New-York tribune., 1905-04-12
ALLEGE EXTRAVAGANCE.
Bronr Property Gamers Say RepaO
ing Is often Unnecessary.

The large amount of what is declared to be
necessary repaving Of streets in The Bronx has
been the subject Of criticism for some time past.
Attention has been called 10 the fact that, while
there might be many streets in Manhattan and
Brooklyn that badly needed repaving most of the
paved streets in The Bronx have not been laid suf
iclently long to have outlived their usefulness.
From the date Of annexation IN 1874 until the
esta ablishment Of the Department Of Street I'M
provements in 1891 there less than eleven miles
Of pavement laid. whereas there ara over
seventy-hve miles No street paved with granite
trap block since 1921, say engineers if properly laid
should require repsving for number of years to
come. even on main thoroughfares where there is
heavy traffic. and vet in 1nmportant side streets
where the paving is said to be practically good
new and in some cases where there isn't q
house for blocks. street after street is ripped up
and hundreds Of thousands Of perfectly good paving
blocks have been piled up in out Of the way places
or behind high board fences until the extent OF
this extravaganza aroused newspaper criticism.
Since then they have been carted to freight trains
barges on the Harlem and transported else
where. With the advent Of spring this extrava-
gance in repaving has been renewed
The official Tammany organ in The Bronx on
March contained this announcement:
At the recent opening Of sealed bids by Borough
H the 3h Repa6 m F2o 0paBS BSoHgs @
found 70 be the lowest bidder in the following wood
II, goyPPg Pr Boston Bead between BET Prospectave and
aves-. $3,500 IS; six bidders.
Repaving l44th-st, between Sd and Rider aves-,
S11.527 20; six bidders
In each Of these streets the pavement is in excel
lent condition. and public necessity for repaving
existed. All day Saturday procession Of trucks
passed down 3d-ave loaded with perfectly good
paving blocks. which were taken down to the Har-
lem River and there loaded onto the scow Sylight.
The Tammany organ last week contained this
advertisement:
Commencing Tuesday. April Il, 1895 at Il o'clock
a. m. under the direction of Louis F Haffen, Pres
Lot J. On l6oth-st Courtlandt to Park-ave.. 1900
Lot 2 on l59th-st. Courtlandt to Park-ave. 22 500
Lot 8 North side Of l8sth-st near Cypress-ave
about "a 600 trap blocks; 10 be sold in bulk.
Louis F. 4AFFEN
President Of the Borough of The Bronx
The waste Of the city funds in apparently unnec-
essary repaving in The Bronx probably costs the
city Of New-York s25O000 annually. A local paper
stated that $4,000 has been appropriated for this
year alone. AS this is not assessed against the
abutting property it has not awakened public op-
position as il otherwise might
Said one taxpayer;
We want all that We need or are justly entitled
as The Bronx and We do not want TO see the city's
money Squandered IN manner that none Of US
fairs We want business methods applied to the
literally highway robbery the way street repavine
is carried on up here.
In several instances streets have been replaced
with sheet or block asphalt where there is heavy
traffic and stone blocks more suitable. arousing
In one instance. 139th-st west Of Morris-ave., a
good stone pavement, satisfactory to the abutting
property owners who do heavy trucking over it,
was ripped UP anC an asphalt pavement was 10
have been substituted, notwithstanding that the
grade too steep for asphalt The property
owners entered vigorous protest with the result
that the street was reaid with stone-a needless
expense To the city