RECORD OF TESTIMONY AND STATEMENTS IN RELATION TO 177 



NECESSITY FOR DISTRICTING PLAN 



feet high, casts a shadow 875 feet in length ; the Equitable Building, which 

 is 493 feet high, one 1,018 feet in length; the Singer Tower, which is 546 

 feet high, one 1,127 feet in length and the Woolworth Tower, which is 791 

 feet high, one 1,635 feet in length. 



The effect of skyscrapers casting shadows from a sixth to a third of a 

 mile in length on surrounding property is well illustrated in the case of the 

 Equitable Building. Its shadow, which at noon on December 21st is about 

 one-fifth of a mile in length, completely envelops an area of 7.59 acres. 

 The area of the Equitable Building is only 1.14 acres. 



The shadow cuts off all sunshine from the Broadway facade of the 

 United States Realty Building, which is 21 stories high. The Title Insur- 

 ance Company Building, 14 stories high, and the Washington Life Insur- 

 ance Building, 19 stories high, though in the next block, are both completely 

 shaded. The south side of the Singer Tower is shaded to a height of 27 

 stories. The nearest part of the City Investing Building 400 feet away is 

 in shadow for 24 of its 26 stories. Even part of the New York Telephone 

 Building north of Cortlandt Street is shadowed by the Equitable Building. 

 For almost a fifth of a mile this giant skyscraper casts its shadow. The 

 area cut off by it from all noonday sunlight extends to within 100 feet of 

 Fulton Street. 



Cedar Street, the street immediately north of the Equitable Building, 

 has an average width between Broadway and Nassau Street of 34 feet. 

 The height of the Equitable Building is 14J4 times the width of this street. 

 On a north and south street of this width in New York, uniformly im- 

 proved on both sides with buildings having a height equal to that of the 

 Equitable Building, only 9.31 per cent of the windows would receive any 

 direct sunshine at noon on the shortest day in the year. On north and 

 south streets only the windows nearest the top for a distance equal to 1.35 

 times the width of the street would receive direct sunshine at noon on 

 December 21st at New York (40° North Latitude). The windows in the 

 first 34 stories nearest the ground would receive absolutely no direct sun- 

 light. Direct sunshine would only enter those windows in the four stories 

 nearest the top. Not a single window within 447 feet of the street level 

 would receive a ray of direct sunshine ! 



Per cent of windows receiving direct sunshine with buildings of different heights 

 The Equitable Building is, of course, an extreme case. But even in 

 much lower buildings a considerable number of the windows on north and 

 south streets receive absolutely no direct sunshine at the winter solstice. 

 Up to a height equal to 1.35 times the width of such a street all the windows 

 (assuming they fulfill the standard requirements described below) receive 

 some sunshine. If the street, however, is improved with buildings one 

 and one-half times the street width in height only 90 per cent of the win- 

 dows obtain direct sunshine. If the height be increased to two times the 

 street width the proportion receiving direct sunshine is reduced to 67.5 

 per cent. The number of windows receiving direct sunshine on north and 

 south streets with buildings of different heights is as follows : two and one- 

 half times, 54 per cent ; three times, 45 per cent ; four times, 34 per cent ; 

 five times, 27 per cent; and six times, 22.5 per cent. 



Duration of sunshine period in rooms 



In this connection it must be remembered that all windows receiving 

 sunlight do not obtain the same amount. Even though there be no buildings 



