The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-08-21
TABLE OF THE COST or NEW BUILDINGS IN TIL
Street Department-The Way the People
are Syvindled and Robbed.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK


The repor. Of the Street Commissioner, with
regard to opening, regulating, &c, o. the
streets ana avenues for the years 1850 and 1851,
reluctantly made By him in compliance with q
resolution Of the Common Council, rs offered by
Alderman Barr, Of the Sixth ward Z su happy to
say has at length made its appearance, aud a
precious document i Is truly. "a copy Of it
should at once be plsccd h tue hands Of every as
sessm aris payer in the nd county Of New orE
that they might see anc Understand FOR themselves
how ana 70 what extent .hey daily robbed and
bamboozled by this department, and tEat the COM
plants and charges of frsu6 and unfair dealing,
heretofore made against said department. comes far
short Of the whole truth, and is disgrace to the
city government, AID an injustice &c its citizens
that should nc longer be tolerated. To that end,
l think, you will agree with me that the Common
Council should at once order the requisite number
ofcopies to be struck OF, snd due notice given
where they could be obtained.
viii, with your permission, beg tie attention Of
the public &c I'VE particular points iu two or
three Of tic statements made by the Street Com
missioner In this report, and eAclcsa the document
for your further and more thorough examination.
Take, fer instance. the statemeut or page 500
for regulating Thirty-ffth street from First
to Second svenua, dated February l6, 1850.
You will Gnd that estiu&.crs for this par
ticular contract, were required 20 put il
their estimates for Furnishing n!ce thousand cubic
yards Of Cling and for building seveltvfvo feet CT
culve;t. This Is al they were to estimate f3r-no
more nc less. 1t will lot, / sprTeheao, te denied
that ary competent surveyor ca, or may, with his
iIstruir ents, 1T a-y .ie arrive at The exact r1m
be- Of yards Of material required, necessary &c 90
removed, il order 20 resucs given area 70 q GER
tain line grade, or level TIE Street Coruussioner
himself will ofcourse, adrait this uuch, that We
understand exactly .sc awouut Of 9cth required to
complete the jub under gsl6crat .cn. 1t appears
there are ten estimatcrs for this work. their bids
ranging from sixteen forty-eiEht cents per cubic
YARD for furnishing the filing, and FROM dollar
dollar and ninety five cents per foot for build
Jog tho culveIt, and the contract is awarded 20 Mr.
John Lynch, who agrees 10 complete the work in
four months. for ono thousand five hundred and
siyty-seven dollars and fifty cents (Sl,56i SOY:
or. other words, for sixteen cents Per yard for
filling. and one hundred ana seycrty cents Per foot
for calvert.
Nov. let us see how the matter foots up. upon the
completion Of the work. We fad he gets paid, ao
co,ding to the returns, for s02 cubic yards Of
earl excavation six cents per yard-he being the
only one Of the ten osimators who estimated at al
for earth excavation. az none was specified by the
Commissioner. He gets paid also for 3,il6 cubic
yards Of rock excavation forty cents per yard, &C
cofding to his bid, though none is specified by the
department, yet eight Of the ten estirnaors put in
bids for it; and he also gets paid for zoos feet
OF curb and gutter, neither specified by tho
Commissioners, nor estimated Tor, as you viii per-
eeive by any one OF the ten esimatos, eighty seven
cente per foot, find by calculating the several
returns above by bis several bids thereon. when the
common ordinary price per foot for curb and gut
ter ranges from forty eight tn sixty cents Gs you
will find on references TO other estimates throughout
the document. And 10 IS further paid Tor furnish
log is6 cubic yards Of Cling, 10 place Of 5000, as
agreed upon; and for ro-settng II feet curb and
gutter not specified or estimated for and also for
6uilIiDc I03 feet of euveIt- making sum total Of
(Si.Ie0 2G) four Thousand one hundred aud sixty
26 100 dolars--(S2 592 76) two thousand five hun
dred and nrety.two 70 100 dollars over and above
his bid.
Now sir the query is, where this Eve or six thou
sand wards of excavation ana two thousand feet
of carb and gltter comes FROM Den tic Street Com
missioner tells us in his specification, Tor cur esti-
mates, that lie requires zoe 3aEe- q hans oa.ly,
ADD about - feet Of cuvcrt 70 regulate thirty eth
street. between Eirst and Second avenues, as re-
qurt O. or rs be wac authorized 70 Auye Il done 1t
Ina- bc said tbC grade was subsequently changed,
und necessarily carried with IL those alterations
Admit IL From whence docs tic Street Commits
,iorcr derive the power or rkb t. ace two three
ia 1usaE0 collars vC-th q curb ano gutter, or any
other matter or material Lot puocl specified and
estimated for, 10 cortroct. Ut h's Or the con
TRACTORS prict Gs understood between them, or in
any other way. when such power right is ex-
pressly Withheld in section 492 title 'hird, CT the
ordinance orcaEiziDg the departments ~ the NUM-
cipal government, rs ~eli = " IRE ce@mon sense
Of any boncst non, and the true interest oftho
whole coumunity9 The rerort abouUds With items
Of this character, and you en- judge for yourself
how well the public interest u cared for in the
Street Commissioners Department
The next statement shall roticc, VIII 20 found
on page t92, for paving Third avenue from Ihir-
ty-cighh TO Fortieth street. dated August ~, lSoi
Here we find seven estimators putting ~ their nids
for oxcaratiDg bco YARDS OF EARN auo lor iutbish
ING 400 wards OF gravel; for excevatiug 100 yards OF
rocs, (cubic yards Of cause) and for laying 3,2IS
superficial aids of psvement resetting $50 ieet OF
cub and gutter; and furnishing aud laying ,692
feet e brioge stone. according TO tue sIeclnauon
~ tile Street Commissioner. Among others. MIR. i.
Cas- PUTS in a bid Whereby be offers 20 complete
All he above work, except the bridge, grats-that
is for nothing. For The hrloge ~ wants VI ia
cents rcr foot for which tie ordinary PRICE ranges
ifon 70 10 80 cents The thing arp srs oil very
fair nnd correct AID Mr. Casey gets the job. IL
msy turn out all right and fair, bat you VIII OBJ
scl1c c work il returned III our erort as not COM
Ilotcd az Tor this very reason We claim the right
% inquire. what object uoi'e Mr. Casey could
have possibly had in oflerrg a ID va tins
Ic,L80f fon-aud W. IL j. that bldg OF
lbs character ard form are rot rejected by
the department. at once. as cut a. c'der, con-
may 70 ire urdipsry rules rid customs 10 such
1N.tEi hhQ a. wearing uIOu ite face si-Tncious
a.rc'. folution &C the problem - found upon
tt@lN eyey ge q the tctort, ~ h. shametol. and
a. 10 bets Vi, ~ many cssca It'll dscrcn tnces