The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-26
High Rents Feature
Housing in Bronx

waiting tenants should be interesting
to them. And if they need to be con-
WINGED, they might ask those tenants
how long they lived at their last
house, how much they paid, why they
moved, and how long they waited for
this opportunity.
Before l describe the living condi-
tions in the various sections, let's di-
gest few facts and figures first. To
give an average wage and rental for
the entire Bronx would be erroneous,
for the variation is startling. But
the average salary Of the majority Of
wage-earners is $50. Their rent
amounts to $45. Among the poorer
people, the unskilled laborers, the
average salary is $3O-the rent is
S3s. These figures apply chiefly to
East Bronx, Hunts Point and South
Pelham. But among the middle class
who earn on an average of S4S a
week, the rental is only $52.
Who bears the burden of the rents
The same person that bears the bur-
den Of taxation-the poor man.
Jerry Building.
It's tlIfle hard to describe the
tenements of the Bronx. They aren't
exactly terrible-they haven't had
time to be. But their real danger is
not the things that are obvious, but
those that aren't apparent.
The buildings, most Of them hous-
ing twenty families or more, were
slapped up in a hurry. Cheap stucco
was put on the outsides; this has been
knocked down by snow and ice. But
that's the landlords worry. What
concerns the tenant and therefore us
is the fact that because of the hurry,
the houses were improperly built, in
ternally.
Walk Up" Apartments.
The rooms are exceptionally small.
crowding everybody, entirely elm
mating privacy. The beautiful sun
light, which the Bronx has in magni-
ficent abundance, can only be enjoyed
by half the tenants, and then only in
one room, either the kitchen or the
parlor. The apartment houses are
tall, seven or eight stories high. but
few of them have elevators. The tired
mother must climb all those flights of
stairs after hard days work.
Why landlords ere not forced to
build fire escapes for each and every
house, do not know. The law re-
quires it. Yet, throughout east Bronx
and as far north as Pelham, l found
houses with no fire escapes, veritable /
firetraps.
Wash lines. to improve the appear
ance Of the houses, l suppose, have
been placed on the roof. The poor
tired mother has to lug her wet wash
five and six flights. then. with wind
bowling all around her. she hangs up
her clothes with icy fingers.
Landlord Rarely Loses.
But if you have money to invest, I
and you don't mind how tainted your
incmoe is. take tip and invest in the
Bronx. The Bronx Landlord, accord
ing to the dockets, is forever in court,
and he rarely loses. He is given |
everv opportunity to raise the rent,
and in the summary of one case. |
found that the judge had given him
in how to worm through \
a loophole in the emergency rent law
and thus be able to raise the rents /
a little more.
If you've got to be gouger, do it /
legally. But don't do it like the blood /
suckers in east Bronx, who, taking
advantage of the ignorance of the
Italian tenants, shake sheriff's war
rant in their faces, ard tell them with /
a straight face they'll be locked up if
they don't pay an increase. This was
done in countless cases, a local law
yer proved to me.
BE Low-But Within Law.
If you've got to be low, be low. /
That's quite in conformity with the +
theology of the New York landlord. /
But don't be illegal. Three landlords /
were fined for doing that up in the
Bronx. And that's against ethics, as
he Bronx Ward of the United Real
Estate Owners Association will tell