March 14,1881





Record   and   Guide.





387





aod requiring the arcUt«ct or contractor to submit diagrams showing the
loads to be carried, the strains produced, and the dimensions of the
materials to provide for such strains.

All iron-work and sieel-work must be properly painted wilh oxide of u'ou
and linseed-oil paint tefore being placea in position, or coated with some
other equally good preparation, or suitably treated for preservation
agaiost rust.

No wooden floor beam nor wooden roof beam used in aoy building, othei-
tban a frame building, shall be less than S inches iu thickness.

Trimmer and heade- beams must be not less than 1 inch tbic'ter thao tbe
floor or roof beams ot the same tier, when the header is 4 feet or less in
lengtb; where the hetder is more iban 4 feet and not more than 15 feet in
length the trimmer atd header beams must be at least double the thickness
of the floor or I'oof beams, or made oE two beams spiked together; and
when the header is more than 15 feet in length wrought-iron flitch plates
between wooden beans must be used in constructing the trimmer aod header
beams, or wrought-iron or steel beams may be used.

North of Canai strtet, west of the Bowery, and north of New Chambers
street, east of the Bovery, business and manufacturing buildings may be
erected to a height of 100 feet (with thesame hmit as to width and depth of
non-fire-proof buildiigs) constructed on the slow burning principle, that
is to say, in which tht floor and roof heams are of wood, properly protected
from flre by deafenng ou top and covered witb iron or metal lathing
securely fastened to ;he sides and undersides of said beams aud plastered,
provided, however, tiat when a building so constructed exceeds Ho feet in
height (but in no caseto exceed 100 feet in hoigbt] the halls and stairs shall
be inclosed in brick vails, and the stairs, which may be of wood, shall be
covered on the undg-side with iron or metal lath and plastered, and the
partitions must be of incombustible material.

Theheight for nonflre-nroof buildings, which is uow limited to 80 feet,
is increased 5 feet~t<i 85 feefc.

The repeal of the liw limiting the height of apartment houses is not
attempted by the ammdments to the building law.

In all buildiugs heieafter erected every smoke fiue must be lined on tbe
inside from the bottcm of the flue to tbe extreme top with cast iron or well-
burnt clay pipe.

Where a kitchen ringe is placed neai- a wooden stud partition, the studs
shall be cut away auJ framed 2 feet higher and 1 ''oot wider thao tbe I'aoge,
and fliled in with bri^k or fire-proof blocks aud plastered thereon.

All electric wires ylaced inside of buildings, whether in connection with
aerial or underground wires and carrying electrical currents, shall be
properly insulated, and be so arranged witb proper safety devices at the
point in the buildingwhere the wires enter the same that the current shall
ne instantly cut off vben the wires become unduly heated.

Outside shutters, leretofore required to bu of iron, may uow either be of
soft wood in two ibiekoesses and covered on both sides aud |edges with tin.

Thecoruicesofslx)w windows are required to be of metal or otber fire¬
proof material.

In tbe frame building district, north of 155th street, three-story frame
dwelling houses may have 8-ineh brick division or party walls between
any two such bouses. When, however, more than two such houses are
built continuous, the party or division walls shall be of brick not less than
8 inches thick abu7e the foundation walls, and tbe ends of the floor beams
shall ba so separated that 4 inches of brick-work shall be between the beams
where they rest oa the said walls.

Every bin used for storage of coal or wood, located in cellai-s ot tenement
houses, spai-tmect houses, lodging bouses and hotels, hereatter erected,
must be made of fire-proof material.

Fire-escapes will hereafter be required on boarding houses having more
tban fifteen sleeping rooms above tbe basement story. Office buildiogs less
than five stbries in height will hereafter be exempt from fire-escapes.

In the tiieatre section of the law a number of minor changes have been
made, alltough each is important in itself, relating to width of corri¬
dors, passages, aisles, etc. The roof of the theatre must hereafter be
made flreiproof. A roof garden or art gallery is permissible above the
roof, WBete located oa a coi-ner lot that portion of the premises bor¬
dering OD the side street and not requirq^ for the use of the theatre, may,
if such mrtiou be not more than ila feet iu width, be used for olfices,
stores, or apartments, pi-ovided a solid brick wall separates tbs^t portion
from thstheati-e proper, and tbat a fireproof exit to the street be carried
through/the side building on each tier. Tbe fly galleries aad rigging
Idft mii/t be of iron. The aggregate capacity of the foyeis, lobbies, corri¬
dors aad passages aud rooms for the use of the audience, not including
aisle space between seats in their capacity to contain the entire
numl^r ot persons in the audience, bas beeu reduced from 200 to 150 feet,
supeiflcial feet, of floor room for every one huudred persons, as bere-
afier tbealres must be constructed flre-proof iu every particular.

Tie Hoard of Examiners has been increased by one additional mem-
beflbeing added, the New York Ueai Estate Exchange (Limited) hav-
insr been given a representative.

The flues and penalties for violating the law and their methods of i-emission

nain without alteration, except  tbat the  penallies are   increased for
jJolations io the construction of  chimneys and fij-eplaces, and the plac¬
ing of wooden beams in t^o close proximity to smoke fiues.
I The powers of the Fire Department have  been   somewhat enlarged in

fespect to restraining, correciiug aud removing violations, but are no
lore than was intended when ttie original sections of the present law
/were drafted. The enforcement of the law is entirely through civil pro-
'cedure, and not at all by criminal process, but the power is ample.

The foregoing gives the principal pomts of difference between the exdst-
ihg law and the law as amended. Por the huudred minor betterments that
the amendments show we have not the space to make refei-ence. Our
columns will be open to any of our readers who may find anything objec¬
tionable in the amendments, aod from what we know of tbe members of
the Committee on Revision, we are sure that aoy proper criticism of their
work will i-eceive coosideration at their hands.





culty witb tho International Union. Now that this has beeo accomplished,
the road is clear, and a meeting of the Arbitration Committees of both
organizations is to be called at an early date to settle upon the renewal.
The agreement expires on May 1st, 1891, and it deals with the question of
wages and the hours of labor, audit particularly provides that no strike
shall be ordered until the matter in dispute is brought for settlement before
a Joint Arbitration Committee of both the above organizations, tbe ooe
committee 'representing the masters and the other tbe workmen. It is this
latter clause which has made this agreement famous among builders all
over tbe United States. It was first agreed upon in 1886-87, and has been
renewed every year since. It has been the means of avertinga great many
sti-ikes, and has thus saved both masters and men from great losses.





The Masons' Agreement.

OKIOiS' NO. 7 IN LINE AGAIN,  AND   THE   ANNUAL   AGREEMENT LIKELY TO

BE RENEWED.

Bricklayers' Union No. 7 has compromised with the International Brick
layers'Union wbo, it will be remembered, levied an assessment on No, 7,
which the latter declined to pay. There was at one time some appearance
that there would be a strike by tbe other bricklayers' unions against No. 7
for not paying the asessmenfc ; but, owing to the efforts of the leaders of
Ko. 7 and tbe Mason Builders'Association, who urged upon No. 7 the
advisability of arbitritiog with the International Union for the amicable
settlement of the as^ssment difficulty. No. 7 agreed to adopt tbe latter
course, with the result that harmony has been restored and a strike of
bricklayers averted, ^hich would bave affected many important building
operations throughout the city.

As The Record ahd Guide pointed out on the SSth ultimo, the annual
agreement made for several years past between tbe Mason Builders' Asso¬
ciation of New York and the Bricklayers' Unions of this city could uot be
renewed for 1891-93 xjntd Bricklayers' Union No. 7 had settled its little diffi-





Street Opening and Park Improyements,

Tho charge of street opening aud park improvements is divided by tbe
Corporation Counsel between two bureaus; those begun before the 1st of
January, 1S90, being in charge of Mr.'' Carroll D. Berry; aud those begun
since tbe 1st of Jauuary, 1890, being in charge of Mr. John P. Dunn. Mr.
Dunn has just completed a report to his chief upon the present condition
of the fif ty six proceedings instituted duriug laat year. From this report
it appeai-s that, for one roasou and another, iu thii-teen of the pruceedings
begun commissioners uever were aiipoinled. Some of these were discon¬
tinued and some were postponed; and in flve af them the Corporation
Counsel is awaiting the decision of the Judge upon the appoiutment of
Commissioners of Estimate and Assessment. In forty-three cases com¬
missioners have been appointed, and in eight of them the proceedings, so
Ear as the Corporation Counsel is concerned, have been completed. During
the year the amount iu lineal feet of streets opened was 14,200. The
measurement of the streets discontinued was 3,107 feet lineal. In tbe pro¬
ceedings conflrmed upon flnal report to tbe Supreme Court, the amount of
tbe awards was only iiSS, due to the fact tbat tbe streets opened were
through large tracts owned by a few parties, where tbe damages and the
awards practically offset each other. In the cases in .which abstracts
have been completed—that is, where the preliminary reports have been pre¬
pared and are open to objection by the property-owners—the amount of
awards was Sd71,26S.82, and the assessments in the same proceedings
amounted to^l82,423.33, the difference being the cost of the proceedings in
the way of commissioners' fees, clerks' fees, printing and stationery. The
categorical statement of the condition of each proceeding on the date of
the report is substantially as follows :

Albany road, from Bailey avenue fco Van Courtlandt Park. Waiting for
the necessai-y rule map and technical description from the Department of
Public Parks.    Commissioners not yet appoinied.

Audubon avenue, between lliSth and lOTtb street—Commissioners
appointed August 2d: JamesP, Campbell, chairman; J. Romaine Brown
and Matthew Chalmers. Preliminary report on awards for land and
buildings nearly ready. Area of assessment decided upon, di-aft of
damage and benefit maps complete.

Bailey avenue, from Boston aveaue to Van Courtlaodt avenue. After
papers had all been prepared aod motion for appointmeut of commissioners
of estimate and assessment had been granted by tha Supreme Court, the
proceeding was suspended by the Board of idti-eet Opening aud Improve¬
ments.

Bethune street, from Greenwich to Hudson street—Commissioners
appointed January 10, 1890: William J. Lacy, chairman; Edward F.
O'Dwyer and Jacob Mai-ks. They are now taking testimony on tbe value
of the land and buildings to be condemned. They bave determined the
preliminary area of assessment aud maps in accordance therewith are in
course of preparation.

Brookline street, from Webster avenue to Bainbridge avenue—Commis-
siooers appointed May 9tb: John F. Mclntyre, cbaii-man; James P. Camp¬
bell and Thomas Nolan. Tbe awards for land and buildings have been
determined, and the proceeding ispendingon the determination of a fair
area of assessment for bsneflts,

Beich avenue, from the Southern Boulevard to Kelly street—Commis¬
sioners appointed April 28tb: William H. Willis, chairman; Nevin W.
Butler and David Thomson. This proceeding is practically completed.
Commissioners will be ready to file their report in the Depaitment of
Public Works in a few days.

Boston avenue, from Sedgwick aveuue to Baily avenue. The motion of
the appoiutnient of Commissioners of Estimate "and Assessment has been
nade and granted, but the petition is still awaiting the signature of the
Beard of Street Opening and Improvement.

Cedar aveuue, from Eagle avenue to Union aveuue—Commissioners
appointed Februarys, 1890: Lewis J. Coolan, chairman; Thoraas Dunlap
and Louis J. Heintz (since resigned). In this proceeding all the work pre¬
liminary to the filing of theatistracfcof estimate aud assessment has beeu
completed, but owing to the limited area of assessment and the low taxable
valuations of tbe property to be assessed for beneflt, the awards largely
exceed tbe amount that should be assessed upon the propei'ty benefited. It
has, therefore, beeu deemed advisable to defer fifing the abstract of esti¬
mate and assessment until after the valuations of property for the piupose
of taxation by the Deputy Tax Commissioners for this year have been made
and confirmed.

Cammann street, from Fordham road to Harlem River terrace—Com¬
missioners appointed February 3d: Thomas E, (jrace, chairman; Joseph H.
Stiner and Thomas P. Fitzsimmons. All the prelimiaai-y work of the
commissioners in this proceeding bas been completed, but in the hearings
giveu to the property-owners' opposition on tbe part of some of them to the
plan of the street was developed and tbe Department of Public Works was
petitioned to chaoge the lines and width of tbe street and to discontinue a
portion of it. This appliealion is still pending and the proceeding has in
the meantime been stayed.

Cauldwell avenue, trom Boston road to Itisth street, and from Clifton
street to Westchester avenue—Commissioners appointed February 3, 18y0;
Edward Jacobs, chairmao; Ellsworth L. Stryker, Bowie Dash and Charles
D. Burrill, in placeof Bowie Dash resigned. The recjuisite draft damage
and benefit maps have been received and the awards foi- lands and build¬
ings have been particularly detei'mined, but considerable difficulty has
been had in distributing the assessment for benefits. The area of a'ssess-
meofc is very large, and the proceeding is a costly one. The matter has
not yet been worned out to the satisfaction of the commissioners.

Cedar place, from Eagle avenue to Uuiou avenue—Commissioners
appointed July 3d: George P. Webster, chairman; J. Rinelander DiUon
and William H. Marston. Nothing has been done in the proceeding as
yet, because the draft damage map showing the property lo be condemned
has not been furnished by the Park Depariment.

College place, from Chambers street to Fulton—Commissioners appointed
January 10th: Eugene L. Busbe, chairman; James G, Janeway and
Thomas F. Hayes; f'rankbn Bartlett, special counsel. All the testimony
has been taken in this proceeding, and tne commissioners are hai'd at work
mabiogout theii-prelimioary reports upon tbe awards for damages and