The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-06
CAN YOU KEEP SPITE FENCES
WHEN THE BIILDING DEPART
MENT ORDERS THEN DOWN.

uGkt60 IN NGWorh-VWueEv WSeuy w
Fight Il Ou,-when Ii Fence Not .
Fence f-sems Necessary barriers.
The Building Department in Newark,
N. j.. has started crusade against spite
fences The superintendent believes it
to be the first crusade Of its kind ever begun
by any municipal department in the
country.
4 have failed to find any city where
the thing has been done before" he says,
land have had communication with the
heads Of the building departments of many
cities in the last year"
The superintendent has started on a
tour Of inspection through a number of
New York cities. including Buffalo, Bing-
hamton and Rochester. and no intends
to inquire carefully In these cities II any
thing has been done by them to get rid
OF the high board distractions which I'M
neighborly neighbors are now and then in
spired to erect.
So far notices have besn sent by the
Newark building officials to the owners
OF no less than thirty-fivs spite fences.
informing them that under clause in the
new building ordinance all fences Of height
greater than eight feet must come down.
Seven owners have informed he Office
that they will remove their fences without
further parley; nearly a dozen pleaded
for an ex tension OF time, most Of them
intimating that they wish to consult counsel
before deciding what to do. One man
has informed the department that he will
fight the mandate in the courts. The rest
have not answered the notices. and the
inference is that they are still out OF the
city on vacation.
1t seems pretty certain, however, that
Q number Of spite fence owners will fight
the Building Department Some propose
to make the courts define . fence. One
unless it encloses something. He also
protests that signs which are objectiona be
under the present ordinances Of Newark
are not signs unless they have lettering
on them. He argues, therefore, that he
can keep his signs up as long as he chooses
II he puts no letters on them permanently.
1t has been suggested to one sign owner,
whose big boards are threatened by the
Building Department, that he make use
| Of st ereopticon at night and by means
of it throw his advertisements on the
boards. His fence will still be unlettered,
and he may thus maintain it, they say:
One owner of an out-and-out spite fence
says he will take it down. but he will build
another continuance which will not be a
| fence, but which will answer his purpose.
| A fence, this man argues, must start from
the ground to be fence.
Il will put beams out from the caves Of
my house" he declares .and then suspend
stops short of the ground q few inches.
That will not be fence. don't know
what 1t will be under the law, but I'm sure
it will get around this spite fence racket
The building inspectors. though, say
they will fax this dodger easily enough.
| -, ~, LNH
is a new building. No new building or
alteration can be constructed without q
permit. They will refuse to give this man
permit.
Word has come to the office Of the build
ing superintendent that in a number Of
instances the people living in the neighbor-
mood Of certain prominent spite fences are
preparing to celebrate when those fences
come down. There are several tall fences
Of this sort in Newark. two or three being
at least thirty feet high. They have been
pictured in the newspapers and have been
commented upon freely, with the stories
Of the discords leading up to their cree,
ton. When these fences are demolished
there is to be a great blowing Of whistles
and footing OF horns.
the building superintendent has found,
however since he started to enforce the
new ordinance regarding the height Of
fences that so-caled spite fences are Of
|
! been erected because Of neighbors' quar-
rels. Nevertheless, all must come down
II the Interpretation put upon the new
ordinance by the city's legal department
is to be relied upon.
There Is one fence, for instance, which
has been reared by a manufacturer; He
employs large number Of girls, and it is
necessary for them to get all the light they
can, SO they sit by the windows. On one
side of the factory, the side where the big
fence has been built, is a house where
gamblers and other Objectionable charac-
| tiers oongregate. These cid all sorts Of
things to attract the attention of the girls,
as it were, face to face with wild scenes of
revelry which they considered little short
Of insulting. So the manufacturer erected
the fence as he had not succeeded in having
the gambling house kept under proper
| control.
although tho building authorities evidently
do not relish the job. Others say that now
perhaps, the police may be constrained to
look after the gambling house.
Then there are perhaps score of fenc es
erected by persons who find it unpleasant
to have their neighbors staring into their
windows at all hours. In some instances
neighbors' rows have come after the erec-
ton Of the fences rather than before. the
families against whom the fences were
erected taking it as reflection upon them.
We were good friends, my neighbor and
/, remarked Newark spite fence owner
the other day, until built board parti-
ton between his house and mine. My only
thought was to protect my family. not from
any particular prying or inquisitive gaze
from his side but to do away with the pos
sibility OF any one looking In on us when
we might desire privacy. It was the sense
of privacy ! wanted. The fence started
trouble and we have had II ever since
A well-known Newark builder, who ownsa
| number of houses and has watched the build
ing interests Of the city for more than score
Of years. said the other day that in his
opinion the so-called spite fences could not
legally be- removed by the city. II do not
happen to own such thing as spite fence,
he said but il did I'd defy the building
department to take il down If they beat
me in the courts I'd go to work and put up
a sort OF metal screen in its place I'd
suspend the screen by stringer and cup
port it from below with bracket Would
that be fence? I'd take my chances on
1t not being
There are plenty OF places in this city
where those things which folks call spite
fences are virtual necessities, and it is
an outrage that 1t Is 80 I've done some
building in my day and / know pretty
nearly all the tricks, although don't prac-
tise them. j know, for instance, stretch
OF ground in this city where man is build
ing a series OF dwellings, one at time
Can you imagine why he's building them
| one at timer Well I'll tell YOU: