The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-08-31


Houston streets (southl and Second avenue, OF
which Tompkins square, grassiess ten acres, con-
Of le reports OF the Board OF Health is aware that
Fourth street east OF the Bowery dying within this
the centres In which more or less fatal
endemic diarrrhGa has been originated,
thence spreading In all directions, and
disease being no matter OF accident The causes or
this unhealtniness remain to De investigated. The
street from the B0wery east slopes almost abruptly
and IL very badly paved, maklug II centre 10 be
marked on sanitary maps with terribly lndIcative
red INK albeit III The latter respect " Is IN no worse
CONDITION than the remainder Of the district WITHIN
which II lies. The district traversed east OF the
square by avenues B, and ID, tban which three
drtier aud more offensive thoroughiares II would be
difficult to specifyavenue A, which lies west OF the
square, vying with its apnaDetic cOfJJereS In Inc
matter Of oiensveness both to the SIGHT and TO the
nOstrS. Irayeised by street railroads, the exist
ance OF which on any thoroughfare Always proves
fatal to gOOo pavement, creating q depressed line IN
the middle OF the street. description or the cond-
ton OF these avenues might be spun out and woven
into volume OF sickeninx details. The original
pave broken up Dy tracks, is covered with bhsters
Of depressed surface, Tiled In with garbage, walie
the cross streets, with couple Of exceptions,
are equally objectionable ResOrtlng to numerl-
Cal count forty OF pestnoles depressed
surface, 1llcd with garbage saturated with water,
were counted on the Snort space OF fifteen squares,
with an average OF course, OF about three to
square-sometilues more and i'll lew cases less
The pavement is mostly CoDDle stone, through which
the percoaton OF nth is easy and besides oeing u-
even Is DISTURBED ana loose In many places. a
fourth ana upper district consisting OF al elongated
ribbon or lana between Second avenue aud tue EasC
Of the city, and may oe RANKED as neither better nor
worse with the exception OF Few favored squares,
than either or the districts previously mentioned In
fact, generally Speaking throughout the eastern
belt from OK street TO Harlem between the boNeTy
and TGird avenue line and the East RIVER, tne sur
face condition OF tie streets Is deplorable ana
almost without parallel. in more than two
thirds OF tile whole length Of linea feet
represented the most obvious condition OF
u good pavement--that OF adequate watershed
from che middle 10 the gutter Ia neglected; and
very frequently, where this condition is act wanting
no Tll
admit OF the Tree passage oi wafer 20 tbs sewer
TAKEN together, there Is crammed and crowded upon
this belt divided into the districts ABOVE mentioned
oy the general street conhgulation OF the city, noG
less than one-ialr It's wnole leslIenG population.
us average to the square, section Tor section Is Toll
six to seven times tnat ot titl avenue. Tenement
houses OF from talee TO seven stories IN height
congested with pupualion from cellar TO garrett
mere Catacoinbs Iii winch humanity burrows for
want OF q better Durrowng place. Blear and paid
faces look up ut you nom cellars as you pass; Layers
Of hdmlnity, story upon story peer down upon you
from little windows, and armies OF human diminu
tives scan You from sidewalk ana gutter. Every
story Is box OF human sardInes on small scale;
every apartment Is a box Of human sardines on
still smaller scale. Without and within
there Is the same Od0r OF tenant house rot; and yet
In this desely populated portion OF the city the very
pavement constitutes Ill ITSELF and is permitted to
constitute, prolific source Of disease. whie thou
sands Oh dollars are expended on healthier thorough
fares with very pasSuOie aud wholesome rOadways.
1t 10 grated mat II IL very difficult to keep cob
bic stone surface In good repair, particularly on
streets where there Is any appreciable heavy
trauic. one OF the first necessities Of the case
l. the cessation OF the system OF laying the
Belgian surface upon q r0adDed OF sand and the
adoption OF the most improved modern bed for the
upper structure. Tnls is tribe more expensive to
begin with; but, as good Belgian structure on
Concrete roadbed may De made TO last under ordinary
conditions, Tor ten years without appreciable re.
pairs, it Is least expensive in the end sound
structure once put down, the money which would
naturally be expended In the yearly repair OF an
sound and unsclenttlC structure might be diverted
10 the yearly replacing the cObbe s.Ono with some
thing betier In most streets within the district de-
upper structure OF stone would answer the pur-
pose, and this Icing 1mperlneable by water might
manifest advantage. An excslient and durable
roadway OF this kind ought not to cost over
81 30 per square yard, and could not fail to answer
all the SANITARY conditions imposed in the solution
OF the problem. In fact, the DAY is at hand when
by improved modera methods, u good concrete can
less than 81 20 per square yard, which rate half
million year would replace every square yard Of
cobble stone LII en- years.
me CENTRAL DISTRICT,
an irregular quadrangle. bounded by Bond street
the morrill, by the B0wery the east, by the line
south and BY Brosdway on the west, is worth atten-
ton illustrative OF the subject. This, again, con-
face OF the metropolis, and ia mostly paved with
cObDle stone vita the exception OF Its great tho
rOughiares. The surface condition OF Mulberry street
may be taken as an example OF the average condition
or the whole district. From Prince street TO Its
southern terminal this avenue OF tenant house popu
latlon caunot boast OF single square Of wholesome
surface; aud In dozen places the cutters SO d.
lapiGated that they could be Of no earthly
the intervening pave In the very best condition. For
rods together they are land all summer have beenl
sla2nant rlvulets OF fifth. At numerous points the
surface OF the street at the middle Is on q plane
lower than that OF the gutter at other points depres
sl0ns appear varying In depth and capable Of the
formation OF little lakelcs OF from to three cubic
feet OF water covered with Shiny O0ze and percoat-
Ing gradually, filth included into the soil beneath.
Baxter street is in rather worse condition. Mott
to the square with Mulberry Centre street, the mid
die tnoroughiare Of the district owing TO the pres
be- worse IN fact creating division not Of w te
pave bounded by iron either side In
parallel lines the existence OF city railroad ls fatal
TO wholesolneness o. pavement In the nature Of
the case the rain fall between the tracks finds no
avenue Of escape except. BY percolaton, which, for
AID the day cannot but ne near ct hand When the
city railroads VIII be compelled TO submit TO the
arcade system, surface railroads being simply the
germ out OF which most comnodious and less Oh
truslve system OF popular circulation is to be dcve-
oped. Elizabeth street constitutes third line TO
be noticed IN this connection, and, taking Mulberry
as O standard, must be pronounced rather above the
average; and again. Elm street is worth note IN
point vi EMBELLISHMENTS and broSenness OF sur
face. In word, saving a few hundred yards at the
end enjoying into broadway where decent pave
has been INDUCED in rs luxury, Tor aesthetic req
SOUS probably, the surface OF this district il In
nearly as bad condition as that of the district
nGst mentioned, anu stands sadly In need OF
renewal or regeneration. Owing to climatic
causes In this latitude it is next TO impossible 10
keep cobbe stone pavement in perfect repair; but
great deal may (or might be done by thoroughnes5
III repairing which, even when o pavement 10 con-
structcd on bad principles Is q conservative and
sanitary agent not TO be overvalued. situated IN
the very centre OF this cty-a rotten borough. to
apply political metaphor-this district includes Ia
Itself three or four disease centres according TO the
sanitary maps and besides beng overcro 9ded con-
stutes In Itself OF city refuge for the worst
social and moral oflal evolved by the great metropo.
liz. The very beet pavement here would hardly
prove sufficient to prevent summer cpidemlcs, with
the very best cleansing. What shall ba said OF the
very worst, with the very worst c,eaning only re-
peated weekly at THAR Portions Of this district are
among the most densely populated in the city, the
buildings, speaking from al average standard. are
OF the worst and most unhealthy order old, diiopi.
dated, mlldewed aud unyentllatedj th9 Situation
i5 of the who'll eo city yS' treeseess ana sltry
Ii 'Rs Very csaife q diseased sSssen b neay'
this central district tainting every adjacen; oc!s.
uon with faint OF pestllential humidity and
ioulness II is granted that for aesthetic rea-