SPOTLIGHT ON: THE TENEMENT IN NEW YORK CITY

Tenements were originally constructed in the mid-nineteenth century to provide cheap housing for the poor, especially new immigrants. In 1867, the Tenement House Law was passed to regulate conditions in these buildings. The City Hall Library contains many resources of interest on tenement housing including laws from the previous two centuries and the annual reports of the Tenement House Department, established in 1902.

Urban Castles: Tenement Housing and Landlord Activism in New York City, 1890 to 1943 by Jared Day describes the role of landlordism and the history of tenement housing in the city. This study discusses the history of tenement developments, types of landlords, growth of landlord activism, role of government and courts, regulation of landlords and tenements and increasing tenant activism. Included are many photos of tenement houses, their residents and neighborhoods from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Let in the Sun by Woody Klein tells the story of a building in East Harlem that opened in 1906. Although it was intended as a model tenement for poor families, conditions soon deteriorated. This book describes an experiment gone wrong and the inability of reformers and government to take any corrective action. The author also offers some guidelines for addressing the problems of housing for the poor.

Challenge of Housing by Langdon W. Post, a former Tenement House Commissioner and chairman of the NY City Housing Authority, offers a history of tenement and public housing in New York City. The focus is on the efforts to move beyond the tenement and develop safe, clean affordable housing for low-income urban residents. Problems and conditions of slum areas are discussed along with what the author believes was the failure of the government to enforce laws and regulations for housing. He describes the work of the Tenement House Department and the construction of the first public housing in New York City. This book was published in 1938.

The Tenement House Law regulated the construction, maintenance and other aspects of tenements. The collection includes laws dating back to 1902. First Report of the Tenement House Department of the City of New York was published in 1902-3 and the last in 1937. This publication offers useful information on the conditions of tenements, what needed to be improved and actions that were taken. Included are original complaints from tenants, diagrams of apartments and statistics. The Tenement House Department was abolished in 1937 and merged with the Department of Buildings to become the Department of Housing and Buildings.

How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis was originally published in 1890. It is a seminal work describing the tenements and the people who dwelt in them. Riis discusses the origins of the tenements, the various immigrant groups living in them, children of the slums and poverty. He also summarizes what had been done at that point to improve tenement life and what might be undertaken in the future.

Vertical files contain articles and other clippings on the topic of tenement houses and the Tenement House Department.

ACQUISITIONS LIST, MAY 2006

The following publications were received by the City Hall Library in the month of May. Additional government publications can be found online in our Government Publications section.

Center for an Urban Future.
Chance of a lifetime: New York City faces rising numbers of disconnected youth ... May 2006.

Center for an Urban Future.
Ready or not: insufficient collaboration between Department of Education and CUNY could hinder effectiveness and future growth of programs ... . April, 2006.

Citizens Budget Commission.
Medicaid in New York: Why New York's program is the most expensive in the nation and what to do about it. April 2006.

Jucovy, Linda.
Just out: early lessons from the Ready Work Prisoner Reentry Initiative. New York: Public/Private Ventures, February 2006.

N.Y. City. City Planning Commission.
Community district needs: five boroughs. FY2007.

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Audit report on the administration of the Employee Block Credit Program fiduciary account by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. May 24, 2006. (Report no. 7711).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Audit report on the controls of the Landmarks Preservation Commission over its other than personal service expenditures. May 26, 2006. (Report no. 7712).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Audit report on the Department of Education's compliance with fire and safety mandates in elementary schools. May 24, 2006. (Report no. 7709).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Audit report on the development and implementation of the legal tracking system by the Administration for Children's Services. May 23, 2006. (Report no. 7707).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Audit report on the New York Yankees rental credits for the second quarter of 2005 (April 1-June 30, 2005). May 24, 2006. (Report no. 7708).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Audit report on the payroll, timekeeping, and other than personal services expenditures of the New York City Office of Emergency Management. May 24, 2006. (Report no. 7710).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Financial and operating practices of the Financial Information Agency: Audit report. May 3, 2006. (Report no. 7702).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Inventory controls of Harlem Hospital Center over noncontrolled drugs: audit report. May 3, 2006. (Report no. 7701).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority's maintenance of Metro-North Railroad stations within the City: audit report. May 5, 2006. (Report no. 7703).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority's maintenance of Metro-North Railroad stations within the City: audit report. May 5, 2006. (Report no. 7704).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Operating practices and procedures of the Grand Central Partnership Business Improvement District: Audit report. May 12, 2006. (Report no. 7706).

N.Y. City. Comptroller.
Revenue collected for license and permit fees by the Department of Buildings. Audit report. May 5, 2006. (Report no. 7705).

N.Y. City. Design and Construction, Department of.
Reconstruction of Jamaica area streets, Borough of Queens; final preliminary report. April 2006. (Contract no. HWQ248D).

N.Y. City. Education, Department of.
The class of 2004 four-year longitudinal report and 2003-2004 event dropout rates. February 2005.

N.Y. City. Housing Development Corporation.
Preserving NYC: annual report. 2005.

N.Y. City. Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Estey Piano Company Factory: designation report. May 16, 2006. (Designation report 374).

N.Y. City. Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Greenwich Village Historic District extension: designation report. May 2, 2006. (Designation List 373).

N.Y. City. Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Loew's Paradise Theater interior: designation report. May 16, 2006. (Designation List 374).

N.Y. City. Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Theodore F. and Elizabeth J. DeHart House: designation report. May 16, 2006. (Designation List 374).

N.Y. City. Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Weehawken Street Historic District: designation report. May 2, 2006. (Designation List 373).

N.Y. City. Law Department. Workers Compensation Division.
Annual report of the workers' compensation claims of New York City employees for calendar year 2005. 2006. (First).

N.Y. City. Management and Budget, Office of. Community Development Unit.
Proposed City fiscal year 2007 Community Development Program. May 4, 2006.

N. Y. City. Mayor.
Executive budget: City of New York fiscal year 2007. Message of the Mayor-budget summary. April 2006.

N. Y. City. Mayor.
Executive budget fiscal year 2007: expense, revenue, contract. Also supporting schedules, vols. 1-8. April 2006.

NYC Media Group.
Secrets in the sky: the towers of Gotham. Host Kelly Choi. New York: NYC Media Group; Arick Wierson, executive producer, 2006/2007. (DVD video).

N. Y. City. Transportation, Department of.
Safe streets NYC: traffic safety improvements in New York City. April 2006.

N. Y. City. Transportation, Department of.
2005 New York City Bridges and Tunnels annual condition report. 2006.

NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign.
Fourth annual "pokeys" awarded for slowest city buses. October 26, 2005.

NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign.
Press release: more than one in four payphones in subway stations don't fully work, survey finds. May 2, 2006.

NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign.
Subway cars are dirtier, 15-22 lines worsen, annual "schmutz" survey finds. May 26, 2006.

New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).
How safe are New York's playgrounds? NYPIRGS playground safety report 2006. [2006].

New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).
Unfair advantage: New York State's redistricting process. April, 2006.

N.Y. State. Comptroller.
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Radiological Health: audit report. April 25, 2006. (Report 2004-N-7).

N.Y. State. Comptroller.
Security over New York City's water system: N.Y. City Department of Environmental Protection. April 25, 2006. (Report 2004-N-9).

N.Y. State. Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York.
Financial outlook for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 2006. (Report 1-2007).

N.Y. State. Education Department.
New York State accountability report card for the 2004-05 school year. May 2006.

N.Y. State. Education Department.
Overview of performance in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science and analysis of student subgroup performance for public schools in New York State. February 2006.

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
Comprehensive annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 2005. 2006.

Public Policy and Education Fund, Inc.
New York State's dual crisis: low graduation rates and rising school taxes. A report of the Fund with the assistance of the Fiscal Policy Institute. May 18, 2006.

U.S. Justice, Department of. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Crime in the United States 2004. October 17, 2005.

Urban Institute.
Findings from a survey of 9/11 affected clients served by the American Red Cross September 11 Recovery Program. Final report. May 2006.

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