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JUNE 8, 191-2.
SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT OF LONG ISLAND
New York, Heretofore a Compact Urban Unit, Is Beginning To Respond To
The Influences That Have Built Up the Charming Suburbs of Foreign Cities
By CECIL C. EVERS. â– Vice-Presideat of the Lawyers Mortgage Co.
P LIMIXATING those portions of Long
*—' Islahd. such as Brooklyn and Long
Island City, which are in reality integral
parts of the Greater Cily, we shall con¬
sider only the territory within commuting
distance that is susceptible of develop¬
ment for suburban residences for those
whose occupations require their daily or
frequent presence in New York, This ter¬
ritory will comprise part of Queens
County, all of Nassau County and about
the westerly one-fourth of rSuffolk Counly,
The a\"erage annual increase of popu¬
lation in these counties in the past len
years has been S,5 per cent, for Queens,
5,2 per cent, for Nassau and 2.5 per cent,
for Suffolk County, as compared with a
similar increase of 3,87 per cent, for New
York City, showing that proximity to the
city is the principal factor controlling
such increase.
The sale of commutation tickets by the
Long Island Railroad In the past flve
years shows an average annual Increase
of 17.5 per cent, as compared with the
6 per cent, average annual increase in
the population of the three counties; and.
moreover, a large part of this increased
population in Queens County is served
hy the surface cars and does not com¬
mute.
In Pebruary, IDll, the month of leasf
travel, the Long Island Railroad sold 11,-
247 monthly tickets; in August. 1911, the
month of greatest travel of this class,
the tickets sold were 20,198.* A unit of
four being frequently adopted as that of
the average family, we may, making al¬
lowances for Lhe cases where more than
one member ol the family commutes, use
a unit of three, tlius arriving at a subur¬
ban commuting population served by the
railroad of 33,000 in the winter and 60.-
001) in the summer months, a very small
number when the population of New
York and the area served is considered.
These flgures do not of course include
the great num.ber of people wiio spend
a few weeks in the summer on the Is¬
land, and who are only temporary subur¬
banites.
Dlstrlliution and Deusify of Populntion.
The three principal lines of the Long
Island Railroad traverse the Island from
west to east, starting from the Pennsyl¬
vania station in Manhattan, from Long
Island Cily and from Brooklyn, at the
north, the center and the soulh of the is¬
land. The commuting population is to
be found principally in the vicinity of
the stations, massed in settlements which
are separated by large areas of thinly
settled or idle land. Large tracts of
*The above figures of pa=senger trafflc are by
lhe courtesy of Ralpli Peters, presideot of the
Long Island Railroad.
sparsely settled or unoccupied land lie
also between the tliree lines, as owing to
the width of the isla.nd (between flfteen
and eighteen miles) these lines are too
far apart to furnish suburban service
to this entire territory.
The density of population is as fol¬
lows: 5,000 per square mile in Queens (in-
cludiiig Long Island City), 238 per square
mile in Nassau County and 80 per square
mile in Suft'oik County. It Is Interesting
to compare with these figures the aver¬
age density in the Borough of Manhat¬
tan ot 77.440 per square mile, 25,600 per
square mile In Brooklyn and 10,800 per
square mile in the Bronx, the average Eor
the Greater City being 51,200 per square
mile. In London the average per square
mile is 33,865.
The yearly commuter must be differ¬
entiated from the summer resident, in
that he is far more useful in building up
the community. As a permanent resi¬
dent, and especially when he is the owner
of his home, he is a client of the rail¬
road, a taxpayer, and a consumer during
the entire year, whilst the summer resi¬
dent is less permanent, more liable to
move elsewhere, and frequently looks
upon his summer residence as a secon¬
dary home and one in which he takes
less interest than in his permanent city
home. The commuting population Is made
up largely of two classes: 1. Those who,
owing to the nature of their occupation,
are able to use some selection in their
choice of residence-and to whom delay in
arriving at their offlce or place of busi¬
ness is not of flrst importance; 2, Those
whose po'wer of 'selection is greatly re¬
stricted by the necessity of their early
arrival at business and by the importance
of avoiding delays. Under the present
conditions of suburban transportation the
gi'eat majority of artisans and meclianics
are unable to live far from their work
and need not be taken into account.
Country A'crsiis City Life,
The principal motives impelling people
to live in the country are as follows: the
desire for greater freedom, more healthy
surroundings for the bringing up of chil¬
dren, love of outdoor exercises, boating,
golflng, driving and tlie like. As opposed
to these are the motives favoring resi¬
dence in the city, whicii are: convenience
and economy of shopping in central loca¬
tions, proximity to centers of amusement
and recreation, better educational facili¬
ties and medical service, and with many,
the social possibilities of city life.
It may be well at this point to call at¬
tention to the difference which exists be¬
tween the semi-suburban sections of
great cities, contiguous to their built up
portions, and those suburban settlements
which, lying at a greater or smaller dis¬
tance from the city, are surrounded by
open country and are not an actual ex¬
tension of the city's growtli. In the
former there is always the probability of
a change of character taking place and
of the growth of the city overtaking a
section before it is fully established, when
it is encroached on by apartment houses,
shops and dwellings of an urban char¬
acter. These possibilities are much smaller
in purely suburban settlements -wliich,
when properly esta.blished, may preserve
their character for a great many years.
Moreover, owing to the cheaper cost of
land, more of it may be used, thus ob¬
taining a more attractive and countrified
appearance.
Rents Cheaper iu Suburhs.
At the present time life in suburban
settlements is to a certain extent a lux¬
ury, as, with the exception of rent, most
of the necessities of life are more costly
in the suburbs than they are in the city.
The city, wilh itg known power to attract
and drain the -country surrounding it of
produce of all kinds, is generally the
market from whicii all the outlying set¬
tlements are obliged to procure their sup¬
plies. Moreover, though suburban settle¬
ments on Long Island may boast in most
cases of a good supply of excellent water,
their drainage and sewerage are of a very
primitive character; and tliough taxes
e.re frequently liigh, the money is spent
in such a way that very little direct ben¬
eflt seems to be derived from it.
AUliough commutation rates are reason¬
able, the cost of travel for members of
the faniily or visitors using mileage or
regular tickets is far from cheap.
The evolulion of long distance travel
to a point where It meets the require¬
ments of a suburban population moves
but slowly; railroads do not distinguisli
sufficiently between the different needs of
these two classes and frequently try to
â– combine them.
Suburban transportation shoukl to some
extent approximate urban transportation,
and to attain a full degree of efficiency
calls for a four-track system and local
and express service ol far greater fre¬
quency than is now customary, especially
at the hours of greatest travel to and
from the city. For the casual visitor to
tlie city the present service is excellent,
but for the commuter who misses a train
and has to wait an hour until another
one is available, the service is inade¬
quate.
The poor service and high charges of
express companies are another element
Increasing the cost of suburban living,
though this is to some extent being over¬
come by the excellent system of subur¬
ban deliveries which is being established
by the larger shops.
The above reasons account to some ex-