Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 87, no. 2255: June 3, 1911

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June 3, 1911. RECORD AND GUIDE 1043 THE CRUSADE AGAINST ENCROACHMENTS Public to Have More Room on the Sidewalks in Business Streets—Extent to Which Roadway and Sidewalk Widths Are to Be Changed Under Present Orders ALL the privileges and permits that have been granted in times past un¬ der any authority, for steps, areas, fences or any other projection or encroachment over the building line, are being revoked hy the Board of Estimate in the case of a number of business streets in the Bor¬ ough of Manhattan. At the same tiine, Borough President McAneney is being di¬ rected to have all encroachments re¬ moved, and in several instances to also change the width of roadways and side¬ walks. Certain ornamental projections, which were specifled in an order of the Superintendent of Buildings under date of January 3, of this year, are not to be disturbed. T'his action is in accordance with the policy adopted by Borough President Mc¬ Aneney to give back to the public the full width of the sidewalks in business street.s, as the need therefor becomes appareni The policy has the support of the city's Law Department, as promulgated in ;i recent opinion by the Corporation Counsel It is not proposed to widen the road¬ way in every instance. The portions oC streets where encroachments are to be re¬ moved, with no change in existing road¬ way widths, are: Fulton, between Broad¬ way and William; Ann, between Park Row and William; Park Row, between Ann and Spruce streets; West 32d street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues; Broadway, east side, and Seventh avenue, w-est side, between 42d and 45th streets; Broadway, west side, and Seventh avenue, east side, between 45th and 47th streets. Lafayette street, between Great Jones street and Astor place (which is the block where the Astor Library stands); 14th street, between Third and Sixth avenues, and Broadway, between 24th and 33d streets, are to have wider roadways and be relieved of encroachments as well. All these blocks are now devoted to business. Most of them last their stand¬ ing as residential streets many years ago, but in numerous cases stoops, areas and cellar steps of former dweUings survive to make the "encroachments" which are now deemed a hindrance to traflic, and which it is the policy of the Borough President to recover for public use. So well justifled in the puhlic mind is this policy that no objections have been made to the proceedings in the Board of Estimate on the part of property owners, except in two or three instances. In the case of East 14th street, the Gerraan Savings Bank and the Steinways opposed the improvement without avail, and pro¬ tests have also been made in the case of Ann street. In the past the city, from time to time, allowed much latitude for encroachments. For example, the Astor Library building During ail the years that llth street has been a retail trade center, with thou¬ sands of people thronging it daily, some flagrant instances of architectural irregu¬ larities have been tolerated. In one case an amusement hall occupies just one-half of the sidewalk space, or fifteen feet. There are other encroachments of flve to ten feet on the north side, while on the south side, between Fifth and Sixth ave- BROADWAY, NORTH PROM 24TH STREET, has a double flight of steps which takes up more than one-half of the sidewalk in Lafayette street. On the same block the DeVinne Building has a platform which takes 13.5 feet of the sidewalk space for a distance of about 90 feet. A chiropo¬ dist's building considerately shares half the sidewalk with the public, and in front of old No. 28 steps encroach 12 feet over the line. Lafayette street is legally 100 feet wide. The roadway is now 40 feet In width, and the sidewalks 30 feet where they are clear of encroachments. The roadway is to be made 55 feet wide and the sidewalks are to be reduced to 22 feet and 6 inches each. But as this sidewalk space is to be entirely clear under the new dispensa¬ tion, there will actually be more room than before for public use. FULTON STREET, PROM WILLIAM TO BROADWAY. nues, there is a continuous show window extending more than 300 feet and pro¬ jecting over four feet into the street. THE SUBWAY KIOSKS. There are six subway entrances occupy¬ ing the sidewalks of this street. At the southeast corner of Fourth avenue only eleven feet of available sidewalk is left between the subway entrance and the steps of the Germania Savings Bank. On the opposite side of Mth street 12.5 feet is left between the subway structure and the basement steps of the corner build¬ ing. The buildings encroach 10 to 11 feet in each case. Fourteenth street being 100 feet wide, the intention is to widen the roadway from 40 to 53 feet, and give each sidewalk a clear space of 23.5 feet. . CENTRAL BROADWAY. Broadway, between Madison and Gree¬ ley squares, is 75 feet in width, with a roadway of about 39 feet and sidewalks of IS feet. It is proposed to widen the roadway to 43 feet and leave sidewalks of 16 feet. The encroachments on this street are not so conspicuous as on the streets covered by the other resolutions. The .abutting owners have for the most part realized that all the sidewalk space was required for traflic, TTie worst encroach¬ ment is that of the entrance to Wailach's Theatre, which extends nearly eight feet beyond the building line, leaving only about ten feet available for public use. At the northeast corner of 2oth street an entrance to a building takes 7 feet from the sidewalk and leaves but 11 feet free. Between 25th t» 29th streets there are scarcely any encroachments, except show windows. On every other block, except the one along Greeley square, there are projections of from 3 to nearly 7 feet of various kinds. AT TIMES SQUARE. Broadway and Seventh avenue, from 42d to 47th streets, are each 100 feet in width, with roadways of 60 feet each.