitzek, Municipal
Court justice, "the 100000 apartment
dwellers Of the metropolis may we'll
regard with shudder.'
With the city annually in need of
$4,000 new apartments to take care of
is normal increase in population, the
ret additions to the housing facilities
since the first of the year, according
to the figures of the Tenement House
Department, amount to mere 2O7
apartments.
Arthur J. ". Hilly, chairman of the
Mayors Committee on Rent Profiteer-
ing, doubts if there are more than 300
"ior rent signs in the whole of Man
summer season, when a considerable
portion of the population usually give
up their homes and leave town.
Frank Mann, head of the Tenement
House Department, says that at this
moment there is a shortage of more
than 10000 housekeeping suites.
Which is merely saying that while
there was trouble enough for Mr..
Average Tenant last year in the way
Of inadequate housing facilities and
increased rents. the conditions have
not improved and have actually grown
much worse.
Rents Will Be Higher
IF YOU are one of the 90 per cent
of the tenants whose leases expire on
October /, you have probably been in
formed or viii be Informed by your
landlord or real estate agent that your
rent will hereafter be from 25 per cent
10 100 per cent higher, or you have
been fatty requested to vacate the
premises for any number of good or
bad reasons.
If you feel that the demands are ex-
orbltant or are unable to meet them,
IL is evident from the foregoing fig
ures that there are certainly few va
can't apartments waiting to receive
you.
The question naturally arises: What
is going to happen to you on October
/, when you refuse or are unable to
meet the new demands and can't find
another home? What relief do the
new rent laws hold out to you? When
are there going to be apartments
enough to go around at reasonable
rates and what is being done by the
authorities to relieve the situation?
FIRST of all, because of circumstances
growing out of the war, there has been
10 building dwellings in the city
within the last twoA or three years to
any degree worth mentioning. The
situation as it exists to-day is force
fclN presented by figures of the Tene-
rent House Department. These show
that on January /. 1919, there were
9s5l44 living suites in the apartment
and tenement houses of the five Dor
oushs. On January 1 of this year
There were 9S2,76l.
No Change Is Seen
1t shows that at the beginning of
TINS year there were actually 1873 apart
nents less in the city than there were
last year. Since January l there were
erected about ninety tenements, with
a capacity of 2,17l apartments. AS
against this, however, 302 tenements
with 1864 living quarters have been
reduced or converted to non-habitable
uses, leaving gain of only 207 apart
ments for the entire city The opinion
Of those conversant with the facts is
that the situation will not be appre-
ciably improved within the next two
or three years except through legisla-
tive stimulus.
With the passage OF the new rent
laws by the last Legislature. the &C
tivlties of the Mayors Committee on
, rent Prohteering and other agencies,
1t was thought that exorbitant de-
mands'would in a measure be checked.
II the leases now being offered the
average tenant mean anything, the
goueing has grown worse.
The owners and real estate agents
are offering leases to tenants with
boosts ranging 6rom rs per cent to 100
tContInued page 81