The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-25
SCHOOL NO. Il
Sanitary Inspector Finds
Many Important Re-
pairs Not Made.
HAVE BEEN READY YESTERDAY
Building in a Beastly Condi-
tion-Work to Be Finish
ed March l

Contractor Neil Campbell, who was
awarded the contract to repair No. II
School, Crescent avenue and Astor place,
for S7.OS4, was to have turned the school
over to the Board of Education yesterday
in perfect condition as far as the base
ment and first floors were concerned.
The ceilings of the upper floors, which
fell because of leaky roof, have not
been repaired yet. Work on them has
not been begun, neither has the roof
been fixed. Plastering continues to fail
at intervals and soon there will be no
ceiling at all if something is not done.
Contractor Campbell, who originally
agreed to have the building ready for oc-
cupancy on February l, but who was
granted an extension to February "a be-
cause of the bad weather he had TO con
tend with, has not lived up to his con-
tract. The school was not ready for the
return of the pupils yesterday. The bulk
of the work had been done, but there were
still many important jobs to be COM
pleted. Even where the work was fin
ished the building was in a beastly con-
dition.
Henry D. Dickinson, the sanitary engi-
Education to superintendent the repairs
to No. u School, was on hand yesterday
to see that the contract had been lived up
to- He went over the ground with Mr..
Campbell and insisted that many things
that had been left undone should be done
without delay.
He found that the cellar walls had not
been kalsomined, important valves to the
rga1 t,n-
meath the concrete, the concrete back OF
the furnace had not been leveled proper
ly, doors had been left untitled and un-
hung none of the dirt or refuse which
had accumulated had been removed and
dozen minor things had been unattend-
ed to. Mr.. Dickinson insisted that all the
work should be finished up today, with
the exception of the concreting of the
play yards, which cannot be done until
the weather has moderated. No attempt
will be made to concrete the yard until
April.
Mr. Dickinson went over the part of the
building which has been improved with
reporter for 1.-THE News The cellar,
where the seat of all the trouble lay, was
first visited.
when we first came here" said Mr..
Dickinson, everything was in bad con-
dition The cellar was wet, the walls
were damp, the flooring on the first floor
was in bad condition and the whole place
was unsanitary. The men who attended
the furnace stood in water up to their
ankles in the pitt
Yes chmed in Janitor Waters, who
accompanied the inspectors, "and this is
r 11od m n {
trousers leg above the top of his right
shoe and exhibited a limb swollen to
nearly twice its size with rheumatism.
Continuing, Mr.. Dickinson said:-"We
located the cause of the trouble. We
found that we had to contend with either
subsoil water or with natural springs,
probably the latter. In consequence of
the water we have raised the grade of the
floor eighteen inches above it's former
level. We have fitted it with damp
course-that is, we have lined the con-
crete flooring with combination of pitch
and felt which prevents the water from
oozing through, and guards against any
dampness."
When the additional jobs which Mr.
Dickinson suggested yesterday have been
completed. the cellar will be in as good
schools. On the first floor, where the
primary class rooms are new floors have
been laid, the walls and ceilings have
been kalsomined and painted, and the
whole general appearance of the rooms
improved.
A great improvement has been made in
the indooy playrooms. Before the school
closed they were dark and stuffy and
were not properly ventilated. The par
tition between the boys and girls play
rooms was within two feet of the ceiling
and prevented the light which came
through the southern windows from
reaching the playroom on the north side
of the building. The partition has been
lowered over three feet SO as to admit
plenty of light. Another Improvement is
that the bottom of the partition has been
cut out half foot and wire mating has
been placed in the space. This permits
proper ventilation of both rooms. Indi-
yidual clothes closets have also been in
troduced.
In addition to the Improvements in the
cellar already described the drainage has
been so arranged that the sewage cannot
back into the school as it did before the
improvements were started. Hereafter all
the plumbing system will be kept over
head so that the sewage will be carried
off
One of the greatest Improvements that
has been made is the toilet building which
is built in the back yard. The building
was formerly lighted by two small VIM
dows in the end of the building and was
ventilated by small opening in the roof.
Mr.. Dickinson had the whole rooof open
ed and skylight of large proportions
built in The interior has been improved
so that it excels any toilet room in other
Jersey City schools. In other times the
room was never heated. Now it is fitted
with steam pipes and is kept at the same
temperature as the class rooms. An au-
tomato flushing arrangement has also
been introduced The seats are the same
as those adopted by the New York Board
Of Education and introduced into all TIE
schools in that city. The toilets are of
Alberine stone.
The school will be ready to be reopencd
on March l.