Inspectors Face Challenges Enforcing New Housing Laws

by Vincent

“There is always something and it is usually the children.”

97 ORCHARD STREET, NY— After the Tenement Housing Act of 1901 laws were passed, inspectors have been going to check to see if the new laws are being followed. One of the buildings that they inspected was a tenement on 97 Orchard Street. It’s the inspectors job to ask questions to the landlords of the building and some of the tenants who live in the building to see if the building is following the laws passed by the Tenement Housing Act of 1901.

“No toilets on this floor work. You take away the outhouses, where will I go?” was Becky’s response when the inspectors asked her the question “Are there still toilets outside? These should be removed.” Becky Goldstein is one of the tenants that lives on 97 Orchard Street. Becky’s husband, Wolf Goldstein, is not working. “Wolf is not working because he fell of a ladder,” said Becky. Because Wolf is not working, the landlord, Barnett Goldfine, is letting the Goldstein family stay for free, except that they have to help to keep the building looking good a bit. “I don’t want trouble, only for the water to work,” said Becky. Becky, who is pregnant, said, “I am too big for all this schlepping,” after telling the inspectors that she had to go upstairs to get water.

Barnett, the landlord, has a different view of things, though. He blames the tenants for the toilets not working. “People are flushing rags down the toilet,” he said. “There is always something and it is usually the children,” said Barnett. Barnett goes to 97 Orchard Street every Friday to tidy up. He said that if the inspectors came back in a few months, he would have things sorted out better. Barnett needs a new plumber to fix the toilets and sinks.

The inspectors also have another point of view. “We cannot be sure if they are lying or telling the truth,” said an inspector called Vincent. Becky had said that her boy does not break any rules and is good. On the other hand, Barnett said that most of the things he has to fix has to do with the kids. The inspectors also have the right to say if the building should have a janitor or not.

The Tenement Housing Act is very important because the condition of the building is also the condition of the tenants living in it. But the enforcement of the law can be tricky because there are different points of view, so the inspectors have to choose which one to believe.

Tenement Inspectors Inspect

by Ivy

“Do any tenants keep farm animals in their apartments?” asked a tenement inspector. Barnett Goldfine can smell a chicken, can hear a chicken and sees feathers and chicken eggs all over the tenement.”

ORCHARD STREET–On 97 Orchard Street, on the first floor, a group of tenement inspectors inspected. On the other hand, the Landlord, Barnett Goldfine, thinks his tenement is in an alright condition. But is it really in an alright condition?

The tenement on 97 Orchard Street is not in the best condition. For example, “People are flushing rags down the toilet, I am doing better than the law,” said Barnett Goldfine. Rags are fire hazards and could make a fire spread quickly. Is Barnett Goldfine doing better than the law?

“Are there still toilets outside?” asked an inspector. “Yes, we use them because not all of the bathrooms inside actually work properly,” said Becky Goldstein, a tenant. It is unsanitary for there to be toilets outside.

“Who is taking care of the the building?” asked an inspector. “I have been trying to. I have spent $20,000 to upgrade this building. Is this a problem?” said Barnett Goldfine, the landlord. It was a problem for the tenement.

“Do any tenants keep farm animals in their apartments?” asked a tenement inspector. Barnett Goldfine can smell a chicken, can hear a chicken and sees feathers and chicken eggs all over the tenement. The children cause some of the issues in the tenement. “One of the tenants children were playing with a ball in the hallway and broke the window in the hallway bathroom,” said Barnett Goldfine.

In the end, tenants in the tenement at 97 Orchard Street are not so happy with the condition of the tenement. The conditions of the tenement on 97 Orchard Street are not as good as Barnett Goldfine thought. “You still have some work to do on the tenement inside and out,” said a tenement inspector.

Tenants Complain to Landlord

by Penelope

“Cockroaches are falling on my baby boy when he is sleeping.”

LOWER EAST SIDE- In 1906 a tenement owner claimed that he was doing better than the law. “I can do everything that the law says and I am doing better than the law!” said the landlord, who owned the tenement on 97 Orchard Street. The landlord says that he is doing better than the law but the tenant says that he is doing much worse,  “Cockroaches are falling on my baby boy when he is sleeping.” said the tenant, Becky Goldstein.

Becky Goldstein has been living this Tenant for 10 years for free so she doesn’t want to get in trouble and her son has just broken a light and she and her son have been trying to hide it and not talk about it. she also thinks that when inspectors come and say “open your window for fresh air t does not make sense to her because her windows leed straight to the air shaft she thinks that they are horrible and useless. “The smell in my bedroom is awful the neighbors drop their garbage down the airshaft.”

Her landlord is named Barnett Goldfine. He says, “I do better than the law!” Becky, the tenant, disagrees. According to Becky, “The toilets are not working and there is no running water.” Barnett has only followed the easy laws. For example, the steps are 8-10 inches high.

“Are there layers of wallpaper in the apartments? Bugs, rats and mice like to eat wallpaper glue.” asked an inspector. The Inspectors looked around and saw bits of wallpaper on the floor and saw that it was peeling from the walls. The wallpaper needed to be taken down because of rats.

The tenement inspectors came to the building and said that a lot of things needed to be changed. The results are that the landlord said he needed time to fix everything. Come back next year and it will be done, Barnett said.

Explorations Of The Tenement Inspectors

by Will

“My husband, Wolf, is not working because he fell off the ladder. So I am trying to make extra money selling rags.”

LOWER EAST SIDE-Today, on the 15th of February in 1906, a group of Tenement Inspectors visited the tenement located at 97 Orchard Street to see the condition of the building. They met with Becky Goldstein, a tenant in the building, and Barnett Goldfine, the landlord of the building. They wanted to meet with them to see if the new Tenement Housing Act was being followed. And if not, they wanted to make any changes that were needed.

The inspectors met with one of the tenants, Becky Goldstein. They asked her about the rags on the floor. “My husband, Wolf, is not working because he fell off the ladder. So I am trying to make extra money selling rags.” The inspectors told her that the rags on the floor were a fire hazard and she should clean them up. The inspectors also mentioned that they were going to remove the outhouses because they are not safe or clean. Becky said, “No toilets work on this floor. If you take away the outhouses, where will my family go to the bathroom?” The inspectors were shocked. They did not realize that none of the bathrooms were working. They needed to add it to the list to talk to the landlord about.

When the inspectors first entered the building they met with the landlord in the hallway. The landlord was cleaning the hallway and stairway. He said he doesn’t have a cleaning person and he does all of the cleaning himself to save money. There were cockroaches on the floor that he was sweeping up. The inspectors told him that the law says that all buildings should have a housekeeper or janitor.  They then started to discuss the bathrooms. “Is there a window in the hallway bathroom?” asked one of the inspectors. “There is, but it is broken,” said the landlord. “Some of the children broke it playing ball. I am going to replace it soon.”

After the inspectors finished interviewing the landlord and tenant they had a list of many things that needed to be fixed. They prepared a report to give to the landlord and said that all of the changes had to be made within one month. They will go back again in one month to see if everything has been fixed.

Tenement Inspectors stop by the pickle vendor after a long day of inspecting…