Manhattan, being the new up and coming city of the 19th century, became a hip and popular spot for people to move to. The major reason for this was the Depression of 1894. People began to move to the city to find jobs, bring some money back to their families, and simply survive. But the first thing a person needs is housing – a place to rest. And this vast spike in population created a demand for housing.

Yet, another type of person in Manhattan were the ones seeking profit from this demand. Landowners and people with a large sum of capitol began to quickly develop housing. Homeowners began to rent out their homes, their apartments, and even single rooms. One family brownstones became multi-family homes, and charged for high profit. Landlords wanted money, income, and efficiency. Housing was being stuffed with people like sardines in a can, completely disregarding the safety and health of the people living there.

These homes were not meant for this scale of people living there. With no codes, there was no rules on the health and safety of the people. One toilet in a household could be used by twenties of people. Majority of the time, sewage lines were not maintained, or weren’t even connected to the city sewers. Cesspools were created in back yards for the tenants, and they remained as they were built. This led to epidemics of disease.

The lack of building code led to people becoming infected with tuberculosis.
On a specific block, the disease got so out of hand, it got the title the Lung Block. This was caused by the development of buildings with no light or air circulation. The entire block was demolished, and a plan to create a new housing design was petitioned. The major issue with this is that the newer designs didn’t help; what actually solved the problem, was returning to the original building designs that were much shallower, and allowed more light and air circulation.