New-York tribune., 1920-05-07
o,1rt Assails
Realty Mems
Plea as Insult
1..tice Panken Resents an
Attempt by the United As
sociation ''to. Dictate In
,erpretation of the Law
Tenants Win 5000 Cases
1u.tice Murray Allows 1,OOO
Renters Until October l
10 Find New Quarters

yore than 5000 landlord and tenant
.s.s were brought in the various
.-rcbes Of the Municipal Court yes
..rs.x. With few exceptions they
rere decided in favor of the tenants.
Trio number of evictions since May
reached 500 yesterday, it was an
,ouneed by Lee Kenneth Mayer, coun-
-, for the Mayors Committee on
Ron. Profiteeriug. About 1000 more
are to follow.
severe excoriation Of the United
rssi Estate Owners Association was
delivered from the bench by Justice
Jseob Panken in the Second District
Municipal Court, 246 Madison street,
beeause Of letter addressed by the
association to the Municipal Court
,udees Of the city, in which, according
10 Judge Panken, the association "prc-
sumed to dictate to the judges how
they should interpret the law and ad-
minister justice in the present critical
housing situation
In the letter the association made
certain suggestions to judges on the
handling of specific kinds of cases and
Informed the judges that sit is our
intention to invite as many of you
SIS we can get together one night" to
discuss the situation. The letter was
signed bv Stewart Browne. president
Of the association.
Letter Sent to Judges
1t follows:
UNITED REAL ESTATE OWNERS AS
ISOLATION, $50 BROADWAY-NEW
YORK, APRIL %, 1920.
To the Honorable Municipal Court
Justices:
Dear Sirs:
RENT LAWS
"ln continuance Of my views on the
rent laws, which | sent you:
Instead OF the tenants settling down,
find that they are becoming more ar
rogant than ever, and that something
must be done to subdue this tendency.
I'VE want your Board to promulgate
certain rules, WHICH ALL THE JUS
TICES WILL FOLLOW, instead Of the
present go AS YOU PLEASE" method.
1t is our intention to invite as many
Of you as we can get together one night
to discuss this desirable result
meantime, l shall be glad If each
Of you Will advise US how you are ruI-
ing on the following:
CHAP. 139
IL,
and tenancies made subsequent to
April l, 1920. Practically all Justices
are making 1t apply also to prior April
l, 1920.
"2. Do you rule that zone year prior"
means (a) the average rent paid dur
lng the previous year, or (b) the months
rent paid twelve months previous to
the date of petition?
"3. Do you enforce strictly the $3.50
requirement in petition? Because, if
you do, it is in favor OF the profteering
landlord, and penalties the non-prof-
iteering landlord.
q. How do you treat case where
a landlord must get over $3.50 in
crease--to even carry his property, let
alone get profit or his investment? :?
There are many such cases.
.. Where farpilies have doubled or
tripled up'-do you allow an extra
rent for such, even if it brings the
rent above the 1850 increase?' These
mean an extra cost for operation and
maintenance and for repairs. If you
allow an extra percentage, what per
centage?
CHAP. 1856
i. Are you reducing rents (in excess
Of % per cent increase) payable after
April 1st, 1920, under written or oral
leases made and effective prior to April
LIST, 1920, and which rents tenants have
paid prior to such date? (a) Are you
allowing counter claim fo- any nor