New-York tribune., 1921-05-23
i'm
Manhattan Are
10000 Short
tenement Building but SO
OF Construction Proposed
i'm 1920, Decrease Over
War Times, Says Curran
Demolition Offsets Work
Borough Is First in Cost of
Operations, but Last i'm
Number for Whole Civ

A large part of the 1920 annual re-
port of Borough President Henry II.
Curran of Manhattan. made nub1;c
yesterday, is devoted to the housing
situation and shows. based on figures
compiled by the Bureau of BUILDINGS,
that the borough was short, at the end
Of the year, about 600 tenement houses
equivalent to 10000 apartments. The
statement is made that only about one
eighth of the normal amount of hous-
ing was provided in 1920.
"Ordinarily the number of tenement
houses proposed in any one year aver
tire number Of buildings contem-
plated" says the report, "For the
three years preceding 1920 the number
of tenements was only slightly in ex-
cess of 81a per cent of the contem-
plated buildings. Conditions in 1920
were even worse in this respect, it ap-
pearing that only 5 per cent, of all pro
posed buildings were to be tenement
houses. The average number of tene-
ment houses built for 1917, 1918 and
1919 was twenty-five. The number fell
below this in 1920, dropping to twenty
two.
"a study of the number of apart
ments provided by these proposed tene-
ments makes the case even darker for
the home-hunter. The exact number
of apartments in the twenty-five tenc-
ments is ,134, an average of 81. for
each such structure in Manhattan.
Comparing this with tho number an
nually provided during the normal
period (1910-1916 inclusive) it appears
that the last year is only II per cent
of the normal annual average"
The report states that building al
tGratlOnS. instead of rnDtri hQ tioor 70
tho relief Of the housing shortage,
made the situation even worse. An
analysis of the alterations contemplated
during the period of January to April
Is, 1920, indicates that housing facili-
ties were decreased rather than in
creased in the modification plans
filed.
"What little encouragement the
home-seeker gets from the fact that
for 1,1o0 or so families we're provided
in Manhattan" the report continues
lis Offset by the years record of dem
olitions. Figures compiled by the
Building Bureau show that almost ex-
actly 1,100 homes were destroyed in
the borough through the removal of
dwellings and tenements. The year
1920, therefore, gave us not one single
additional home"
The report tells another story, when
building in general is considered
With regard to magnitude of opera
tions for 1920, Manhattan leads the
whole country, being we'll ahead of
Chicago, its nearest competitor. The
following table is given:
ESTIMATED COST or BUILDING
OPERATIONS
Manhattan .....,.,...........S1 139,1a9,563
Chicago ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 79.102,660
petrolL ..''.... .'...-..,. U,I3T, j 80
(leNeland ..+....... ......... b1,62b, ] 90
Los Angeles ......,.-.,..,.... so, 023, 500
"In general" says the report, Guild
ing operation records Of the borough
show that Manhattan has had an active
year. The number of proposed new
buildings is greater than it has been
any year since 1911. The number of
buildings to be altered has not been
exceeded in the last seven years; the
total estimated cost of building opera
tions is larger than it has ever been
before, although this can be explained
in part by the enormous increase in the