Wooden Shingles in New York City
Considerable discussion and agitation has been evident in the past two weeks in connection with a hearing before the Commission on Housing and Regional Planning in New York City looking toward a reduction of the wooden shingle fire hazard in the Greater New York. Several of the speakers at these hearings pointed out the extreme menace contained in certain sections where immense areas are occupied by residences built close to each other, composed of frame and covered with wooden shingle roofs.
Great impetus to the construction of small frame dwelling houses of the one and two-family type was given by the tax exemption provisions of the New York housing laws. Following this row after row of such structures were put up either by home owners or speculators. and in a large number of cases, the wooden shingle was adopted as the roof covering for these homes, there being no law to prevent it and that type being the cheapest. The immense fire hazard that has resulted need hardly be pointed out. The buildings are up and nothing can now be done about it, but the further erection of such fire-traps can be prevented by quick action by the legislative governing body of the city.
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