The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-07-17
Disgusting Condition of the Fourth
and Eleventh Precincts.
HOTBEDS OF DISEASE.
Failure to Enforce the Sanitary Ordinances Among
the Tenement Population
HOW TO REMEDY THE EVIL.

view of the districts of the city. the condition
of whose thoroughfares exposed IN the HERALD
Of yesterday. does not reveal many signs of read-
ness on the part Of members Of the Police Depart
ment to remedy the abuses and nuisances in those
districts which have been kindly made known to
them. Probably there no two precincts in the
city which justly illustrate the little which
is now bestowed the streets generally than the
Fourth and Eleventh. reporter followed yesterday
in the footsteps Of the members of the HERALD staff
who had inspected the thoroughfares of these dis
tricts the previous day and failed to discover
single instance in which the accumulations of filth
that were complained of did Lot continue to exist
Careful inquiry made Of householders and
tenants and they were unanimous in testifying
to the indifference of the authorities their petitions
and complaints. Said one woman typical of the ag-
grieved, "Whats the of spakin' ter the cop ?
He tells yer ter mind yer business. an that's all.
He don't want ter be trbbled wuth the matther why
should we be after disturbin of imp The char
acter Of the population in these districts is. of
course, unfavorablo to cleanliness, but to judge
from observation the police to take for granted
that it completely obviates their responsibility
in respect to tho enforcement of the ordinances and
the health regulations.
Thinking that specimen of the poor and much
abused class of street sweepers would know good
deal about this phase of the subject from his
tact with both the tenants and the po-
lice the reporter accosted one Of the
profession in the vicinity of Franklin square. So
much Of his face could be deserted through in
crustation Of dust. which, by the way. quilted by
torrents of perspiration indicated that he
considerable intelligence. When asked why it was
that the streets seemed never to be thoroughly
cleaned he replied by describing the extent OF the
str ict vh tch he IN dov
from sunrise to sunset. In order that his frankness
may not impair his tenure Of Office the reporter re-
Trains from naming the boundaries. Suffice it to
say that this one man is assigned about mile Of
roadway to sweep in one day. 1t is impossible that
this can be accomplished and the surface Of the
ground be in the meantime relieved of loose
tons.
ORDINANCES NOT ENFORCED.
The street sweeper said:-''If the patrolmen would
only make point of enforcing the law in regard to
garbage. ashes and slops. could accomplish good
deal more and do it much better than now can. The
fact that they very rarely take any notice OF viola
tions of the ordinances which forbid the throwing
of offensive matter into the street. 1 sooner
sweep street the length of q few feet than fresh
Nth is cast into it by the residents. These same
people often most loud in complaining that the
streets are not thoroughly cleaned. wouldn't fine
them. either when caught them at it,
''what would you do, then?"
"Faith. I'd let them a cleanin' the straits thin
selves fer Ave or ten days.
SERIES DIsaUsrs
On the verge of Pearl street the reporter encoun-
tered a forbidding odor. He found. between Chat
ham and New Bowery, great many stagnant pools.
In the gutter in front OF No. 461 heap of foul mud
lay in fostering condition under the fierce heat Of
the sun. In front of No. 4s1. No. 1856. No. 496 and
No. 400 sickening gases from the thick and
shiny scum covering the surface of small pools of
water The of No. 272 William street Is partly
filled with ill-smeing ashes. Rose street is still
Uttered with rotting straw and manure 1t was
swept yesterday. but the most creduous
in the world would find difficulty in
believing it. To all appearance Park street. between
Pearl and Centre streets is in condition than
described in the HERALD ON Wednesday. Oppo-
site the Five Points House of Industry in front OF
rag picker's shop. No. 65 the gutter emits very
noxious vapor, and far the corner of Baxter
street it is extremely filthy. At this point of
putrescent matter dams up equally vile fuid
and the circumadjacent atmosphere reeks with their
poisonous fumes On the south side OF Market street.
from Division street to East Broadway, the gutter
stinks with uncleanliness. and tho is true of
the gutter the north side of the street,
Henry to Madison. The reporter unable to find
when it was last swept. Certainly 10 measures of
any kind have been taken to better its condi-
ton as reported in the HERALD. In front of
No ~ lies u heap OF ashes and garbage. While the
reporter stood in contemplation OF it Police De-
partment cart No. 223 came along. "How long has
that heap been thereY asked the reporter OF a
householder. "Since last saturday" the
"The ash barrel broke and its contents fell
to the ground The cartman has passed that heap
three four times since. You may be sure that he
will never take it, The householder right.
The cartman emptied neighboring barrel into his
cart and then passed on. shovel hung at the side
OF his cart.
PHILOSOPHICAL pATRoLMAS.
In Sheriff street. which is in the Eleventh pre-
cinct the cutters were found to be covered with
putreiying matter. Even the sidewalks covered
with dirt. The stencil pervadng the block between
Staui on and Rivlngton streets was 1ndescribably
disgusting. The pavement had not been swept
since Monday. grocer. doing business at the
corner OF Rivington street. said that sit clean
now to what IT had BEEN" Rivington street has not
been swept-according to the inhabtants--since
last Saturday. Ridge street is in almost as bad q
condition az sheriff street Filth is plentiful in
front OF Nos 1l5 H. l2l. 1876 126 and 1873. Before
the latter IL stagnant pool four inches deep,
cred by greenish scum.
The entire length of the sidewalk on Washington
street. from Dey street down to the Battery, is
covered with more or less Nth. stagnant pool of
water formed offensive cyesorc yesterday at the
corner of Dey ana Washington streets. but this
pedestrian passed along amid heaps of garbage scat
tered about until he reached Cedar street. whore tho
garbage boxes began to greet his nostrils at every
step. Two OF these reccptacles are placed on
the sidewalk of every block all tho way
down. and yesterday they were in nearly
rel use passes description, for the that
it Is u collection of all sorts of odds and ends
food AZ we'll MS clothing, household articles ~ we'll
debris picked up in the streets and thrown into
the boxes. On the block between Morris street and
Battery place. besides the usual two garbage boxes,
there nve six heaps OF filthy matter, the
stencil from which most disagreeabo. Several
others OF the boxes along the street also emitted
foul odors that must prove disastrous to tho health
of the people in tho neighborhood IL the hot
weather should continue. A HERALD reporter yes
ter,lay conyersed with some of the occn.
pants OF the houses on the infected blocks
and ascertaincd that IL has been only within
n fow days past that these odors have been
noticeable. One woman said she feared illness i'll
her family on account OF the heavy atmosphere OF
the place she compelled to reside in. Another
said she could not tell anything about the time the
garbage boxes empticd. as she had paid no at
tent'on to the matter. The truth is that the boxes
are empticd every night with great regularity but
the cupants of the houses themselves do all the