The New York herald., 1921-11-20

So Broadway ! ~ per cent vacant {.
w. Dimm of the Munson Building Com
pany, contradicted the rumor that space
was going for $3.50 to So in the Munson
Building. His company. he said, was
asking from 81 to SIS per square foot ahd
getting it. Clark G. Daily, president of
the Alliance Realty Company, admitted
that 10 per cent. Of the space in the
South Ferry Building was vacant, but
explained that 1t was because OF the
fact that the exporting, importing and
shipping trade around the Battery had
been hard hit by the period of business
retrenchment.
1t was evident from the tone of most
OF the remarks that while the proportion
of vacant space in the downtown sector
was not alarming. the factor worthy of
the most consideration was the space
that had to be sublet for tenants who
had overreached themselves during the
boom and had leased more office room
than they could assimiiate either for
speculative purposes or their own busi-
ness needs. Russell Cruikshank of the
Cruikshank Company said he did not
know how much of this space there was
to be rented for the account OF tenants.
but he admitted that the situation had
none too good an effect on the market.
w. H. Glass of George r. Read & Co.
had a practical suggestion TO offer pro-
viding for a safety margin OF vacant
space in each building. He proposed
that a fair rental schedule be fixed and
that each building manager pledge him
self to maintain that scale Of
rents until the vacancies in his particu-
lar building amount to per cent. OF
the total area. When the proportion
falls below per cent. he added, the
management could lower the rents and
then raise them again when the vacan-
cies decrease.
"Unless we do this" ne said. "the
market will lose its equilibrium. My
company, for one, will maintain its
scale of rents even when our buildings
are 25 per cent. vacant"
Louis B. DAILY Of the Equitable Build
ing insisted that the most effective
measures could be taken by combining
forces with the Building Managers and
owners Association, which had already
set TO work in a businesslike way to
solve the problem of standardizing rents.
Simon Newman Of the Brown. Wheelock
Company indorsed this suggestion. so he
and Mr.. DAILY were appointed members
of a committee to take the matter up In
conference with the Building Managers
and Owners Association.
It came out in the course of the meet
ing that the story of 100000 square
feet of vacant space in the section had
grown out of the fact that at one time
during the last month or so the office OF
George r. Read & Co. had that amount
of space listed for renting. This. how
ever. was not all vacant space, but In
cluded office room on which the leases
were about to expire. At that, some
one pointed out, 1t was only about
per cent. of all the space in the district
Among those who attended the meet
Ing were r. Ashley of the Brown.
Wheelock Company: Charles II. Aren't OF
Pease & Gilman; Alwyn Ball. Jr., Of
Frederick Southack a Alwyn Ball, Jr !;
L. Berger of Bing & Bing. II. L. Bleicker
of the Singer Building, w. J. Cashel OF
the Charles T. Noycs Company, Maurice
I. Cass of Z. II. Ludlow & Co.., f. e.
Davidson Of the Cruikshank Company,
William s. Dennison, A. Donald Field
ing Of w. z. Dean & Co., l.. G. Haines
Maurice Halpern Of the Emigrant Saw
ings Bank Building, George B. Hanford
of A. H. Matthews & Co., l.. A. John
son of Cruikshank's Sons. F. S. Kelly OK
the Joseph P. Day organization. II. G.
Kilt of the Singer Building, Robert E.
Leigh Of Charles B. Van Valen, Albert
q. Porter of the Brown. Wheelock Com.
pany; F. G.. Sheriff. of 1875 Broadway
E. J. Smith of Pease & Gilman. A. II.
Verify of Cammann. Voorhees, & Floyd;
Bernard Wakefield Of the Cunard Build.
ing, Thomas B. Walker of of William c.
Walker & Sons, William II. Whiting Of
william H. Whiting & Co., and g. G.
Young of Albert B. Ashforth.