Reort of the Tenement House Committee as Authorized by Chapter 479 of the Laws of 1894. Transmitted to the Legislature January 17, 1895

Albany, NY: James B. Lyon, State Printer, 1895. First Edition. Good. First edition; 9 x 5 1/2; pp. [1], 4-79; wraps perished; spine strengthened with silk tape; illustrated with numerous tables; mild age-toning and wear; several period, penciled-in, manuscripts notes to margins; in good condition.By the early 1890s, the housing problem for the poor residents of New York had grown to epic proportions, prompting the media to state that the city had become “the most densely crowded city…that the world had ever seen.” Living conditions in the approximately 38 000 tenements were deplorable. After the East Side Relief Work Committee (ESRWC), founded in 1893 by Josephine Shaw Lowell, hired uneployed citizens to whitewash and clean the tenements and the former were overwhelmed by the thousands of "barrels of rubbish," the ESRWC would successfully lobby the New York State legislature to pass an act “authorizing the Governor to appoint a committee of seven to be known as ‘the Tenement-House Committee" in 1894. Also known as the Gilder Committee after its Chair - Richard Watson Gilder - it would be active for about 6 months. The current booklet outlined the committee's investigations into fire and health hazards, education of the tennants, level of overcrowding, local causes affecting the death-rates, access to clean water, and so on. The committee also recommended the creation of safe public spaces - parks, playgrounds, baths, etc., in order to improve the environment, health, and well-being of the various neighborhoods in general.