The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-04-04
IMPROVEMENTS NOM
Mayor Wanser Calls the
Street and Water Boards
Attention to New
Laws.
INDUCEMENTS TO PROPERTY OWNERS
Acts Passed to Facilitate Street
Openings and Sewer Construc-
tions ON Easy Terms,

Jersey City has been greatly retaroeu
improving the streets and in applyng
for the construction of sewers. rms mas
seen largely due to the cumbersome meth
Actions of the board making those mn
provements and the consequent neasy
expense, and the additional necessity OF
and %ad7sancing the cost OF preliminary
hd fm order to provide some inducement
TO property owners to improve thelr prop.
erty, the Corporation Attorney OF Jersey
CITY during the wintersof 1898 Drew up an
he cost Of assessabie improvements. and
np sos,sinerm in %eities,S approved May
l0'f INTENTION OF THE ACT.
The intention of that act is best eX-
claimed by It's preamble. which l quote
here in full:-
in force relating to street improvements
are complex in detail, slow in operation,
and are burdened with costs OF advertis-
spection fees and assessing fees, render.
Ing the cost of any street Improvement
assessed against specific property an un-
whereas, Property owners frequently
petitioned the governing bodies IN eisieS
sewer streets, the total expense TO De
porne by such property owners; and
ment nerves. Iaws now Wl'h IN force reaei in Sites Of this
State, and to enable property owners
who, at their own expense, are deslrous
men Gs'a and to enable the governing bodies
of cities to direct and control such I'M
provements."
owners by unanimous consent petition
for the construction of. any sewer, the
the amount assessed upon them shall
be only that proportion OF the COST q
and the Inspectors fees that. their prop;
srty bears as compared with the total
humber of lineal feet of the improvement
ing the individual property owners five
years in which to pay tneir asseS S,nnfs
in either bulk or in five equal h men,
general for the reason that 1t Is hard
to induce every. property owner on me
20 sign a petition for the same, ana SO
tar as 1 know has only been availed or
BY the property owners on Ranooipn-aVe-
1ue.
This act soon became generally known
and a demand arose to apply IT'S general
provisions without recurring unanoalous
70 meet these views 1t was deemed wise
to frame an act having in view the same
s oDjssts o as sae one su GefRsFr an "a act Du' was as
drawn by the Clerk of your Board and
presented to the Legislature and became
known as Assembly bill No. rs; i
by the Governor on March p, 1896. It
Is entitled, AN Act respecting the paw
ing. T6DdFlIlS, SIdQlAA6 Oo40A4S
and otherwise improving of streets and
public highways in cities Of the hrsl-
class in this State, and providlng LOT me
paymen of the same, and further pro
viding that the assessments upon prop
erty for special benefits shall be payable
IN full or in [nstallments, at the optioh
A BENEFICIAL Law.
This act has been drawn m such a
manner that it contains all tnat vas
good in all assessment laws now in force
and at the same time does away VIII
everything that impeded the making 81
improvements. Every property owner N
the city can improve at tine cheapest
possible cost and is besides allowed nve
years in which to pay his assessment
either in equal annual installInenrs OF dn ali
The same difficulties which SURROUND
the making of improvements nave oeen
~counter in the opening, widening
extending or otherwise improving streets,
avenues, etc. In this city.
The property owners who for 50 long
agitated the opening of Tnirteenuh street
have experienced the impedin,ents that
have for so long stood in the way OF
such an improvement, and with sucn a
case fresh in the official mind another
act was drafted TO remedy this state
of affairs by the same gentlemen: Inis
act became known as Assemoly pli NO.
z, 1897 approved by 'ns governor - a-@. .sa
opening, widening, extending or other,
wise Improving of streets, avenues n
n,Ibljc highways in cities of the first
class in this State and proyidfng Tor Inc
PAYMENT of the same; and furtner pro-
yiding that the assessments upon prop
erty for special benefits shall be payable
In full or in inStallments al the oplloh
TO OPEN MERCER STREET.
Under the provisions of this act a petl-
t sDa a has 6aee pf Mercer 81 Street & from its
present terminus 10 Mill Road. II IS
now an easy. matter to give those prop
of opening and extending Thirteenth
street and Bralmhal1 avenue and otner
t~horoughfares an opportunity 10 40 SO.
If proceedings are taken under me Ply
visions of the act referred to herein the
cost of the improvements viii pc reduced
materially from that Walch tney Wo sha
property owners liable to assessment are
sfforded equal advantages in the matter
Of payment Of their assessments me nsag as uh5
referred to. / have only re1erreu 10 these
laws in a general way
The clerk of your board is about, SO ne
informs me, to communicate to your
board the manner in which. proceedings
are taken under the operation oIslnese
no reason why our city should not be
improved at a much reduced expense
to the property owners than was ever
The burden of making the improves
ments rests with the property owners;
They will be co,5operated VIII A. ana on, aiaso
II W.
md with a little exhibition of public
spirit the city should, within a few years,
become so improved as to take rank
among the first cities in that respect in
fhe country. Much credit is due Assem-
hivman William e. Drake, the. intro
dlicer of these measures, and their zeal
Gus advocate, in the Legislature OF
1922 NEW SIDEWALK Law.
In addition to these measures Whlcn
have engaged the attention and required
the labor Of the city officials in procur-
ing their enactment, there Is another
witch was prepared and advocated by
those of whom ] have spoken IN connec-
tion with the two laws previously re-
ferred TO, and hat Is what IS known
as the Sidewalk Law" which IS enttled
IAN Act authorizing cities of the first
and second class to make necessary re-
nairs to curbs and sidewalks and assess
he cost thereof upon the property bene-
flied" Under its provisions the present
~disgraceful condition OF some OF the SIDE
walks in the streets ard avenues IN Inns
city should be remedied.
The courts have laid 1t down time and
again that it is the duty of property
owners to lay, maintain ard repair then
sidewalks, and the act referred TO makes
il possible and empowers the city au-
thorities in cases where property owners
fail or refuse to properly care for the
walks in front of their property to cause
the same to be done and assess the cost
thereof upcn the property owner railing
or refusing to do so.
1t seems to me that 1t might be a good
thing for your board to have printed
and circulated a number Of copies of the
statement TO be made by your clerk, ex-
rloini4a~ in detail 'fhe operdfiOn and adj