New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-06-09
HARLEM FLATS NUISANCE.

III Il
FACTS BEFORE THE POLICE COMMISSIONERS.
,sr,T1ov FROM CITIZENS OF YORKvIILE-A PEsTI-
IENCE DECLARED TO BIZ MISUNDERSTANDING
or POLICE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MET IN DUMP
ING STREET REFUSE IN THE OCEAN.
More than usual interest was taken in the
Meeting of the Board Police yesterday as the police
surgeons had been asked send their opinions inre
gard the filling In Of the Harlem fats The deputy III
spector OF Streecleanng offered report couh'crssnou
BY Inspector Thorne in which be stated that the oruer
the Board that should be unoaded OF garpase
and refuse within the limits Of the city, but must DC
t.ten IN sea was obeyed on Saturday. The were
lowed down between Concy Island and Sandy Hook
Point and there the men began TO unload them Inc sea
was running high. The men became sea-sick ana inc
captain got the towing lines entangled SO that
the scows hardly manageable BY the tme the
scows had been about half emptied it was deemed dan
eerous to stay there any longer and the sc"ws were
lowed back to the city with only half their contents o
charged The report referred TO the Cnairmah vi
the street cleaning Committee.
Citizens OF Yorkve sent in long petition in regard
70 the ning of the Harlem fats They declared that
Che method which had followed in filling in these
fats had deprecated the price OF property in this neigh
borhood and that tenants quitting the locality be-
cause they feared sickness and pestilcnce Commis-
soner voorhs asked IL the petition was TO be referred
70 the STRENGTHENING Committee. Commissioner Dis
cleaning Committee has to do about the matter Ihe
cleaning Committee has nothing whatever to do
with the filing Of any lots. They simply clean the
streets dispose OF the refuse the best way that they
on" Commissioner Smith moved that the petition be
placed on file, and the motion carried 1t was voted
that the Twelfth Twentythird and Twentyfourth Wards
~ EXEMPTED from the order compelling the street
cleaning TO be done at night.
Commissioner voorhis called for the reading Of the
statements made by each of the police surgeons in ea-
ton TO the condition of the Harlem flats, and the mate
rial used for filling them in DR. Thomas, who has lived
IN the neighborhood of the flats for years. and who
IL surgeon Of the Twenty third Precinct made subsan-
TALLY the following statement
tits my opinion that the system OF retaining sunken
marshy lands is founded on uDsccn'inc prncpes Is
detrimental to health, and not III harmony with sound
rules of economy. Ii is the system which has given us
many unhealthy o. 0nr b eow de
tion of the Health Department Although the bulk OF tne
favor the system because the same is true of the
Inhabitants Of the rice swamps OF the South or the Jun
Park was properly reclaimed with sand and pure loan.
when secondave was graded about 20 years ago, the
work stopped the ebb and flow of the quickly succeeding
tides the flats, causing large amount OI niny
water to remain stagnant This made steneh %1 tn
difficulty the work of filling those parts OF the Hats with
street refuse ana Se mass o ,S Sp wnds IN area Of the
city within mile and half Is aicted win me Odor OF
decomp3sing organic mater dnlea MIN H., ipHie iS,
stencil an outrage simple decency.
In view OF the tnOrmltN Oh the tNil III
leave 10 suggest IA simple remedy. Let the Board OF
Health exercise the extraordinary powers which they
POSSESS of dealing vigorously with public nuisances,
Whenever the health OF any portion OF the city Is seriously
impaired sufficient quantity of coal tar any other
powerful disinfectan to saturate the entire area OF
these deposits OF street refuse and garbage should he
used there Coaltar is cheap substance. Ii is used
I'm the construction of street pavements II Is strong
penetrating disinfectant and antSephc One barrel OF
this might he spread every 10 feet square OF
surface which would i'll my opinion b sufficient to neu
traze the underlying strata of mpurity TINS accom-
phshed then the whole surface of the flats should be
\. liar al
least two feet above high tide
Other reports read of the physicians holding
rigdy their views expressed In their original re-
port and others claiming that they relied solely upon the
representations for their facts in signing the
document The physicians presenting statements were :
Drs T. W. Mcdonald, George Seinert, Hans Powell, W.
H. Ensign John Ii. Dorm, Charles Phelps. Hamilton
Walker, X. f. Maclennan. L. +. Fetter. and +. L. Sat
terlee.
After Chief Clerk Hawley had finished reading the
statements Of the surgeons Commissioner Voorhs moved
that entire question he laid the table to enable
the subject be taken up again. and 10 receive such
other reports the other surgeons may wish TO make
who not yet expressed their opinions This was
carried, and the Board adjourned.