Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-09-12
HOUSE SHORTAGE
IN NE W YORK IS
ACUTE PROBLEM
Moving Day, October |, Is
Expected to Reveal a Ser
ious Situation Among Ten
ants in Metropolis.
tBy The Associated press.)

New York, Sept. 1.-THE hous-
ing 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 1.
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 cherries
last year until the legislature en-
acted 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 attor-
neys and magistrates, provided the
landlords could not recover their
property by dispossessing tenants
except for one of four reasons. One
of these was that the person hold
ing on to his apartment was OBJ
jectionaple. That always was d
recognized excuse for election and
not infrequently tenants seemed I'M
able to break themselves of the
habit of being Objectionable every
time an outsider offered their
landlord 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 ten
can't is Objectionable.
The only other recognized rea-
sons for ejecting tenants are for
the landlord to want the property
self or family, to demolish the
building to make way for a new
structure. or to turn over the apart
ment to a person who owns it un-
der the cooperative system. If the
tenant refuses to pay a rent in
crease, he isn't dispossessed, lie
goes to court and the Judge de-
cides what the price shall be.
Great numbers of leases expire
on September 80, and landlords
have sent out stacks of notices tC
vacate. In some instances, they al
ready have signed contracts with
other tenants Elective October l
but this year the contracts do not
guarantee delivery of the property
on that day. For the tenants, pro-
tected by new legislation. are not
expected to give up without strug-
gle. Many of them. are sure to take
the matter to court or to the may
or's committee on rent profiteering
This committee has heard $4,000
wrangles over homes. and has arbi-
.trated 1900 landlord tenant
squabbles. Still the warnings it has
sent out of the impending crisis
bear cheerful, optimistic tone.
Almost everybody. here seems in.
terested In the housing situation
for nearly all New York is divided
into three Observation-Disclosures, ten.
ants and those who sleep in the
parks.
Many in the great army of rent
payers believe they see better hous.
ing conditions in the near future
because Of the squirt that construc-
ton work has taken since the re.
cent passage of an ordinance ex-
emptinS dwelling and tenements
planned this year from taxation
over a 10-year period.
Since February rs, when the or
dinance passed. plans for 1889 one
and two-family dwelling houses
and 1877 apartment houses or tene.
ment structures have been filed by
prospective builders in the greater
city. In the same period last year
the, plans filed embrace 5,164
dwelling projects and 75 tenement
house plans were recorded. FIJI
In 1920 not a single dwelling was
added in Manhattan. For three
years prior to the tax exemption
ordinance not tenement had been
erected In Queens borough.
There are many who believe that
all this new construction will not
help matters much. 1t will take
many times this number of houses
to comfortably shelter the over
crowded millions in New York. they
believe. And the city continues
to grow every day.