New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-12
BIG IMPROVEMENT BEGUN.
Condemnation Commission for Liu-
ingston-st. Widening appointed.

lsad
~ the progress OF big public Improvement the
,rl- Of widening Idvingston-st. for nearly its
,4.re length, from Flatbush-ave. to Court-st will
= v-stched with unusual scrutiny, on account OF
80 determination that has been shown by the off,
e1sls 70 prove by it that such undertakings can be
--ses out by the city in much less time and at
.eb less expense than has been the invariabe rule
a. s.ch cases Il IS claimed by those who have
s-,cstad increasing the width OF this street from
- ~ So feet thai it will do much to divert
-. burden OF traffic from Fuston-st. and dispense
= come extent the retail shopping district.
aefa- a long fight the part OF those in favor
- tte widening, the Board Of Estimate approved
- scbsrne on terms that were acceptable TO the
- 5oara Of improvement. representing the tax
- II the district affected. A week ago Jus
=. lsavnor in the Supreme Court, the request
- +ba Corporation Counsel appointed the coDlrlis-
- n eon6e-an the property and carry out the i'm
.,snt Fx-Borough President J. Edward
ss-nsrorn. Michael Furst and ex-Assistant Cor
.a-.,,op Counsel Luke D. Stapleton. who con pose
- commission viii organize soon and take up the
work
.-ner- an example Of the speed with which
,eb improvements can be carried out. Borough
president Idttleton. prior 10 the appointment Of
the commission secured permission from the Cor
-oratlon Counsel TO hire the Title Guarantee and
T-sst Company 20 prepare land damage map and
.,roofs % title OF all property. comprising ninety
one rareels 10 be taken by the city Tor the work.
Ordinarily Il would take the Geographical de-
-art.nent OF the city TWO months TO make land
damage map. which not only shows all the prop
.r1v affected but also all improvements thereon.
: sos- condemnation proceedings the commits
t-e have sDfnt much time in hearings TO prepare
,he nroofs Of tile 10 each parcel OF property. The
Title Guarantee and Trust Company having all the
7s-s az hand prepared the map for Livingston-st-
a few weeks Il is estimated that the commits
,ior viii save from four FIVE months by having
+bse nroofs Of title ready when it undertakes the
z-orz The city viii the same time be spared
large expense
7-rs+ioe Gaynor al various times has had some
,,austic remarks 10 make about the way in which
condemnation commissioners, who get so much for
sscb sitting have allowed their work TO drag out,
70 the delay CT the Improvement in hand and 10 the
great expense Of the taxpayers. who pay the bills.
In appointing the commissioners for Lvingston-st.
Justice GaynOr said:
This is great public work. which should not be
done with haste il is true but with that due speed
which the public has & right to demand. and which
adds greatly 10 the administration OF public affairs
These men are a sufficient guarantee TO the COM
snunity that the doing of this public work viii not
Erag along for an unreasonable time. thus causing
unnecessary expense as has come to be so common.
look 10 see their example mark new era in such
matters IN this city
Al present Lyingston-st. is narrow, poorly
paved thOroughfare and from the fact it is so
poorly paved and has many Instructions il can
hardly be called thoroughfare at all The south
side is lined with old fashioned houses, most of
them Of brick, which have long been given over to
boarding houses. For part of the distance on the
north SIDE Of the street are the rear entrances Of
khe big department stores and other mercantile es-
Adjustments. During great part Of the day this
srontase IS lined with delivery wagons. backed up
- the curb, and the remainder OF the street is
ohoke4 with the wagons. moving back and forth.
The largest three stores have property on the op-
Rcsite see Of The street, extending through to
bcheTInerhorll-st, which they use for storage pur-
- So. - - - - tne NIuslILng OF
Z vide thorCughfare for through traffic would not
llonopolize a great part of the street.
rms fear, however, was groundless. these big
Stores are already making plans construct SUBJ
other side the transfer of their tieiiyery 9epart
.nenis 70 their property running through to Scher-
LnetnorIl-si- and the loading Of their wagons In
the latter street Or IN courtyards between the
Two streets. They propose TO put in large show
WINDOWS in the Lv1ngston-st side Of their stores.
pEld large entrances there 50 that portion of the
shoppers may be diverted from the Fulton-st.
t Ielan BUSINESS IN 11lVlhgstol-sl ana the
probabilities arc THAI Il viii become first class
When the proposition for widening Livingston
e Wss nrst preached, i was suggested that the
through IL, connecting Flatbush-aVe. with Court
nov down Fulton-st. So far as known the
company has no franchise for this street, and the
does include the laying Of any tracks there
But the railroad company, seeing the advantage Of
0IksftiAg some OF us traInc from Fulton-st, may
seek 70 get permission to use the widened Living
ia The he neW Montaqk Theatre which is to take the
pace q the present Montauk as the scene of high
;ngs1on-st az Hanover Place The foundatons for
ttlls modern playhouse are now being laid. Across
the street syndicate holds a large plot OF land
large. first class hotel Other plans for improve
mems "a ne street are in process Of formation and
The % feet 10 be added the width Of the street
hI,Si- oe raAen rom the south side No large
side Of the street The Department of Charities
but no difficulty VIII be found in obtaining quar-
Ies equally suitable elsewhere. Some of the prop
cry on the north side Of the street, which win be
stores are the bsII ~ The T Dsnsre,t 70 81 ne
Lo2, the Bijou Theatre, the rear Of the Hall of
f4.eo2ras ana the Courthouse and the Polytechnic
George ". TilIson. chief engineer OF the Depart
llell OF Highways in Brooklyn, estimated
was ss5sl50 and the value Of the impTovements was
~ SOC making total Of a.275sO0. In cases
taken and. estimating that the value Of the re-
o w0g5o De ehanceo ana that ne properly
more than the assessed valuation OF the land, Mr.
Iaent would cost nearly N,lSs 40s Is The length Of
me Widened street, which is to be paved with
The proposition 10 widen Ldvingston-st first came
Up during the administration OF Borough President
Improvement for the Heights district voted that
the street should be widened from 90 TO 100 feet
After Considering the proposition for some time
The Board Of Estimate and Apportionment finally
@ @ see a shoa 81 be p%dsSed T e ea
g feet In this shape President swazstrorn favored
= and the local board took up the work Of pre-
pairing FOR the requirement OF property. It was
In this share when Borough President Littleton
cane into oflces and the Corporation Counsel de:
ei6ed that all improvements pending In the local
boards lapsed with the outgoing Of the old admin
sEtration.
After considering the proposition two weeks Bor-
NIGH President Lttleton decided that IL was
nssded Improvement. and on January ID. 1SO4
brought II I'D again. A week later a new petit
Ion for the widening OF Livingston-st was pre-
ssatee e the Local impEoVsmeP: board board , Thsrs
4 feared the Board OF Estimate ana Appor-
no1.lent might place the entire eSsessnnent Sor