The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-29
PAVING IMPROVING A BIT.
THE ASPHALT GANG is GIVING
UP NEW WORK FOR REPAIRS.
Tho Whole City Needed the Change-And
Yet the Streets Are Full Of Instances
Of violation Of Law-Pllcs OF Build
Ing Material HinllerlnI Tran1C.


Of Violation Of Law-Pllcs or Build
Ing Material HInalerlng Tranlc.
There has been within the last few days a
noticeable acceleration in the work OF the
paving company in repairing the long
neglected rents in the asphalts Of New
York's chaotic streets. Not only has the
paving company got move on but
it has ceased entirely the work Of laying
new pavement, except in emergency cases
such as in front Of schools hospit ais,
churches and so forth.
just as long as the people Of New York
were quescent over the ripped-up, be-
trenched streets, just so long did the chaos
grow worse and the end of il further of.
Every business interest which has sub
terranean plants in the streets has taken
occasion to rip up pavements and expose
the plants and the foul smelling earth,
As soon as one hole in the streets was filed
up it has seemed, within the last six months,
that two more were dug.
Possibly from a hazy notion that ex-
cavations in the streets of New York are
In some way associated with the science
of geology, the time schedule Of geological
formations in the earth's crust seems to
have been adopted in all Of these street
jobs. For even when the long interval
between the opening of conduit ca non
and the filing in at last came to an end
there were yet to come the reports" to
the proper department. and then the slow
unreeiinR of the fathoms OF red tape be-
tween that event and the not iication to the
i'm n n ha Ia no
with asphalt.
And when you got there you were really
only on the threshold of the real delay.
All that had gone before was merely intro
ductory-just a curtain raiser to the long
tragedy of chaos and profanity. The
paving Company took a month or SO to
discover il had been notified. Then ex-
plorng parties made their way to the scene
TO investigate, with the view to ascertain
ing about how long it would probably
be before there would be enough other
quagmires and washouts in the neighbour
hood to make il worth while 10 send out u
repairing expedition to lay the entire region
waste for few more weeks.
The neighborhood never had any doubts
about it when the repair expedition got
there. 1t carried its own wake of desc
lation with it. Then when at last it got
through and had moved on some other
Inflated region it was time to rip the whole
thing up, sink another crevasse and begin
everything all over again.
Meantime the asphalt company's real
occupation was laying new pavement.
There was money in that. Repair work,
even when paid for by the city. was only
side issue. Repairing of mere wear and
tear was a dead loss, for the company
was bound to do that at its own expense.
But the company has heard things re-
Gently. At the Department Of Highways
Il G,t he
pany had abandoned oil new work and
would now devote all its energies to catch
ing up with the repair work in which it is
so flagrantly behind.
Another and far-reaching cause of the
wretched condition OF the streets lies in
the open and constant violation Of the law
by contractors and builders. Every build
ing permit provides as to putting building
material in the street that such material
shall occupy not more than one-third of
the carriage-way outside the curbstone.
In probably eighty instances out of hun
dred the material occupies fully half the
street and also extends, in many cases,
far away on each side OF he building site.
Another provision which Is constantly
violated is that planking shall be laid on
the pavement to protect it from damage
by the heavy material thrown upon it.
The violation of this law results in constant
tearing up of the pavement for the ever
lasting repairs which cost the city so much
and are such a perennial nuisance to
citizens.
Still another provision attached to each
building permit IL that all rubbish, dirt
and surplus material shall be removed
before shutdown Of each day So much
Importance is attached to this provision
that il is printed in red ink. II might as
well ba written in water Rubbish heaps
by buildings in course of repair and con-
tinp II N
but all night and all the next day and for
succeeding days until the contractor gets
ready to cart il away.
At II West Fifry-first street yesterday
was n heap of old building material and
rubbish that had been there for days. At
10 West Forty ninth street the gutter was
stopped up with rubbish and general
condition of filth prevailed, At ~ West
Forty-ninth street there is completed
building with a great heap OF building
material left in the street. though the work
is done At 80 West Forty eighth street
there was a pile of rubbish that had been
there for days; at II West Fort y-eighth
st rect there was a pile of sand in the street
left by sidewalk repairs; at 80 West Forty
fifth street the building material occupied
more than half the street, there was no
planking under ii as the law requires, and
and there were ancient rubbish heaps;
at 20 West Fifty-third 1t rect building ma
teTlhl over idi way htTors ne slT"tt anu
heaps of old rubbish at and East Sixty
second street the building material oc-
cupies more than two-thirds of the street
instead Of one-third AZ the law allows
These are only few inst ancss in a small
dist riot. The same conditions or worse
prevail generally all over the city There
has been a tendency Ia be indulgent 10
builders on account of the way they have
been harrassed by strikes, but IL Is pre-
dicted that tho day is coming IN New York
when builders will be rest rIcted as they
are IN London, where they are not per
nitted to occupy foot Of the sidewalk
or carriage way with materials ard whore
all their work must DE done and their
supplies del lyered and hAaded within
n, dad, au.lnaura