RECORD OF TESTIMONY AND STATEMENTS IN RELATION TO 167 



NECESSITY FOR DISTRICTING PLAN 



erected paid so well because they stole light and air and street space 

 from their neighbors, that owners were induced to build similar buildings, 

 or builders were induced to pay extravagant prices for land and erect sim- 

 ilar buildings on the theory that if one twelve-story loft building was profit- 

 able any twelve-story loft building in that zone would be profitable. Experi- 

 ence has shown that when the first leases for three or five years expired, and 

 similar loft buildings had blanketed the first building, leases could not be 

 renewed at the old figures, and often could not be renewed on any terms 

 that would pay carrying charges. The supposed values were a delusion. 

 The erection of loft buildings drove neighboring owners "to erect loft build- 

 ings, for their old buildings were no longer suitable for the neighborhood, 

 the value of such buildings was destro^-ed, and the value of the land seemed 

 to have acquired double its former value or more. Today the assessed value 

 of lots in some side streets has declined to a sum less than the land was 

 worth prior to the boom. The old buildings although often so well con- 

 structed as to last for one hundred years have practically no value at all. 



Depreciation of values in downtown office section 



Somewhat similar results have followed in the office building zone from 

 the failure there to protect the owners of buildings of reasonable height 

 from deprivation of light, air and access, by the erection of neighboring 

 buildings of monstrous heights, and covering all the land the law allows, 

 which is substantially all there is. I suppose I have heard applications for 

 reduction of the assessed value of at least three-fourths of all the buildings 

 of more than ten stories high south of Chambers street. The reasons for 

 the requests have been similar to the reasons for the requests for the re- 

 duction of the assessed value of many of the loft buildings in the middle 

 of the borough. An office building which was profitable when it stole its 

 light and air was rendered unprofitable when there was no longer light and 

 air to steal. The value of land has been inflated on the theorjr that on 

 certain streets the appropriate improvement is a building approximately 

 thirty stories in height. It must be obvious that the land cannot be covered 

 with buildings thirty stories in height and profitably rented, even if there 

 were people enough who wanted to do business in that territory to fill the 

 buildings. There would be no room for the people to walk in the streets. 

 They would all work by artificial light, and ventilation would be wretched, 

 except when we had violent gales which obtain around lofty buildings 

 when there is a moderate breeze. I have in mind one parcel of land on 

 which there is erected a twelve-story office building of good construction, 

 not more than twenty years old, it is full, at fair rentals. The gross rent 

 is $55,000. The assessed value of the land is $500,000. The building was 

 assessed last year at $150,000. One of the best appraisers of the city ap- 

 praised the property for the owner at a total sum of $550,000, of which 

 $50,000 was assigned to the building. I asked him what sort of a building 

 he would erect if that building now on the property were destroyed by fire. 

 He said he could not erect a better building than the one that stands there 

 now, that it would not be -profitable to erect a higher building. I then asked 

 him whether such a new building could earn four per cent on its cost and 

 four per cent on the value of the land that he had assigned to the lot after 

 paying operating expenses and taxes, without anv allowance for depreciation. 

 He said it certainly could not. After some discussion we both concluded 

 that while it is necessary to appraise the land as having a value of about 

 $500,000. based on sales of neighboring property, and on the opinions of 



