New-York tribune., 1903-02-16
ORDERS PLANT REMOVED.
COMPLAINTS ACTED ON.
Commissioner U'Hlcor Says Bryant
Park Litter Must Go.

AT the urgent solicitation OF the Merchants
and Manufacturers Board of Trade. Park Com
missioner Wilcox has gone to the relief of the
business men in Forty-second-st between Fifth
and Sixth aves., and has ordered the removal of
the unsishtly plant of the Degnon- Mclean Com
pany, sub-contractor for the subway, from the
north side of Bryant Park. Consideration for
the park itself has been an incentive for the ac-
ton OF Mr.. Wilcox, and he had gone to the
length of revoking permit for the occupation
of part of the park by the contractor before
appeal was made to him by the merchants.
When Mr.. Wilcox took Office he found the
north side of the park occupied by the Degnon-
Mclean Company under a general permit for
the use of park strip for the storage of
terials used in the construction of the subway.
This permit had been issued in the Van Wyck
edministra ton. In making Of 1t the con-
tractor apparently had in mind the proverb
about getting inch and taking ell. Mr..
Wilcox found that the north side of the park
had been made a dumping ground for all sorts
of materials, ana that the contractor had
erected in the park several Insghtly structures,
including a machine shop, a boiler house and a
stone crusher. Great heaps of sand, paving
stones and lumber filled the spaces between the
buildings, overran the limits of the permit and
extended down Sixtb-ave. from Forty-second-st
to Fortieth-st making the park practically in
accessible.
The merchants in Forty -second-st. whose
places of business front Bryant Park have been
subjected TO annoyance and losses for about
three years on account of the bad condition of
the street. For more than a year Forty
ond-st. was kept in an impossible state while
the Third Avenue Railroad Company was
changing the motive power there. An injunc
ton delayed the company, but the merchants
were the real sufferers The deep trenches be-
tween the tracks had been filled and the
pavement had been replaced only few weeks,
when the subway contractor began to dig a
ditch on the south side of The street, erect the
buildings for working plant and fill the north
side of the park with heaps OF materials.
Many of the merchants in Forty -second-st re-
garded the nuisance inevitable during the
progress Of the subway work. but after many
months had passed and the section of the sub
way in front of their places of business was
known to be completed and there seemed to be
no intention on the part of the contractor to re-
move the buildings and unused materials from
the park, they began to make complaints, and
the Merchants and Manufacturers Board of
Trade appealed to Mr. Wilcox.
respectful letter to Commissioner Wilcox
stated the losses and annoyances created by the
occupation of the park. and closed with the fol-
lowing:
1t is with view TO remedying what at mas @ nov 9ey
practically become public nuisance & that we ae
TO the personal of the contractors 10 the greae
detrinent and annoyanee in ot this L Iocalify
The repv of Commissioner Wilcox, under date |
of January % declared that he had found the
contractor occupying the park under genefai
permit and that the terms of the permit hao
been exceeded. The commissioner SAID ne hau
compelled the contractor to remove some OF the |
obstructing materials which endangered trees
along the park and had urged the removal OF |
structures in the park, but had hesitated TO take
summary action that might in any way retaro !
the subway work. The commissioner adds:
Finally having arrived at the conclusion that |
the word of the sub-contractor could not be |
relied upon, and that any promises made oy nm I'm
hermit and ordered that part OF the park covered
Sttdf by the fom PsTmJ John he B. Mcdonald stating that
this would delay the work ana askls the hetterment
of the conditions there and saying 1at If tf e rp
and proceed with their work as actively as pos
siPiei Stated in reply that would not reseind my
revocation of the permit, for the reason that any
If;tf bit thai would meet Mr.. Mcdonald at
an early date and point out the objeGtlonaniiee ie
he DELAYED to any great extent by refusing TO |
permit tion mem u Would Facilitate it in that direc-
i zion. but there was thing which must be un,
fbaI the strip on the north side of BRYANT Park
should not be used as & IL we Could not arrive
at some satisfactory conclusion regardi2g a me
I
r7erSt IN remove the materials stored upon
Park and would protect the rights OF lls uepai'-
noent in whatever way might be necessary
At the request of C. c. Shayne, presideht OF
tbe Merchants and Manufacturers Board OF
Trade another letter sent to Mr. WILCOX
bv Frank Eveland manager for A. IL Spaiolhg
& Bros. at No 33 West Forty-second-st.'
ASKING for q conference with q subcommittee
of the boards committee on streets OF "hlch
Mr. EveIand is chairman. Mr.. Wilcox granted
the conference and Mr.. Eveiand said yesterday
that he had been informed by the commissioner
that ar order to have the subway plant IN
Prvant Park removed had been issued and thtt
the nuisance would be abated in thirty days
An engineer of the Degnon- Mclean Company
said yesterday afternoon that the subway IN
Ejoi ty-second-st. west of Fifth-ave was prac-
tically completed, but much difficulty was being
encountered at Fifth-ave., where the subway
masses under the large water mains. 1t is nee
essary to blast rock under the mains, and
break in one of the mains would entail tre-
mendous loss TO the contractors.