Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 89, no. 2297]: March 23, 1912

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MARCH 23, 1912 MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BRONX. A City of the Rank of Galveston is Built Each Year in the Borough—^ Varied Activities Induced by an Annual Growth of 35,000 in Population. The flrst part of this article was printed last week. It dealt especially with local Improvements and contaioed a map show¬ ing the legal status of all streets in the Bronx with respect to street opening pro¬ ceedings. Hishway Maintenance. THE streets, when finished, are kept in good condition. Until two years ago, it was the practice in the Bronx to allay dust by water sprinkling. In order to keep down the dust in hot weather, it waa necessary to sprinkle the streets -twice a day. This required a very iarge equipment and was not satisfactory even then. The cost of water sprinkling, in¬ cluding water, is $.052 per square yard per year. During 1910 a small quantity of road oil was purchased and experi¬ ments were made with oil sprinkling. The results were so satisfactory that a very much larger quantity of oil was pur¬ chased for use during 1911. Oil sprinkling, as well as water sprink¬ ling, v>^as generally confined to streets having a water-bound macadam pave¬ ment. The appropriations have never been stiflicient to sprinkle dirt roads. year by year as additional applications of oil are made. Totnl Assessment AVork. Before leaving the subject of local im¬ provements reference may be made to a statement by the Board of Estimate, giv¬ ing [he value of all such improvements ■authorized by the board and for which assessment Hsts have been returned to the Board of Assessors. The statement includes two tables, one for the year ended December 31, 1910, and one for the year ended December 31, 1911. Columns 1 and 2 in the tables give the total value of the work that the Board passed upon. This total appears in col¬ umn 3 under the heading of "Total Com¬ mitments." By comparing the value of the work finally authorized for the Bronx with that of other boroughs, it will be seen that the Bronx has advanced to final authorization a greater proportion of its total commitments than any other borough in either 1910 or 1911, with ihe exception of Manhattan during the last year. Comparing the money value represent¬ ed by the assessment lists forwarded to representing the cost of the first contract for the extension of Westchester avenue from Main street to Eastern boulevard, is deferred by the direction of the' Board of Assessors, which desires that one assess¬ ment list he made covering the original contract and the completing contract for this improvement. The latter contract is not J'et completed. The assessment lists for work representing about $75,0U0 has just been forwarded to the Board of As¬ sessors. This leaves a' balance of about $165,000 representing work completed and upon which draughtsmen and computers are engaged in making the assessment lists for forwarding. The tables, therefore, show not only that the borough administration of the Bronx has been active in furthering local improvements, but that it has promptly turned in assessmeni lists for confirma¬ tion and collections, a matter of import¬ ance, as delay in turning in assessments means needless payments of interest on borrowing capital, Pnblic Improvements. As a member of the Board of Estimate, the Borough President exercises an in- PROGRESS PHOTOGRAPHS OP WHITE PLAINS AVENUE SEWER. Tbe camera is used to record the status of construction jobs on suoli dates as are mentioned in contracts for the completion of a part or the whole ol a work. The photographs serve as evidence ia connection with flnanciai settlements with contractors. However, these have, as a rule, a com¬ paratively small amount of traflic. . One application of bituminous dust lay¬ er is ail that was made last year. The method of doing the work ia to sprinkle the oil over one-half of the wjdtih of the roadway and to cover that the following day with a coarse sand. This does away, to a large extent, with the main objec¬ tion to the use of oil on roads, namely, the tracldng of it into houses, A day or two later, tlie other half of the street is sprinkled and covered with sand. By this method, the portion of the street not cov¬ ered with oil during the first sprinkling is open to traffic, so that vehicles do not need to pass OA'er the oil before it is cov¬ ered with sand. Experience has shown that the oil treatment not only allays the dust but forms a bituminous surface over the entire street which is more or less impervious to water, and which with a certain amount of use forms a surface cwhich is almost as smooth as asphalt. Practically all of the macadam roads in 'the borough have been treated by this process, and the results are most satis¬ factory. These streets are in fairly good condition even aCter having passed through the winter. The cost of the oil sprinkling is J.03 per square yard a year, as against $.052 for water sprinkling. It therefore not only gives better results, but It is more economical. It is believed that the sur¬ face of the roads will continue to improve the Board of Assessors, it will be seen that in 1910 the Bronx turned in lists representing practically $4,000,000, or more than all the other boroughs com¬ bined, and in 1911 assessment lists repre¬ senting about $2,734,000, or more than any other borough. The money value of completed works in the Bronx for which assessment lists have not been forwarded is only about $330,000. Of this amount, about $90,000, fluence also on public improvements, which, unlike local improvements are paid for by the city. As a member of the Board, he is, indeed, in a position to serve the interests of his borough, as well as of the city, in a variety of important matters. By way of illustration, it may be noted that Mr. Miller was largely in¬ strumental in having the New York Cen¬ tral Bridge across the Harlem niver at the terminus of the Ninth Avenue Ele- Outstanding Preliminary Eorough. Authorizations. Manhattan ■.____$ 151,000 00 Brooklyn ....... 689,600 00 The Bronx ..... 634,000 00 Queens ......... 511,400 00 Richmond ...... 195,400 00 Totals ..'.. .".$2,182,000 00 Outstanding Preliminary Borough. Authorizations. Manhattan .....$ 58,400 00 Brooklyn ....... 1,154,100 00 The Brnox...... 500,400 00 Queens ......... 892,100 00 Richmond ...... 186,100 00 Total ......$2,791,100 00 TABLE 1. Final Authorizations in 1910. $ 435,100 00 2,402,500 00 2,111,300 00 1,272,800 00 120,200 00 $6,341,900 00 TABLE 2, Final Authorizations in 1911. $ 551.000 00 2,8.87,400 00 2,278,800 00 949,700 00 237,600 00 Total Commitments. $ 586,100 00 3.092,100 00 2,745,900 OO 1,7S4,200 00 315,600 00 Assessment Lists Returned. $ 243,503 43 1,340,890 34 3,903,534 67 833,(i23 9(i 105,310 56 $8,523,900 00 $6,491,862 96 Total Commitments. $ 609,400 UO 3,991,500 00 2,779,200 00 1.832,S00 00 423,700 00 Assessment Lists Returned. $ 551, asO 78 2,731,184 35 2,733,970 .57 543,983 63 583,656 16 $6,845,500 Op $9,636,600 00 $7,144,475 49