The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-09-21
The Abuse Of the Harlem Driveway

|
1t may seem difficult to explain why the
| Park Boards statement to the Mayor
through its President, on Aug. 8, that " the
time has now arrived" to employ a profess
sional park maker in the construction OF
the Harlem River Driveway, should really
have been an utterance of absolutely bad
faith. The attempt on Wednesday by Com
| missioner BELL, the only Commissioner who
| shows appreciation Of the qualities OF his
| responsibility, shows that when the Park
Board so addressed the Mayor 1t had no
honest purpose Of taking the course it then
announced, and that it adopted that course
as means Of staying the agitation against
itself reused to prevent its own maladmin-
istration.
The best explanation which charity can
offer for this surprising conduct, is that
when the Board said that the time for an
other policy had come, it still was wholly
devoid Of any personal understanding of the
why and wherefore. It's own mind was not
clear as TO its intentions. The same after
noon in which the President, Mr.. CLAUsEN,
complained against his taking this impor-
tant and delicate public work into his own
unframed hands being called unwarranted
vandalism" and declared it to be the mo
ment for an experts services, he WAS quoted
as saying: 81 don't know what land
scape architect can be used for"
This state Of complete ignorance OF the
nature Of the work intrusted to the Park
Commissioners, is evidently mixed up with
the various other causes Of the trouble
Here il a costly and beautiful property of
the city TO be transformed from its natural
wildness to the uses of public park, and the
head OF the Commission into whose control
the work has come, first deals with it as a
place OF street making and then confesses
that he has not the first idea of the meaning
of the protest against him.
What New Workers have chiefly to COM
plain Of is that this vulgar intrusion OF
ignorance into public business which
demands particular respect for refinement
and education, results in substantial injury.
New York has bought a picturesque
territory for park, and It is to be
slashed and made over by wOrkmen without
the slightest qualifications for the task, Just
as though the Park Board, intrusted with a
block OF precious marble for piece of stat
uary, had decided that the art of a sculptor
was to be ignored and that the job should be
done by the Departments stOnecutter, and
then tried to stave off criticisms by protest
ing that the sculptor would he invoked after
the stonecutter had hewn out his figure As
deliberately as his ability might allow.
The broader result of such influences in
control of the Park Department are
made To appear in an article in another
column from our esteemed contemporary,
Garden and Forest We must say again
that this continued and cumulative abuse
of the public property dedicated to parks in
nowise diminishes our wonder how the city
Administration can permit il. The citizens
of New York do not relish being misused
officially in their park lands any more than
in their persons. They have not put mill
ions into their pleasure grounds 10 have
them subjected TO the caprices of manage
ment ignorant Of their first principles, nor
do they desire to have the further millions
spent on them dispensed through a channel
so incapable and unworthy. As there is
no other authority to look to they must
still look TO the Mayor to defend them. The
defence should be very prompt,