New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-28
PART II.
OCT. 20, 1891.
ruAT BROADWAY PAVEMENT.
...,,v IT IS ALREADY IN POOR CONDITION.
CHARACTER OF THE WORK DoNE-THE CON-
-.,croRs FRANK ADM ssIoN-Bow OTHER
n.vr ruE1p STREETS.

IT, article in The Tribune on Monday calling
-...r,,on 10 the poor pavement that has been put
-, in Broadway by the Broadway railway
lie under Tammany supervision, attracted thc
f..a,ticn OF an old New-York real estate dealer
=. met The Tribune reporter in front OF 'he
r-.i,sble Building yesterday and remarked; All
-, Won said about this pavement Is perfectly
-. hut why didn't you put it stronger! lou
~, % have gone into details and pointed out
- o,oct spots where these defects are, ana asked
y. ,.oonle 70 come and see for themselves that the
= ching is an outrage and swlndle. IL Is
.h.olutelv disgraceful that such condition OF
ST. ran exist in this great city OF New-hOrk
=. tho ncope not rise up and turn out OF power
- so,aid and corrupt organization that permitted
- ,rork 70 be done as IL has. Just think OF IL :
u. we stand in front Of one Of the greatest
bindings in the world, representing millions
:, INVESTED capital with other costly buildings on
a., side the offices Of which command mgh
r,.ls and vet the tenants Of the front ofhces
20 % keep the windows closed in the hotfso
-ssthr- because the pavement is so rough th"V
-. noise is fairly deafening. This kind OF pave
Ut sbould never have been allowed TO go down
:, All hut being permitted. il ought to have been
"a o smootby as the best engineering skill coulo
lit Look at it. The street hasn't even Oeen
--aaed In that direction" pointing toward NO.
,1x Rroadway. opposite there Is very perceP
,;hs rise. In this direction, pointing toward inc
T.,ri,v Ruilding there Is another over uheIe
tt,,osn the tracks. is hole that has beer pounded
-, IN about two weeks by the wheels Oh
sossinr vehicles. and just beyond it-right there
= ,ort ~ Thames is another larger hole, maue
- ,hs same way. The other day when IL raiheu
,hose two holes were filed with water 1or houis
O.. the rest of the street, with the eAcePuon
Of the cutters, was dry. ~. .his
" ~ reason for the quick destruction OF TINS
..vsment is plain. The paving blocks vary IN
,h,ekness as much as they do il WIDTH anu you
49, COO ,ritbout moving from where we stand
cha, all sorts and conditions of blocks nave peei
r.oa There is one right there, pointing to spot
.hout two feet from the curb three lnches WHO
:. ona end and two and one halt incnes at the
~ A foot the other side Of that block Is one
.I,. a,,o inches wide. Then look at these joints
Thev do not break regularly and are not uniform
In one place the stones touch each othel' :"
anotber they are an inch or more apart ana 'he
- ,orr continually in size between the two
svtremes These irregular blocks have been sci
=. bod % sand and the joints filled with coal-tar
ritcb This becomes dry and brittle, the lghtest
rain comes the water leaks through into the sahd
and the work of destruction Is well uhueI""S'
The result is what you see now
Tho reporter took walk along Broadway and
made q note of few of the worst features OF the
new pavement. Starting at MOrrs-st the first
thing 70 be noticed is large number of man-holes
,Ot some deep and some high and none properly
Close 70 the curb on the uptown corner Is pro-
nd 70 ppt
right in front of the hydrant, is another The
pavement from there up is rough, but not rougher
than the new work generally. In front of No 80
broadway. where 8 tar furnace stood while the
work was In progress, are two large hummocks
Of dried tar that have not yet been cleared away.
For every practical purpose Of holding water or
making rough roadbed, these hummOcks are as
had as an absolute defect in the work. From here
m ON the west side Of the street, the blocks used
sre exceedingly rough and irregular in size with
ioipts from two inches TO nothing in didth- these
ioints have already been washed eiapty of
filling for an inch or two in depth, and
one can stop almost anywhere and find
hole that be can stick the end of an umbrella
or cane into 10 a depth of tree or four inches.
Oppsite Exchange Place the contractor mat
his first hysterlcal attempts 10 put IN clossWaIk.
He succeeded in getting in two rows of flags
from the eastern curb TO the down-track. He then
evidently ran out of flags, and from the down
track 10 the western curb one has TO walk over
the rough blocks Just below this point is
nanhole between the two tracks, one corner OF
which is not Tess than one and one-haf inches
below the others
In at Rector-st the only successful attempt
10 get the crosswalk clear across the street was
made. On Cle other corner of Rector-st., how
ever the result was the same as at Exchange
Place. At Wall Street two more attemfts met
with ike success, and four rows of flags extend
from the eastern curb 10 the down track. feo-
pie who want 10 get from the cars TO Trinity
Church have 10 walk on the pavement. Along
the front OF Trinity Churchyard tie pavement
is exceptionally rough, even for new Broadway
pavement, and the joints are nicely washed out,
afOrding an excellent opportunity for water to
gseler and soak down TO the sand at Will.
Directly in front Of No. 100 Broadway, close
against the western rail of the up-track, is a
large hole which every wheel running close TO the
raI drops into
At Pnest the contractor thought TO show
his impartality and began the crOsswalk this time
at the manhole near the western curb. Material
gave out, however, when he got 10 the up-track,
walk on the east side of Broadway have TO
stumble over about the toughest bit of pavement
even on this roughly paved street. The uptown
ersswalk at Pine-st is gem in its way Only
Two pieces Of tagging were available, and 10
avoid any appearance Of favCrtism TO either
tN Of the street. they were placed directly
Driven the up and down tracks. No fault can
Z tOOnd, however, with the manner in which
hey were laid.
This accounts for all the crOsswall1s up as lar
es The main entrance to the Equitable BUILDING.
Inere the contractor = did himself proud. lie
Started out bravely from the curb with three
lows Of Tagging and one manhole. On the other
ade Of the manhole, with lavish reckleSsness, he
Paced yet another row, and extended the whole
iOsf as far as the up-track From the up-track
Tie dOwn-traek he put in three rows, and then
aas! the supply gave out again and ordinary paw
NraSr ~ no