New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-10-19
FIFTH AVENUE TORN UP
srRIous COMPLAINTS FROM RESIDENTS

n lady lyina ia Fifth-aye, who called ntioh''oh !"
the disgracolul slowncss w'th whoh tho ""'N VI
LAYING tho pipes OF the Steam company h"' '''"
prosecuted and to the many rf'o'ancot VINO" W.
sult from tho delay reporter walked over inc
mart of the avenue mentioned. yesterday an" lonhh
its condition extremely bnd. For four months tho
avcnne between Thirtieth and Thirty-sovcnth st.
has bceu scene of dcsolaton and chaos. Heaps OF
stones and earth cucumber the sidewalks; the
middle of the street is torn up AMI all traffic sus-
pended olors from gas mains AMI sewers I'LL the
air. while the forcincn and their subOrdnatcS look
complacentIy upon tho work of destruction and
manifest no intention of restoring order and render
ing the avenue again available for the ordinary
purposes of city street II ono starts on trp mp
the avenuc trouble begins Mt Ihirticth-st Here cX-
cavations havo been i'll progress for over four
months for the purpose Of cnlarginS the cellar OF
one of tho corner houses. Both on the avcnno ana
The stree: the sidewalk has been turned INTO a
yawnlng chasm and pedestrians arc Obliged u go
ont on the pavement, maze tour OF an insecure
pile of bricks and run the risk of fall in the slip
perry mud while for u long time steam drlll was
tho terror of all the horses and coachmcn that
assed the corner. Between 1hrty-s econl ana
Thirty.third SITS the avenue has been again opened
and is now paved with Nicholson blocks Just
what was the object of laying wooden pavement
on this portion Gf the avenue is not known; ana u
is the less apparent because from Thirty up
a new granite pavement IS to he lald
Between thirty third and rhrty-seventh SIS. the
confusion reaches its height. There the Ncw-fork
Steam Company ~ laying its pipes AMI has Dcch
allowed to tear mp tho whole avenue for tins pnr-
pose The gas companies have seized the opport"-
nifty to repair their ut the same time and thc
city il about to repavc tho avenue The conse-
oucncc ~ that not only is tho thoroughiare clos'd
l,,t lao bou
Large heaps of earth are piled upon the sidewalks
from which the October winds gather clouds OF
dust and drive them into every winlow ana door.
The odors to which the repairing of the gas pipes
give riso must be experienced to be appreciated
They have, however, been fully appreciated by
those whom the hot September nights forced To
sleep with open windows in ;hc immediate neigh
bOrhoOd of the trenches
The work advances with % slowncss characters
tie of similar enterprises this city. A few burly
aborers are vs!bly, but they bear such evident
marks of complete exhaustion that ono secs ut n
glance their inability to perform the work set
before them They stand in groups Of two or three
and glance from the work To be done to the tools
with which they are TO do it, From time tn time,
summonng mp all their courage they mois'en th'if
hands. raise the pickaxc u few inches From the
ground and letting il fall again, hcayc u sigh which
tells of duty we'll performed Meanwhile IA multi
tulc of stan by and watch the hcrcnl"an
efforts of their suborlinatcs, occasionally ntcrpos-
ing when somc unframed labo"cr appears to br
working too hard JndgiH from tho progress which
the worN IL now making il IL feared that ifuat VIII
find the avenue attn ~ its present. condition. anu
that a second edition ol hlnlli hhl9hh''F hH} ""
looked for nest spring.
Euntih-nvc. between tho snino % tr'in, "a ~ y
con,litinu almost equally bad. Hero the Sewers
have been found detective hnd each Hido 81 tho
~ unur IN hCiup dur mp ~ uidrf w l"phll ih'nl
Tho unusual With of lonr'hnvc makes IT poRH'
bio for travel ~ continue ~ apt" oi tho onuiinut
onith inounda Which la" the street
wnAf iiir nitAM ,oNrASS rtorit aAN.
Charles T.. Emery. engineer and superintendent
Of tho Ncw-fo,h slcam Company, Hnd to u loih
uNE reporter III reply 10 inquiries concerning thc
work ~ iilth-ayci
We made sl'nt ths ali by laying pipe IN lihh aN"
from Thirty tnlrl Ia lhitly seventh rl We commenced
the work ola september nmil Is now nearly complete"
the work was begun hat the street between th"o UNITS
be- fcpavcd with granite blocks aslh0rd III lhr
10 lay the pipes this year nnave. he wished We would
begin there init We nave laid in that section OF The
wacrripc iachcE in diameter aud cast iron pipe 10
ngHe' in diameter IL be o "sf' Tor conveying hs so E
and convenience 81 residents IN mat .lr ,iiii1
J. which lies 1hirtythird and Thirty fourth SIS
near scvcnhayc., in the interior OF the block PERMITS
have already been obtained from the department oi
Public Works for this connection, "md u IS proposed
in the spring 10 built - orrho!He on that rr of at
least 10000 horsepower 'am,ity ana duilg the sea
pipes up Tnriy second amt ihirlj ihlid SIS To-
extend the same to Central Park aie" to run down from
Thirty -socOnds far AZ Twenty -thdrt icw con-
nccions may be made IN side streets where number Of
thr residents ,cAir steam at once niimbrr OF resi-
dents in ffth aud streets on either side have already
made application 0r the stcam but it will not be !
possible 10 extend very largely the side streets during
The c0Hiing streets Ike Forty Second "nd FIFTY
~, Al nh he ii.f E,rr ,t T,,rt, ,,J
Forty ninth and Fifty seventh So
TIC work wa very much delayed in the two blocks
froin THIRTY thirl 10 Thirty-iifth sts by meet
Ia ru.t had Up
i"iTd Gc,wc,m the large 30 inch water
pines on one side and nest of gas pipe. on the other
very small charge. of powder only could ne the
work of removing the rock advanced very slowly. We |
the space during the Regular working hours There
night worh - it %oud have kept cvcryboiy awaae in
the vicinity ~ II was, some were disturbed IN |
their morning maps at a. H. at which hGur The work,
Thirty SIS the a'rlnrht and .ii have been re-
moved to depth Of sixteen inches The Snrlar of earth
scn roller of the Department OF Public Works and the
contractors lnr the lmyins are now
the pavement. Between Thirty fourth and Thirty
hfth sts the entire t'cmcmt is being cInoycd ppail
tween Thirty NH and Ti,irty sixth It; the steam com
at work IN small excavations at various points IN
ripcs 20 that they vii he in good condition vhrn
the pavement Is laid. Between Tluy-sxth and
Thirty seventh sts, the excavation OF the Steam Conn
pany is practically complete, the pipes are laid for pOr-
lion Of he block and the nasons are At WORK building
the brick oondnts about the pipes which receive the
II is expected That the work of the
Steam Company will bc entirely completed hy
next Saturday. and the paving will go forward rapidly
possible are "ssutc y the officer of the Depart
mcnt Of Public Works in charge
With reference To the letter from lady published in
THE TRIBUNE complaining about the work. viii say
that she IL mistaken ing that wurj
August (; but IL is barely possible that some of
the companies opened ia" street before that time us
1t is the custom OF the gas companies to put their pipes Ia
order before nrw pavement goes down. Work that
character be IN progress bet Thirty
fifth and Ihirty-eixth ST.. The Steam Comuany has
nearly completed it, work ANY stencil arising fam t,e
case
repairing. No Odor caused by our work
except letting the In the soil esrntm.
The excavation made for M by contract hy parl
Commissioner Crlmmns vino has unusual facilities for
prosecuting the work and has done the best possible to