Evening star., 1942-08-12
400 Tenants Attend
Hearing on Rents Of
Greenway Apartments
Cofritz Testifies at
First Session Before
Control Examiners

About 400 residents OF Greenway,
an apartment development at East
Capitol street and Minnesota ave-
nue., last night attended the first
session of public hearing conduct
ed by the District Office of Rent
Control in the Anacostia High
School auditorium in an effort to
determine a fair schedule OF rents
for the project.
The hearing, which will be re-
sumed at o'clock tonight. was the
largest conducted since the Rent
Control Act took effect on January
!. 1t also marked the first time all
three examiners sat together at a
single hearing They were j. War
rem Wilson, chairman; Leonard S.
Hayes and Ernest F. Williams.
The proceedings were based on
petitions filed against 795 tenants by
Morris Cafritz, president of Green
way, Inc. after several tenants had /
filed petitions with the admins
traitor seeking lower rents. Ten
dIllS llltCl CSbS ldSp lllSllU WClC lCp-
recented by committee of attor-
neys recruited from among Green
way residents and led by C. w.
Davis.
Decision Up to Cogswell.
A decision on the rent schedule to |
be applied will be made by Rent |
Control Administrator Robert F. |
Cogswell after the conclusion of !
testimony. Mr.. Cogswell outlined |
procedure at the opening of last |
nights session, but did not take part |
in the hearing itself.
The only witness called to testify |
was Mr.. Cafritz, who reiterated, un-
der oath, his pre- ious statement to |
tenants tina. ..e would not raise
rents on any of the present tenants,
despite any increased ceilings that |
may be fixed by the administrator.
He admitted there were inequities |
in the current rent schedule but |
contended that they were the result |
OF mistake" which fixed some of !
the rents at level lower than that |
warranted by building costs and the
values provided.
The first Of the u apartment
buildings in Greenway was occupied
in March, 1941 more than two
months after the freezing" date |
established in the Rent Control Act.
Under an order issued by Mr.. Cogs-
well, the legal rents on dwellings not
occupied on Janary l. 1941, is as
sumed to be the first rent collected
but landlords are urged to seek
determination as soon after occu-
pancy as possible.
Tells of Revising Plans.
Mr.. Cafritz testified he had first
envisioned a low-cost housing prof.
ect and that he had subsequently
revised his plans to include a num-
Der of improvements, such as park
ways, Fairgrounds, kindergarten,
q community hall, fireproof con-
struction, parquet floor, electric
kitchens, better millwork, and a
laundry for each of the "a buildings.
He did not, however, revise his rent
schedules sufficiently to meet the
increased costs OF these changes, he
asserted.
In examining Mr.. Cafritz
counsel for the tenants attempted
to show that the realtor had, in
fact, contemplated most of the i'm
provements we'll in advance of the |
Gate when he established the rents. |
Mr.. Cafritz also declared that the |
present rents in Greenway are lower |
than those in effect in comparable
projects elsewhere in the District |
and in nearby areas.
Refuse TO Dismiss Petitions.
Roger Whiteford, counsel for |
Greenway. Inc, told the examiners
that the legal rents sought by Mr..
Cafritz were based on a rent OF SIS
per room. The petitioner is asking
for ceiling of $50 month on one
bedroom apartments and 500 on
two-bedroom units.
The examiners overruled motion |
by Mr.. Davis for dismissal of the |
petitions on the ground that a sup
Elemental statement filed by Mr.. |
Cafritz and sent to all the tenants !
was improper in that it tended to !
coerce tenants into accepting the |
present rents and to deter them |
from attending the hearing. An
effort by Mr. Davis to have each |
OF the 795 petitions heard individ- |
ually was also overruled by the ex-
aminers.
1t is expected the proceedings will
last for several more days since
several more witnesses are Sched- |
uled to testify for Mr.. Cafritz and
q large number of tenants will be
asked to testify.
Also taking part in the proceed
ings was Ernest F. Henry, general
counsel for the rent administrator. |