The sun., 1907-08-28
INQUISITIVE ALDERMEN MEET
TWO INVESTIGATION RESOLU-
.TIONS UP AT FIRST SESSION.
One for an Inquiry Into the Ashoksn Dam
Award Under \ Mistaken Idea That
the Charter Applies The Other 10
Probe Purchase os Fiushink Park Land.


Award Under q Mistaken Idea That
the Charter Applies The Other 20
Probe Purchase es Flushing Park Land.
The Board of Aldermen met yesterday
for the first time since the summer adjourn
ment and proceeded forthwith to its favor
ite pastime OF talking about investi cations
A resolution was introduced calling for
the appointment Of a special committee
to investigate the action of the Board Of
Water Supply in awarding the contract for
the construction of the Ashokan Dam to
Macarthur Bros. and Winston 4 Co.. whose
joint bid for the job was s. 600 600 more
than that u tho John Peirce Company.
whose bid was rejected. The reasons for
giving the contract to the higher bidders
were fully explained yesterday in The sun.
The Aldermen professed to see some
thing sinister in the action Of the Board of
Water Supply and adopted the resolution
II was set forth in the resolution that the
step taken by the board ought TO be looked
into for the reason that il violated the
charter, which provides that contracts for
public work shall be awarded to the low
est bidder.
As matter OF fact the Board Of Water
Supply is not amenable to the provisions
special act Of the Legislature to carry out
the particular purpose of giving a new
supply of water to the city, and among the
many powers conferred upon il In that act
is the authority to reject in its discretion
bids which IL may not think wise to accept
The resolution was referred to the Com
mittee on Rules. and the likelihood Is that
II will never be reported out.
Alderman Bunting offered resolution
asking for the appointment Of a special
IN Ia hea nj Nafn "a
Of the purchase by the city of the property
in Flushing for the new Kissena Park. The
resolution declared that the city had paid
for the property many times the real value
Of the land. that a real estate firm in Queens
had originally bought the property for
81. 500 an acre. had offered it to the city at
81 800 an acre. but that subsequently the
land had been sold to the city at from $500
to $40 ono an acre.
The resolution went on 10 declare that
carrying through the negotiations which
led to the purchase of the land by the city.
and il was added that the people Of Flush
ing and Queens are greatly agitated over
what they consider a grave public scandal
in which the people OF the city have been
imposed upon by a few unscrupulous per-
sons who are willing to greatly enrich them
selves at the expense of the taxpayers"
1T was a barefaced deal and nothing
better" Mr.. Bunting said in introducing
the resolution. -and IL is my opinion that
that 10000 fee was not paid for legal SER
vices, but fer other purposes.
Mr.. Bunting did not explain what those
-other purposes" were. and after n short
discussion his resolution was referred TO
the Committee on Rules.
The purchase of the kissena Park pro-
perty was authorized by the Board OF Esti-
mate after sppraisals Of the value of the
land had been made by the engineers and
the real estate experts OF the board.