The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-09-17
HOUSING SITUATION
ACUTE IN NEW YORK
CAssOciated Pressl

situation IN New York, which has
been a chronic and economic illness
with social complications since 1917,
is expected to reach its annual crisis
October 1st.
That is the date on which thou
sands are in the habit of packing up
the furniture and moving.
If many folk are compelled to
move this year, authorities fear that
lots Of them will be like the person
who didn't know where he was going
but was on his way. Prospects were
similarly cheerless last year until the
legislature enacted laws that enabled
thousands of renters to stick with the
old apartment in spite of landlords
and high rentals.
These laws, which have resulted in
much additional work for attorneys
and magistrates, provided the land
lords could not recover their property
by dispossessing tenants except fol-
ore of four reasons. One of these
was that the person holding on to his
| apartment was objectionable. That
always was a recognized excuse fol
election and not infrequently tenants
seemed unable to break themselves
of the habit of being Objectionable
| every time an outsider offered then
land lord more rent than they were
willing to pay. But under the new
laws it is up to the judge, not the
landlord, to decide whether a tenant
is Objectionable.
The cnly other recognized reasons
for ejecting tenants are for the land
lord to want the property for immed
late occupancy by himself or family
to demolish the building to make wa!
for a new structure, or to turn owe
the apartment to person who owni
it under the cooperative system. 1
the tenant refuses to pay rent m
crease, he isn't dispossessed; he goe
| to court and the Judge decides wha
the price shall be.
Great numbers of leases expire Of
Sept. 3Oth, and landlords have sen
out stacks of notices to vacate. L
some instances, they already hav
signed contracts with other tenant
effective October 1, but this year tn
contracts do not guarantee deliver
of the property on that day. For tn
tenants, protected by new Legislation
are not expected to give up withou
a struggle. Many of them are sur
to take the matter to court or to tn
mayors committee on rent prohteel
irg. This committee has heard 45,OO
wrangles over homes, and has arb
trated $4,000 landlord-tenant squat
bles. Still the warnings it has ser
out of the impending crisis bear
cheerful, optimistic tone.
Almost everybody here seems IL
terested in the housing situation fc
E nearly all New York is divided int
: three elasses-landlords, tenants an
: those who sleep In the parks
Many in the great army Of rem
payers believe they see better houl
ing conditions in the near future b
: cause of the squirt that constructio
work has taken since the recent pa
sage of an ordinance exemPtin
dwellings and tenements planned IN
year from taxation over a 10-yes
period
Since February %, when the ord
nance passed, plans for 12y3S9 OF
ard two-family dwelling houses al
737 apartment house or tenemel
structures have been filed BY prospe
tive builders IN the greater city.
the same period last year the plal
fled embraced 5164 dwelling projec
= and rs tenement house plans were 7
. corded. In 1920 not a single dweIlir
!. was added IN Manhattan For thr
: years prior to the tax exemption OF
nance not tenement had been ereC
&C IN Queensborough-
There are many who believe th
all this new construction VIII 4
y help matters much. It win take ma
2 times this number of houses to col
It fcrtably shelter the oyercrowd
millions In New York, they belize
And the city continues to grow eve
day.