New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-07-16
Housing Law
Hearings Will
Begin Monday
Joint Legislative Commit
tee Will Summon City
Officials and Judges to
Discuss Rent Situation
Landlords Compliments
Allege They Cannot Prom
Use Possession to Tenants
Under the New Statutes

The joint legislative committee on
housing, Of which Senator Charles C..
Lockwood is chairman, met in City Hall
yesterday, and after an informal dis
cussion, in which Frederick Spiegel-
berg, Municipal Court justice, took
part, determined to begin sessions to
take testimony as to the working Of
the housing and rent laws. The first
hearing will be at City Hall on Mon
day at 10 o'clock. F. H. La Guardia,
President of the Board of Aldermen;
Borough President Curran and Munich
pal Court justices will be called.
Judge Spiegelberg told the commit
tee that, SO far as the laws themselves
were concerned, he did not think any
changes were needed.
Charges Misinterpretations
81 refer to the emergency which
these laws are attempting to cover" he
said. 81 am not talking about any
constructive legislation which has in
view the increasing of housing facil-
ties, but so far IS the laws, as emer-
gency measures, are concerned, intend
ed to stop profiteering, l cannot make
any suggestions. l think they are do
ing as we'll as can be done, and l think
they are doing much better than most
people thought they would do. OF
course, there are some misinterpreta-
tons about these laws, and a good deal
of misinformation has been circulated
through the newspapers, and some de-
cisions have been rendered by the
judges which I do not think the ma
jority of the judges approve Of"
Assemblyman Thomas A. McWhinney
the committee and said that he had re-
ceived many complaints from land
lords that their tenants absolutely re-
fused to discuss with them the releas-
ing of houses, feeling confident that
when their leases expire they can go
before the judge in the district and
show that they could not get a suit
able apartment in the vicinity at an
increase of not more than twenty-five
per cent. Consequently, the Assem-
blyman said, the landlord is unable to
rent the house or apartment, because
he can give no assurance of posses
sion. Mr.. McWhinney said this was
great injustice to the landlord and the
prospective tenant and that legislation
ought to be enacted to clarity the sit
uation. Justice Spiegelberg agreed
that some confusion was likely to arise
in. regard to the situation mentioned
by Assemblyman McWhinney, but he
pointed out that there was nothing in
the new laws to prevent a landlord
from increasing the rent more than
twenty-five per cent.
Tax Exemption Mortgages
Asked, in his opinion, what the slack
ing up of building was due to, Justice
Spiegelberg said:
That has been due to several causes.
First, it has been due to the condition
of the labor market. In the second
place, it has been due to the difficulty
OF getting money. 1t is very difficult to
get money at per cent on real estate;
and the third reason is that all con-
struction goes into commercial con-
struction instead of preference to tene-
ment. house construction. By COM
mercial construction l mean Office
buildings, which pay better"
Justice Spiegelberg did not think
that the proposed state tax exemption
on mortgages would have much effect
in encouraging building, but that it
might aid in getting Federal income
tax exemption. 1t was the consensus
Of opinion among the members of the
committee that it would require state
constitutional amendment to permit
municipalities to erect and operate
dwelling houses. Both the Attorney
General of the state and the Corpora
ton Counsel of the city, it was said
have so declared, and other states have
decisions to that effect.