The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-02-24

carts and carriages, going up or down Broad
way, have been forcedly stationary. They
cannot move either way 80 long a. the horse
and cart are there. In long moarnful lines,
on either side the wall, they wait patiently,
the drivers chatting pleasantly with each other,
and specializing whether it will take them one
hour or two 20 travel from the Park to the
South ferry. In some places, the wheeled We
hicles have asserted their rights to the pave
ment as well as the roadway. Opposite Trinity
church and FOR some distance up Broadway
along the Bowling Green, and in many other
places, carts and omnibuses have taken pos
session of the sidewalk, and pedestrians must
be careful in passing that way not to get
squeezed between the houses and the wheels
A lady, yesterday morning, had narrow
escape against the rails Of Trinity church
yard; of course there was NO policeman any
where near.
Now, it certainly was not the intention Of
the trainers of the city charter and the muni7
cipal ordinances that, under any combination
of circumstances, Broadway ever could sink
into the woful condition in which it now
stands. There must be laws to prevent such
scandalous infamy; there must be officers
whose duty it is to prevent the streets becom-
ing nuisance, and who must have grossly neg
lected that duty this year. We have Mayor
and Street Commissioner, and some Thousand
policemen; all Of them, more or less, directly
charged with the business of keeping the
streets in order. What have they done?
Uhor Tho on ON, frc tho Mayor unu III
not allow the city railroads to clear their
tracks by shovelling the snow into heaps; they
were obliged to cart away the snow, and the
Third avenue road alone paid over 81, 600 for
this item. How comes it that the Mayor allows
the ice from the cutters and sidewalks to be
piled up in the middle of the street? If it was
unjustifable for the railways to pile up snow
banks in the streets in January, it is much
more uDjustifable for the Street Commissioner
to pile them up in the very middle Of Broad
way during the present thaw.
No ordinance Of the city is better under
stood than the one ordering people to clean
away snow and ice from before their doors.
The policemen are especially charged with the
execution Of this ordinance. Yet it is fact
that many persons have wholly neglected to
clear away the snow and ice from before their
doors--have never been punished therefor
and at this moment incommode their neigh
bors by the melting Of the snow. The fact
confirms the innpression-now rapidly gaining
ground-tha. the police have fallen back into
as miserable a state OF inefjciency as ever.
and we have a Street Commissioner What
the occupation of this worthy may be, the
public would be curious to learn. What his
duties are, we all know; aud how they are
neglected, we are also most painfully made
aware. But how he spends his time-what he
does for the money he gets from the city-it
appears wonderfully puzzlirg matter to dis
cover. It would be happy and ameritorious
act if some member of the Common Council
would, in view of the horrible condition of
Broadway. inpeach the Commissioner of
Streets on charge of malfeasance. Such a
proceeding might spur him to exertion; and
most certainly the author of such q prosecu-
ton would earn no small popularity thereby,
besides having the proud satisfaction Of per-
forming an act of great good to the public.