The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-10-21
FOR EXTENSIONS OF STREETS.
Hearings on Petitions Held Last Night by
Streets COMMITTEES.

FOR EXTENSIONS OF STREETS.
Hearings on Petitions Held Last Night by
Streets Committee.
Hearings were held last evening by
the committee on streets on the petit
tions for the extension Of Laurel street,
the permanent paving Of Grove street,
the hardening of Grove street, the
| building Of a sidewalk on Middletown
avenue and the extension of Commerce
street to Union avenue.
Representatives of the G. F. Warner
company and the Manufacturers Street
Railway company and others appeared
to oppose the extension Of Laurel street.
Messrs. Atwater, Roche and Reynolds
appeared in favor of the extension.
Two petitions in regard to Grove
street were before the committee, one
for the permanent paving Of the street
and the other for it's hardening. The
petition for the permanent paving of
Grove street met with great opposl-
ton.
Henry T. Blake said that scarcely
any one on Grove street favored the
petition, which, he said, was signed by
a list of names none of which were
those of residents or property owners
on Grove street. On the other hand,
Mr.. Blake said that the names of near
ly all the residents on the street were
signed to the petition for top dressing
or hardening. He said that it had been
currently reported that the Bicycle
union had petitioned for the permanent
paving, but to refute this statement he
read a letter from Morris T. Tyler, the
president of the union, in which that
gentleman stated that the organization
had not petitioned for a permanent
paving of Grove street, but, on the con-
trary, preferred that the street be sim
ply hardened. In his letter Mr. Tyler
remarked that fault was found with
crushed stone hardening, not because
1t was not good top dressing, but be-
cause those in charge Of it do not seem
to realize that such dressing needs to
be taken care of.
Mr.. Blake said: II am willing to pay
an assessment for hardening the street
| If such an assessment is made, but l
don't want to pay the assessment If
others don't. We want to be treated
fairly and ask no special privileges. I
saw in the list of estimates of the de-
partment of public works an estimate
for the permanent paving of Grove
street. While other streets are picked
out for hardening, Grove street alone
seems to be selected for permanent paw
| ing. Every man, woman and child on
the street, so far as know, is opposed
| to such a pavement Scarcely any one
| Is able to pay an assessment for per-
manent pavement"
| Edward C. Beecher, representing the
estate of Francis Butler, jocosely said
| that the estate had been so bothered
and damages by sewers setting back
that it had not been able to pay taxes
| for two years, and If it was obliged to
pay for a permanent paving it would
be necessary to let the property go to
the city.
| Philip Pond appeared to represent the
St. Elmo society, which has fraternity
house on Grove street. He argued that
the sewerage system on the street was
too imperfect to put down a permanent
pavement now.
Others who opposed the petition were
General Henry s. Peck, Mrs. Catherine
| A. Atwater, Henry c. White. represent
ing the Sheffield Scientific school; Hen
ry Hooker & Co., the Yale Book and
Snake society, which owns the Cloister
| building; Attorney Arthur c. Graves,
representing the owner of Grove hall;
| Wallace B. Fem, F. w. Austin, Mrs.
Louis Fitch, John M. Steinmetz and the
| Historical society.
F. L. Leighton appeared in favor of
the petition for permanent pavement.
He held that such a pavement would
render the street a thoroughfare.
| The committee in executive session
voted to table the Laurel street matter
for one month; to recommend that the
petitioners for the permanent paving
of Grove street be given leave to with
draw; to table the petition for the har-
dening of Grove street for one month;
to recommend that the petition for the
building of sidewalk on Middletown
avenue be granted and that the work
be done by December 1, and to table
the petition for the extension of Com
merce street until the next meeting.
This last petition is for the extension
of Commerce street to Union avenue in
order to make an approach to the pro-
posed new depot. 1t was stated at the
meeting of the committee that the E. S.
| Wheeler & Co. have certain privileges,
| of the nature of lease or otherwise,
which have yet about forty years to
run. and that if the city took this prop
ertv for the extension of Commerce
street the cost would probably be in
the neighborhood of $4,000.
| Mr. Wheeler will be requested to an
near at the next meeting of the COM
mittee.