The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-06
BLOW TO CASSlDYTOWN GRAFT
CONTRACTS FOR PAVING HELD UP
ny SUPREME COURT INJUNCTION.
steel Lined Concrete Curb, According to
Complaint OF Taxpayers, Barred Under
Charter-Specificatton Altered Con.
q trary to Law, Complainants Say.

steel Lined Concrete Curb, According 70
Complaint OF Taxpayers, Barred Under
Charter-Specincatio Altered Con.
/, Eary TO Law, C0mplainants Say.
The first formal step toward putting
an end to the concrete curb and Ntrifed
paving brick graft in the Borough OF Queens
sstant Corporation Counsel John c. Wait,
acting as attorney for Henry Schmidt and
Albert F. Stems, taxpayers, secured tenn
porary injunction from Justice Marean OF
the Supreme Court restraining President
Cassidy from finally executing six large
contracts for street work which he recently
awarded over the protest Of Mr.. Wait.
Comptroller Grout Is also restrained from
paying out any money on the contracts.
The order to show cause why the in
junction should not be made permanent
pending the trial of the action is returnable
tomorrow in the Supreme Court in Brook
lyn. Although there are only six contracts
involved in this action II the injunction is
made permanent 1t will have the effect OF
tying up lot of work in Long Island City,
as practically all the specifications for grad
Ing and curbing call for steel bound concrete
curb. which, according to the complaint OF
Mr.. schmidt and Mr.. Stems, is a patented
article and therefore barred under the
Charter of the city.
Cassidy is restrained from proceeding
with the grading paving and curbing of
Greene avenue and Ralph, Harmon and
Himrod streets from Grand View avenue
to the Kings county line, Second ward,
and Gates avenue from Woodward avenue
TO the same boundary. The jobs involve
the laying OF AZ, 900 square yards OF vitr-
fed fireolay brick and 272oO linear feet Of
concrete ourbing. The contracts were
awarded to William Booth of POI Broadway,
Manhattan; Cunningham d Keans Of 43A
Fast Ninety first street Manhattan, and John
j. Young OF Maspeth, l.. l. Booth bid
$2.l5 yard for the brick pavement and
81 cents a foot for the curb. Cunningham
i Kearns's figures we're $2l9 and 90
cents respectively, as were those OF Young.
After sling how the protest of MIR. Wait
was ignored by the Borough President, the
affidavit Of MIR. Schmidt recites that the
public Improvement involved had not teen
properly advertised or awarded, and that
by reason of the illegal advertisement In
the city Record and the unreasonable and
unlawful requirements Of the specifications
the plaintiffs will be assessed one-third
higher than they would have been other
other streets have been> paved with sheet
asphalt on concrete foundation for $3.50
a yard brick under these contracts would
cost S2l5 yard, at the lowest, on sand
foundation.
Ordinary concrete curling. the affidavit
saws, can be had for As cents running
foot while the st eel bound curbing called
for in the specifications would cost about,
double that sum. The cost OF the steel
itself Is not more than 10 cents a foot, which
IA f,,rnDlaint Says ShO a rOyalt v of at
least 80 cents lneal foot to be assessed
against the property Of the plaintiffs, con-
trary to the expressed prohibition OF the
charter in reference to the use of pat ent ed
articles, and without commens lrate benefit
to the property owners. rs he thorough
fares involved are residence streets not re-
curing steel bound curbing.
The complaint in the action alleges that
the Specifications were altered contrary
to law after they had been approved by
the Corporation Counsel, and that the
condition requiring n bond of 81 yard to
be given for he delivery Of all brick thirty
days after the execution of the contract is
illegal. This condition, it is declared, is
cost of the work and limits the bids to the
few manufacturers of vitrified brick. cor to
those favorite contractors to whom such
manufact urers may wish to sell or deliver
within the brief period Of thirty days
As to the alteret ions complained Of, the
document says.
Plaintiffs further aver that the clause
underscored at the same time samples are
nled Twas inserted, after the said contract
had applied fqr SPECIFICATIONS BY which 70
requirement was given in the publ c notice
required by section 40 and duly, advertised
in the ,'ity Record; and that upon information
and belief the said clause was inserted in the
tIssofs ""d hddsrs from e' sub@ittns BIDS
and proposals for the said work.
The complaint lso alleges that in the
notice published in the City Record, no refer
ence whatever was made to samples. nor
was there anything to show that samples
would be required. The significance of
this is that according to the complaint,
copies of the specifications and therefore
only limited number were aware OF the
fact that samples would be required As to
the concrete curbing the complaint says
that the specifications describe patented
article covered by letters granted to H. II.
wainwright, G. S. Du Fossat, j. B. Amsley
and w. White.
There is also likely to be kick from the
property owners in Debevoise avenue
when bids for the Improvement OF that
work was advertised once before. but for
come reason the job was withdrawn.
Originally the specifications called for 49,
5NO linear feet of steel lined curbing and
5000 SQUARE feet OF concrete Sidewalk.
A howl was made against such expensive
WORK and the concrete sidewalk was changed
to Tagging, but the provision for the steel
lined curb was not altered. When asked
to explain this Yesterday one of the dis
gruntled contractors said:
'Whv. it is as plain as the nose on your
face, You see. there is no graft in con,
crete sidewalks. They are not protected
them. But with the concrete ourbing
it is different. 1t all has to be obtained
from one source.
4 understand that the gang has asserted
sincs this peculiar species Of jobbery was
exposed in THE Sun that the steel lined
curbing is not patented article, and that
anyone can comply with the specifications
without getting the materials from any
rather curious in the light Of the fact that
all of this curbing put down previous ,, to
the dates Of the patents issued. believe,
however. you will not find any Of these plates
now as understand they were all removed
after the deal was exposed"