The New York herald., 1879-12-09
FALLEN WALLS
Engineer TOwle'S Opinion Of the Third
Avenue "Accident."
sHlRKlNG THE RESPONSIBILITY.
A Suit Against the City and a Five
Dollar Note for Costs.

Thomas and Michael Duffy are brothers and build
ers. Their Office is at No. 1850 Third avenue and
their field of operations is mainly restricted to the
Nineteenth ward. At least two hundred buildings
have sprung into existence at their bidding. and
some few of them have crumbled 20 earth again
without consulting the wishes of the Duffy brothers
at all. About eighteen months ago they erect
ing row of sixteen buildings in Lexington avenue.
between Ninety-fourth and Ninety-fth streets. but
the floods descended and the winds came and
beat upon that enterprise. and great was the
fall OF it. Their last operation III Third
avenue. between 1O1st and 1O2d streets. Five
houses intended for stores. and numbered
from 1883 to 1,s46. came up like the grass and
looked proudly down from fve stories Of brown
stone front upon the surrounding fats. Saturday
night will be remembered a stormy one. and in
tho diary of the Dufys will stand as night Of deep
disasters of second Waterloo in the history OF
their enterprises. At midnight there was mighty
crash and the fronts of Nos. 1s3s. 1.s40 and l842
assumed sitting attitude upon the street For
tunately there there for them to sit upon
or there would have been coroners inquestand
more public interest in the accident than there Is.
WHO Is RESPONSIBLE?
Somebody to blame for all that waste Of brown
stone and iron columns and no one felt the fact
more keenly than the Dufys themselves They an-
nounced their intention Of suing the city. and de-
clared to HERALD reporter Sunday that the
sewers upon that block had burst and flooded the
cellars They supposed the foundations Of one Of
the iron columns had been washed away. Thomas
Duffy said he had applied to the Department Of Pub
lie Works again and again, but attention had been
paid to the matter.
A reporter called yesterday at the Bureau Of
Sewers to ask an explanation Of this seeming off,
ciai neglect The engineer. Mr.. Stevenson Towle.
remarked, with some alacrity, II have just been to
the bottom Of that Third avenue accident"
There was a good English accent the last word.
and the reporter inquired:-"Do you mean to admit
that it was not an accident?
al do" said Mr.. Towle. land mean to admit
further that the Department of Public Works Is not
responsible but that the Departmental Of Buildings is.
Those Duffy Brothers have given more trouble
Than almost any other builders in New York. They
put up buildings for little money possible and
sell them for all they can get. They are going to
shield the Building Department. all they and try
to throw the responsibility our shoulders. We
mean to give them the worst showing up they ever
had You know they put up those buildings in Lex
fngton avenue that fell down before completion
while ago. They have been building great many
years and 1t Is wonder that more OF their build
ings don't fall to the ground"
"Is there anything wrong with the sewer ON that
blockf"
mot in that block. The sewer only runs back to
Ninety-ninth street and it empties into main
at l0Gth street In putting down one OF its founds
road Company digging far below the depth of the
vewer lett sagging which obstructed the sewer and
has given q great deal of trouble. The company
has repaired 1t several times and the only way to
make it good is to keep on repairing 1t. But the
are wilderness and tho obstruction don't hurt any
body. In the next block there only four five
building and there are no distractions below: The
sewer had nothing whatever to do with the fall"
"Have you proved that?'
Eyes, by Investigations both yesterday and to-day.
have inst come from there, and had some Of my
men employed i'll the examination. There is
break in the 1T ALL and, what is moro. the
buildings are not connected with the sewer"
why do you suppose they deferred that?'
.'They would defer anything that costs money
the sewer afterward."
as that done often?'' asked the reporter to whom
any method OF defraudng tho city a discov-
cry more important than Schliemann's.
lit is tried often enough" answered Mr.. Towle.
sand sometimes 1t is accomplished
ANOTHER ASPECT CASE.
Having shown that the Department Of Public
duced his evidence prove that the responsibility
lay with the Department of Buildings. He took up
from the table q; piece OF mortar. % which was care
how the lightest touch would cause 1t to crumble
Il brought this with me from my inspection this
morning." said he. You can the pieces OF
brick in it, There is adhesion in the stuff ALL"
1t was pretty bad. even to the eye Of one inexpe-
. handful of wet sand. Nothing more. As the re-
porter pushed it with his forefnger it separated
like snow. Then he asked Mr.. Towle. what is the
'why. it is the cheapest stuff that could be made
and passed off tor mortar. had the greatest diff
Guilty in bringing it entire to my office. There Is
scarcely any lime Ill it, and 1t ought to be onethird
lime. according to the building laws. Then 1t is
made OF fine sand and not of sharp grit. Think of
mortar like that having to stand the weight of i've
stories of twelve inch brick wall. making strain Of
about hve hundred tons.
Ibid you go into tho cellarsr'
Mr. Towle held up one OF his feet in answer to the
question. pointing TO streaks OF mud which were
mistakably from Harlem cellar.
Ibid you see any water theres'
None at all this morning. below tho buildings
Ibid not the foundations give way because they
were foodedr'
'.Yes; and will tell you why they were flooded.
Back OF these buildings is hill. almost high
the buildings themselves. Any that came into
those cellars must have drained of that hill.
There was nothing to prevent its going into
thc cellars. There was nothing to prevent
Jhe rain falling into the building. the windows
we're all open. And in such storm that of Sat
nrday night the water would have got in behind the
walls Now let me tell You how the foundations
cenicnts mortar should be used in the building of
found tion walls. 1t must stand tensile strain of
1oe pounds. according to our standard. will show
ycu some OF it,, and Mr.. Towc brought from
other part OF the Office three pieces OF cement
3&O and $40 pounds.
'Do YOU know that the DufIys did not uso cement
mortar = asked the reporter.
''lcs; know IL. because saw what they did use.
Ihen again the law requires that under iron col
umii such as they put into these buildings, there
shall DC bond stones put in every thirty inches of
the foundation wall. They did not conform to this
either"
Mr.. Towle now showed the reporter two pieces of
iron which. he said, portions of one OF the
columns that went to pieces in the fall. This
10 piece OF the 'front.'" said he, 'for
you it is painted. IL is about three
eghths Of an inch thick, and the law requires that
1t should be an inch. This other piece was OF the
buck OF the column. and 1t. too is only ye-eiphths
Of an inch thick. Just look at the kind OF iron
usedi"
I'he renorter examined tho n,et.i ,vh,.h ,-.. -
uneven thickness. No one who saw IL could fail to
agree with MIR. Towle's wonderment that such
''pipe stems" " lie called thom should bo expected
TO support four stories OF brick WALL
Mr. To .ued-