The sun., 1903-11-13
WHEN YOUR STREET ISDITCHED
IfS NICE TO BE NEIGHBORLY
UITH PRESIDENT A. r. ORR.
II He Can't Get You Compensation Ask Him
TO Let the City's Counsel Advise How
to sue TO Get It--ObJect Lesson From
Brooklyn for Manhattan sufferers.

to sue TO Get It-ObJect Lesson From
Brooklyn for Manhattan sufferers.
President Alexander E. Orr of the Rapid
Transit Commiss ion lives in Joralemon
street, Brooklyn, under part of which the
Brooklyn extension Of the Subway passes.
.loralemon street is not being dtched in
the sense that Fourth avenue, the highway
of bankruptcy in Forty-second street, and
all the rest of the streets along the line OF
the main subway in Manhattan were. But
on in the roadway in front Of the houses
of several of Mr.. Orr's neighbors shaft
has been dug
MIR. Orrs neighbors don't like it. They
have demanded compensation of the city
and the amount of a years rent OF the houses
Affected has been suggested by them to the
commission as proper compensation for
the Inconvenience to which they have been
-ubJe"ted They have had several confer
onces with Mr., Orr at his house, and at meet
Ing after meeting of the Rapid Transit Com
mission Mr.. Orr has tried to have resolu-
ton passed giving TO the complainants the
compensation they asked. 1t would amount
to s5,0GOeach at least.
The resouto ion has failed to pass because
comptroller Grout and Charles Stewart
Smith have always voted against it, Mr..
Smith owns property in Elm street. He
SAYS that ie he and his fellow property
owners on Elm street are not to be COM
pensated for. the absolute closing of their
street for the last three years there ought
10 he no discrimination in favor OF Jorale-
mon street, where only Il small part of the
roadway is taken up with a shaft
Mr. Grout opposes the resolution on the
broad ground that the city can't afford to
compensate every one who has suffered by
the ditch, so nobody ought to be favored
al the expense of the rest
Mr. Orr kept the Joralemon street matter
for nearly an hour before the commission
yesterday Complaints by people IN Man
haitian who have appealed for relief from
the conditions they have had to put up with
since the beginning OF the, ditching are
never brought before the board. lhese
complaints are left to Chief Engineer Par
SONS, in whose office there is capacious
inorgue.
cident arose which provoked even MIR.
prr's fellow commissioners to broad smiles
NJ Orr said that he had received letter
rom one OF the hOuseholders asking him
tDr advice as TO whom the property owners
uught TO bring action against to recover
damages
Il sent this letter to MIR. Shepard COLI
in,led MIR. Orr, but Mr. Shepard replied
to me in effect that it was not my province
to advise litigants against the city as to
how they ought to 60 about their suits"
The president of the c!Inmission SAID
this in a most serious and carnes. tone.
Then he saw the Mayor and Mr.. Shepard
smiling and he added, hastily:
"Of course. this may be the strict legal
way of answering such inquiries, hut !
don't see why common courtesy should
not permit the sending Of the informal ion
asked by for the JoraleInon street residents
These gentlemen are neighbors Of mine
and they live within block of me would
like to help them, because think they are
suffering for the good Of the public AT large
why don't you follow the same course
that they did?" said the Mayor. You,
through the board, offered to allow them
to nominate. an engineer TO pass upon tne
work. but they refused, because they did
not want to take the responsibility OF the
possible effect the engineers opinion would
have on their suits. If you advised them
turned ned out wrong thev might hold you
The Mayor was laughing as he said this.
but Mr. Orr didn't seem to see the Joke.
commission but. before he could say any
thing Mr.. Boardman exclaimed;
Tell em to sue everybody. That
what the people in Manhattan are doing in
their suits against the subway ,.,-
and tell them that the only successful
suit that has been brought was against a
sub contractor"
The discussion arose over the reading
Of letter from Theodore +. Miller OF Jo-
Trust Company. Mr.. Miller wrote that the
tunnellng beneath his street ought to stop
or there would he repetition OF the Park
avenue disaster. He said that the Jorale-
ing and that -the present engineering & plan
is failure. II carried out to the end the
Mr.. Miller also said in his letter
Il feel that the character OF the neighbor;,
hood is irreparably njured by the removal
Of such tenant as my next door neighbor,
Mrs. Donalds son, who maintained a hand
some garden in the open adjoining her
house and who will not return.
This letter had been sent to August BEL
mont, who replied that his engineers had
found that there had been sinking only
of some of the stoops of the houses in the
vicinity of the shaft. He promised to
make the necessary repairs at ms own
thief ngineer Parsons told the board
that he had taken Mr.. Miller down into
the tunnel and had shown the workings
10 him ard the precautions taken Tor the
safety Of the houses ana that MT Miller
had expressed himself satisfied,
MAY NOT Rt ABLE TO SUE ANYBODY.
News came from Brooklyn last night that
the Ioralemon etreet property o"hei 10 ha'o
discovered thaS h" .!'et I"ss i!"' ti.'ib
IN the City. and that "a suit agalnsI rther
The cont ractor or the city would fat eoo' Sc
'jte is vested in the heirs os the Joraienon
es ate. Abutting property owners have
title only TO the curb on either side, the
estate retaining the title to the street
According to the records. Tunis Jorale-
mon, more than fifty wears ago, gave to
he city perpetual right to use the street.
A. that time It ran through the Joralemon
farm The farm Was sold and cut up ln'o
budding lots, each parcel, however. heing
sold with the express stipulation th"i e
land extended only to the curbstonc. Only
.y obtaining quit claim deed to TIC stree
from the .Icraleflon estate can the abnt,lIg
property owners secure title ana me riErt
- ir;r., IN action against the CITY or the
contractors. and the heirs want compensa-
lion first.
HITCH OVER MOVING PLATFORM.