The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-01-31
THAT PAVEMENT BILL.
Grove Street Taxpayers Be-
lieve it is Aimed
at Them.
WHATCITY OFFICIALS HAVE TOsAY
Mr. Dugan, Mayor Cleveland and
Mr.. Edelstein Talk About
Pending Legislation.

Board to pave the streets of the city with
any kind of patent pavement they may
see fit to use is not Job; but the property
owners along Grove street are alarmed
by the belief that the bill is aimed
especially at that street, and that its pur-
pose and design are to enable the Board
to do the work there in spite of their pre-
ferences-
The specific point which the bill
seems intended to get around
is that the charter at pres
ent forbids the laying Of any kind of
patent pavement on the streets. When
the proposition to pave Grove street was
made last summer, Immediately after the
accession of the new charter officials to
Office, it was noticed that the specifica-
tions were not after the regular pattern;
that, indeed, they were so drawn as to
cut off all competition against composite
iron pavement concern that stood ready
to make contract. There was no other
block of the specification size or make in
the market. A great howl went mp at
once from the people, and under the pro-
test that the paving of Grove street was
too costly a job anyway, the Board
dropped it.
The publication exclusively in THE
JERSEY CITY NEWS of Wednesday of the
features of the bill concerning the paving
of city streets, has led to the conviction
among Grove street property owners
that the Board is preparing to carry out
it's scheme in spite of them.
MR.. WARREN DRESSES THEM DOWN.
Ex-Finance Commissioner Joseph War
rem is very emphatic In his view.
"Yes," he said when spoken to last
night, II read the angelic bill in THE JER-
Ttrnrx ATrsxrvrr ~ -
whole scheme. The Board could not
pave this street last summer because they
did not have money enough. Boshl The
stumbling block was statute which pro-
hibits the use of patent pavement. This
mild-looking bill is intended to repeal
that statute in order that this street may
be paved with the patent pavement.
That that patent pavement is no
good has been demonstrated on more
than one occasion, and you can say as
coming from me that / think
it will be an awful injustice to the own
ere along this line, and the passage of
this bill will be an outrage. Belgian
block pavement am heartily in favor of
and you will find that every citizen on
Grove street will echo my sentiments. /
admire the course your paper has taken
in exposing this Board. / think the most
outrageous thing ever attempted was
that bill giving the Board of Street and
moneys without the concurrence of the
Board Of Finance. The Board of Finance
is the only safeguard the city has, and
do not know what would become of us if
the Board of Street and Water Commits
sioners had full scope"
NO PATENT PAvEMENTs.
Mr. Parker, of NcFerran Brothers, had
read the exposure in the JERSEY CITY
NEWS
.srhe bill,'' said he. sis a scheme of the
Board to grant the contract to fayorite
contractor. The patent pavements are
worse than worthless, and | cannot un-
derstand how the Board can hesitate for
a moment between that pavement and
the reliable Belgian block You can say
that am heartily opposed to any patent
pavement and will object most strenu-
ously to any attempt the Board may
make in that direction. think a news
paper like yours is of inestimable value
to the community in exposing these
jobs"
John Casey, the proprietor of the saloon
and owner of the building corner OF
Thirteenth and Grove streets, was in
favor of Belgian block pavements and did
not want any patent pavement in his.
A dozen other property owners along
the line Of the proposed Improvement,
who were interviewed, expressed Them
selves as opposed TO patent pavements.
MR.. DUGAN'S STATEMENT.
.The bill is all my own,p said Commits
missioner Dugan, of the Street and Water
Board 81 had it drawn and introduced.
and not another member knew thing
about it. Byrnes says that he doesn't
know what it means Why, he read it
before he put it in. Its purpose is not
what the Grove street people suspect at
all. 1t makes patent pavements possible
The iron pavement with which it was
said we intended to pave Grove street is
not a patent pavement; and SO that par
ticular project. if we had such an one in
mind, could not have been affected by
this act. But we had no such purpose at
all.
siIts sole purpose is to place US on an
equal footing with other cities, and that
is all there is in it. The bill is intended
to repeal an old statute which prohibits
the use of patent payements in this CITY,
/ think that some of the patent pavements
are as good as the Belgian blocks, and as
much cheaper, think it right that the
property owners should have the benefit
of using them if they want to-
Zone of the bids for the contract for
paving Grove street was from Patrick
Condor. In his bid he agreed to furnish
an iron stone block which comes from
Pennsylvania and is sold by the Scovia
Block and Tile Company, No. 49 Broad
way, New York city. We had this con-
tract under consideration at the time,
and the company offered to lay one block
with these stones, and If they did not suit
us we could reject them. But will say
right here that am heartily in favor Of
Belgian block pavenents. / am heavy
owner on Grove street and do not want
patent pavements. You can say that /
am opposed to it.
WHY 1T WAS NOT DONE BEFORE.
"Why was the project to repave Grove
street last summer abandoned?" l asked.
Because it would cost $50, 900 to pave
Grove street from Newark avenue to
Fourteenth street, the end of the sewer
connection, and as we only had 100000
in the fund ana had Monticello avenue
and other thoroughfares to look after, we
had to let the matter drop"
WAS not the project abandoned in
order to enable the Board TO pass the
above bill repeating the statute which
prohibits the laying of patent pave
mentP'' asked
No sir, it was not. | am an owner on
this street and am in favor Of the Belgian
block pavement"
Mr.. Dugan said, too, that there were
other, difficulties in the way of paving
Grove street last summer. Mr. Brown,
of the North Hudson Railway Company,
was anxious to have the sidewalks taken
in eighteen inches on each side of the
street so as to enable the laying of
double track for his car line, and he was
about to get petitions up, but he did not
do So and Mr.. Dergan had not since had
time to get up other petitions.
Mr.. Dngan said he had seen the iron
ma varn an Il IN rlse I'm front of a IJniou Ii1l