davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08

Germ which controls thousands of
apartments, said yesterday that he
knew of only three apartments Of the
price that the great mass of renters
are trying to get. One is being offered
for $40 and the others may be had for
$50 a month. Each Of them contains
three rooms and bath. Hc said that
he did not think there was a $4,000
apartment unoccupied or that there
would be che this year on the West
Side.
Homes renting for $4,000, $500 and
81 800 arc not so numerous as to per-
nit a renter to give much time in de-
Gliding which to take. Above that price,
however, that is from $4,000 to $1,000.
which is about the most expensive
apartment in the market in that sec
ton. there are many and they attract
so little attention that one can be sure
to obtain one of these at any time,
perhaps up to October.
"For Rent" Signs on Heights
"For Rent signs are on display
through The Washington Heights apd
Dyckman sections. Some Of them have
been hanging out for some time, for
no one viii pay the rental demanded.
Twenty to $50 a room is being asked
in elevator apartments and a little less
IN walk ups" In some of the latter
class buildings rents are equally as
high as homes in buildings which have
elevator service.
In the ST. Nicholas Avenue and
175th Street section four rooms will
cost 500 month; at Broadway and
1SSth Street a two-room apartment
On the ground floor with no bathtub
but q shower, and no washtubs, is
held at $50 room. A three-room
apartment on Audubon Avenue near
1S5th Street, rented until October at
SO a month, is being offered at S65
4 month. A hvezroom suite in walk
up" house in the Dycbman section will
not be rented by the owner for less
than S65.
Over on the Grand Concourso near
'1T5th Street three rooms may be had
at So and $85 month. Apartments
which are held at 500 month
through the Heights and Dvckman
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
By John L. Parrish

Secretary, -Ad0isory Council Of Real
Estate Interests
Washington dispatches state that
the question of calling a special SEES
sion Of Congress to consider condi-
tions in Poland is under considera-
ton by the Federal administration.
1t is greatly to be desired that if
Congress is to be reconvened before
the regular session begins, in Deem
Der, the President include in the call,
as a subject for consideration, legis-
lation in RELIEF Of the housing string
ency throughout the country. In
deed, this housing problem is OF SUI
ficient Importance in itself to justify
q special session Of Congress at the
earliest possible moment
SO far as the Interests Of the
American people are concerned the
housing problem transcends in i'm
portance even the Polish question, and
it is of vastly greater importance that
the Congress meet in special session
on this housing problem at once than
that the state Legislature should be
called specially for that purpose
Amendment Of the income tax law
by exempting the income from mort
cages, either altogether or in limited
amount, from taxation under such law
will be the only measure OF relief
which can be made practical and
operative in the production Of hous-
ings at once.
In the current discussion of this
Subject. opposition to this proposed
amendment has practically disap-
peared. This is LARGELY because no
one has been able to present a plan
by which any relief from this alarm
ing housing situation can be so
quickly, surely and cheaDly obtained.
Playing on Creduious Tenants
Every dcmagogue in tho city, of
every political stripe, has seized upon
This shortage in housings as a means
Of making votes among the ignorant
tenant class. From soapboXcs ana
carttails they have been spreading
socialistic propaganda, denouncinr all
owners OF investment property and
organizing the tenants, at a dollar a
head, in a campaign to demand of the
state Legislature even more confisca-
tory legislation than the rent laws
enacted at the last special session
Men who have hitherto had the cen
fidence and support of all right minded
people have weak'v given way to mob
ciamor and are recklessly promising
even more drastic legislation in CON
trcl OF property and the natural rights
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
By Joseph P. Day

On Long Island values have been
an optilnist for many years, but never
so much as am TO day. The opening
OF the new tube connecting Manhattan
with Long Island City Oh August fin
lshed gigantic work which occupied
many years in planning and BUILDING.
From now on real estate owners should
reap the reward of their foresight and
patience, fer values arc sure to rise
to higher levels. Rapid transit means
growth and prosperity. 1t is a pioneer
which must come before real. porma-
Nent improvements. This is the history
of the world, and We here in New York
City ere no different from those who
reside elsewhere. With the opening of
the new route another direct means Of
transit IS given from Long Island
through the heart Of Manhattan 20
Brooklyn. This cannot but help real
estate and viii stimulate building Just
as soon as conditions change and the
prices Of materials rocedc a little.
AT present there are q number of
big factory structures in course of con-
struction in Long Island City, and there
are number which are projected for
the immediate future. Some of the
large operations include the Standard
Steel Car Company's tive-story plant,
now being erected on a plot 2OOx4OO
teet, and on the next block the new
Ford service plant is in course Of CON
struction by the Hellman Motor Com
pany. This building is designed to
serve the 100000 or more Ford car
owners who are located in this section.
These and other operations of like
nature have given stability to the
section which cannot be shaken. 1t is
simply augmented by such wonderful
improvements as the opening of the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit tunnel.
Ten Minutes From World Center
Long Island City occupies UNIQUE
position. 1t is literally ten minutes
rice from the heart OF the amusement
center. Times Square. 1t is most con-
yenient to trucking, the greensboro
Bridge forming one Of the finest auto
mobile bridge highways in the world
1t is convenient for manufacturers,
because they have wonderful rail facil-
tiles BY which they receive their raw
materials and they have unexcelled
means Of delivering finished products
not only to tho local market but also to
every section Of the country or the
world at large
With all these advantages must be
added another and a most important
enc; that is the housing of the thou
sands OF artisans who find employment
IN Long Island City. This section is
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08

sections are not interesting many
folks who were seeking places, and
Judging by the weather stains on the
"For Rent" signs the placards have
been out for some time.
In one house on Morningside Ave
nue. near 111th Street two rooms on
the street level, with the icebox in
the bathroom, in which there is a
sprinkler but no tub, may be had on
the payment of $50 a month. On an
upper floor in this house five rooms
are being offered at Sis a month.
Too Many Small Suites
The housing problem has brought to
the front cooperative apartment own
ership and small apartments. There
are as many apartments for sale as
for rent. One West Side Office has
about forty-five suites for rent and has
which start at $4,000 and go up to
$20,7O0. There are just as many for
sale on the East Side.
The small apartment is appearing in
numbers all over the city. The East
and the West sides seem to be their
greatest field. Scores of old dwellings
are now being made into two-room
flats which will be offered to the pub
lie in the coming months at 81 200 TO
$4,000 year.
These diminutive fats have helped
the situation somewhat, but it is the
opinion of some Of the wise men that
New York has sufficient of this type
Of homes and that more of them would
constitute waste. What the city needs
is more housekeeping homes-four, five
and SIX room apartments. A lot Of
zach homes must be erected if the ebD-
ing tide of population from Manhat-
tan is to be stayed. Folks are going
to other boroughs and beyond the
limits of New York for homes that
viii suit their requirements and their
finances. The great volume of home
buying in the suburbs for the last year
has been supported practically by East
and West Side jewellers who could not
get the living accommodation demand
ed by their families within reach of
their income.
Rents are too high, according to an
officer of one of the largest real estate
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
Apartment Homes Waiting For Rich Man and Poor
Man; Those of Moderate Means Have Real Problem

n L THE God Of Mammon has not
I blessed your efforts during the last
few years of wild speculation or if
during the years before the. frcnzied pc
Rod you did not come by big heap Of
money, then you may we'll anticipate
the approach of October with fear.
1t is a day dreaded by many; it is a
specter that is undermining the peace
of thousands and thousands of families.
If your income is sufficient to pay
$4,000 year to a landlord for the use
of place to live in, you need not fear
for the time being at least, whether
you will be protected from the winters
blasts by a warm and well construct ted
house or whether your home will be 81
barn, a public building or an army
tent.
In the apartment districts of the
East and West sides arcs perhaps 1914
apartments for rent, of which sixty
cannot be had for less than $4,000 a
year. A. w. J. lIilly. chairman of the
Mayors Committee on Rent ProGteer-
ing, who knows what New York has
and has not in housings, is of the
opinion that there are not more than
500 apartment suites of all character
now available in Manhattan. At least
100000 families are seeking homes.
Men close to the renting situation on
each side of Central Park and to the
north and south of it agree with Mr..
lilly that there arc not many homes
without occupants.
Trouble Ahead if You Can't Pay $4,000
The family which cannot pay more
than 900 year for a home is in a
sorry plight ii the court favors the
petition Of a landlord who wants it to
move out. These people can do but one
thing. and that is pay more rent for a
smaller and inferior home. There is no
llace for this family and other families
whose incomes will not allow them to
pay more than moderate" rental as
measured by the rent standards of to-
DAY.
The greater scarcity of homes is in
the moderate" priced class. The ex-
type and those of the highest, are com
parativcly numerous. For instance, on
the East Side, in the fashionable Park
Avenue district, there are sixty-four
apartments, of which fifty are held for
rents ranging from $4,000 to 100000
1t will be found that most of this num-
Der concern homes that cannot be had
for less than $4,000 a year. there are
only fourteen apartments which can
be had for $500 year or less, and
only four of the fourteen are being
offered at $4,000 and less.
S110,000 Worth Of Suites in One House
In one of the big Park Avenue struc-
lures there is living space of rental
value of $4,000 still unclaimed The
apartments in this structure which arc
being offered for rent range in price
from $3.50 to sos, O00 each. They
Will be taken, however, before the fall
has arrived and at figures that viii
make UP the loss Of a summers rental
There are several other structures
along Park Avenue which can provide
families with five. six and seven room
apartments at $1,000 and upward
The siNty-four apartments which are
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
Washington Heights apartment Dinners
Offer Rent Concession to Home Seekers

the Washington Heights section
willing they asked 1t is
by
this
said they could
Broadway
he would reduction Of So
$50 when the
in the
willing o on the
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
concerns operating in the Park Avenue

concerns operating in the Park Avenue
district.
1t is his contention that folks hava
lost equilibrium in the matter of rents
and are paying out for homes too Largo
a proportion of their incomes. This
is contrary to the principles Of econ.
omy which will assert themselves
eventually if folks continue to paw
rents not measurable with their in.
comes.
1t was his observation that fop.<
have awakened to the fallacy Of this
course, especially since speculation aas
lost some of the wildness develooos
during the war and profits have de-
creased. The near millioHaircs and
even men with millions arc feeling the
change that is being worked in The
commercial fields, and having felt the
pinch are taking steps TO conserve
This SOLDERING he thought had much
to do with holding the larger and more
costly apartments longer in the mar.
ket this year than last year Darinp
the renting period of 1919 folks tool
the large apartments with as much
alacrity as they took the smaller and
cheaper housings.
Think Before Paying $4,000 Rent
The question of renting d $1,000
carefully while a year ago the matter
would have been dismissed as a trise
and the suite rented The golden food
has been damned and the result is seen
| in a slower renting market
Labor is another problem which Is
holding back the renting of some fftv
apartments of the 81 500 to $50 900
grade. With maid servants demanding
500 month and many concessions
the cost o. maintaining a fifteen-roon
apartment is large. There is house
on Fifth Avenue which has only one
tenant. Fifteen more are needed 20
fiji it,, Rentals there range into the
heavens, some of the suites being
held at 900 a year
On Park Avenue there is new house
in which so per cent of the apartments
are still in the market for rent at
$4,000 to $500 a year. There are
thirtysiX apartments in the building
Some Of these apartments, OF course.
are still under construction and will be
rented very likely long before they
have been completed.
There has been a most notable re-
turn to private home living during the
last year and half which cannot be
disregarded as having no effect on the
demand for large suites. While rem
tails continue to remain in the clouds
the opinion,is that it is cheaper to own
house than to rent one. This has
been the case with one family which
lived on the East Side in an apart
ment which cost 50 400 year starting
in 1917 When $4,000 was asked for
the suite the family bought a dwelling
I he saving, it is understood. would pay
the rental the family paid fog the
/ apartment vacated
The man of moderate income has no
place in New York under present con-
ditions, since it is rich mans and
poor mans town. When apartments
are plentiful again he msy return to
cid Manhattan and establish his home
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08

and negotiations were immediately
opened for the purchase of the prop
erty just acquired. 1t was necessary.
however, to secure Mr. Bedding another
garage and it was not until this was
accomplished through the sale of a
second and third property that the
transaction was completed.
The II West Sixty-sevcnth Street
company now control plot 50xl00,
upon which they will erect modern
eleven-story apartment house from
plans of Messrs. Shape & Bready,
architects.
Malcolm E. Smith, Inc, sold to Mr..
Campbell more than a year ago 1888
40 West Sixty-seventh Street. upon
which he proposes to build a modern
apartment house, and the acquisition
of this property, together with his
latest purchases of IT and 10 West
Sixty-seventh Street, will practically
insure a completion of the improve
ment of this block.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
Nothing for Nothing
These Glorious Days

In New York and Cincinnati they
are now making an annual charge
for extra names inserted in the
building directory
Chicago and Cleveland are put
ting tax clauses in their leases.
Chicago is not only charging
tenants for alterations, but is
charging in advance the estimated
cost of returning space to it's typi-
cal or standard condition.
Chicago now makes special
charge for night elevator service.
81 an hour for the operator and ST.
an hour for power.
In one city they are charging an
additional 20 per cent to the orig
inal rental for each sub tenant.
The taxation committee recon-
mended that,ythe proper deprecia-
ton on Class "a" Office building
should be 81 per cent.-Bulletin Of
Building Owners and Managers
Association of Seattle.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
New Triborough Transit
Will Boom Queens Realty
L. H. T. Extended Route VIII Crystalline Rapidly
the Plans and Efforts Of Many Years in Long
Island City, according to Joseph P. Day

ideally situated fo~ Improvement with
homes. whether they be single family
detached ones in groups or OF the
multi family type
There are many sections of Long ISL
and City that arc just suited for this
class Of Improvement. and land values
are so low that splendid opportunities
for investment are possible ! have
been such strong believer in the
section that it is impossible to shake
my faith.
To my way of thinking the day is
not far distant when Inc building
movement will start. and then there
will be boom in vacant land such
as has not been witnessed in these
parts for many decades. 1t is bound
to happen, and when it does suppose
that most Of the people Will be taken
by surprise, though why | cannot see.
1t is natural sequence Let Us look
at the situation for a moment.
All will admit that there is most
lamcntablc shortage Of houses at the
present time. We are far undorbuilt,
and this statement holds good so far
as every class of building is concern ed
whether it be dwelling, factory,
apartment house or whatever other
class of structure You NAV DESIGNATE.
This condition has raised the values
of improved properties to high levels
Vacant land is the only class Of real
estate which has not felt the effects OF
the increases.
Speculation in Land Is Coming
This condition is bound to change.
Building will have to be resumed. It
may not be this year, but it will have
10 come, and then look out. Values
WI jump overnight, and people will be
bidding for vacant property just the
same as they are to-day to have the
privilege of . roof over their heads.
wonder how many people would have
believed me had | told them ten or
even five years ago that vacancies in
every borough in New York City would
be practically an unknown thing and
that rentals would increase from 100
to geo per cent. | am afraid that |
would be written down as an extremist
Wen. am ready to go on record as
saying that vacant land in certain sec
tons of New York City especially near
lines of transit, will double and treble
in value, and the prices of TODAY viii
seem to be ridiculous, and peopie will
wonder why they did not have the fore
sight to jump in and buy. My advice
TO the manufacturer and investor is to
look over locations in Lone Island Citv
study the section, and | am sure that
you will be favorably impressed with
its advantages.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
Nome Builders Are Active
In PelhalnMnnd Sec.io,

Fish Marvin have sold for Mrs. D.
g. Arm strong, of Larchmont, large
plot in Pelhamwood to |. S. ReardsIey
of this city, who intends to build a
home for his own occupancy; also With
A. & l. Cckle have sold a Colonial
capboard house on Rochelle Terrace
at Pelham Manor TO John P. Boyd, OF
Pelham Manor
Fish & Marvin also sold q large plot
Of ground on Highbrook Avenue at
Pelhamm Heights 10 Livingston Leeds,
OF Pelham Manor, who VIII erct two
houses
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08
Home Sttringency Problem
Should Have First Attention
Suggestion That if Congress Be Called 30 Decide
Governments Course in Poland Ii Also Enact
Relief fer Homeless Citizens

Of ownership than that Of the last
session. They do this knowing t1l
we'll that there is but one way 10 re-
llcve the shortage in housings. whicf
Is to build more houses. and knowing
just as we'll that further interference
with the rights of ownership VIII
render any such increase in housing
absolutely impossible.
Even II the Leg should pa
any exemption bill as to the iacame
from mortgages it is very doubtfnl
whether builders would at once resume
operations 1t would, Of course, en-
courage them TO hope and believe that
Congress would by such action be
moved TO enact similar exemption
law at its earliest opportun IT, It, IS
much more likely that they Viii wait
until Congress does SO act.
Greatest Obstacle to Construction
The Federal tax is by many muitiples
greater obstacle in the way Of con-
struction than is tho state Tax Il i5
The Federal ia, which has driven ard
Is continuing to drive investors out g
the mortgage line OF iuves,rcnt and
money for building loans is the first
requisite for the resumption of build
ing operations. Money has been flowing
out of the mortgage market in Man
haitian alone during the first six
months OF this year a a rate OF nearly
$500 100000 a year. While the ecc-
nomic conditions are such as 20 invite
hoods OF money into new construction
OF housings, they are counterac-td and
ncGatived by the operations OF the IN
come tax law
Any one who knows anything abou.
TINS question of housings knows that
there can be no relief from tie present
stringency, no beginning OF supply TO
catch up with the demand. anil .his
income tax law is amended or repealed.
1t seems manifest that this viii he
done at the next session of Congress.
but the urgency IS so rrea- Shat the
building industry OUGHT not TO b. com
PEELED to wait for the general amend
ment of the revenue law. bat should
be granted this relief al the earliest
possible opportunity
The Congress- has had the Calder
Slegel bill under consideration lor
nearly a year. The WAYS and Means
Committee Of the House in MAJ had IN
exhaustive hearing upon IT, Il could re-
port the Calder Siegei bill IT once Ter
passage il given an opportunity 81
special session Of Congress, ani that
measure enacted into law would o.
yond question start the wnceis OF che
building industry into active operation
This * tire shortest. Quickest. sa!
and cheapest way Of relief t. tie aols-
ing situation.