New-York tribune., 1908-03-06
CANNOT BUILDSUBW AVS
MAYOR IND METZ CONFER
City VIII Haze Only Fifty Millions
TO Spend in Eighteen Months.

Approximately s50.os.aa is the sum available Tor
suhways schools parks and score of other cry
ing municipal needs for the next eighteen months,
O. until the close of the Mcclellan administration
Mayor Mcclellan has decided that the next ad-
rainisfration. beginning January /. 1919. is Ell
titled TO treasury fund OF from si5oeD.eo TO So-
90. eoo and he viii oppose expenditures between
now and the last dag of December 1909, that Will
crowd that margin
This means that il is going he difficult 70
finance the Brooklyn Fourth avenue subway. and
il also means that the Broadway Lexington avenue
subNa. is entirely beyond the city's means
The MAJOR and Controller know tEat this will be
unweleome news to those who are anxious for
more subUays but unless there is legislation Civ
ing The Public Service Commission authority to
grant franchises that viii attract private
capital there little chance Of beginning another
Manhattan subway in the next two three years
The city's debt incuuing capacity 2t the present
time IS about >i50eo.aao on July !. when the
assessed valuations Of 1908 become operative
basis for texation. this margin WIZ be increased
10y about SiS'-fteS making The gross margin about
s5so0o,0ea. and not exceed S60,e,i5ol. The last
bond sale provided funds needed up TO September
]. that round s5sopo.0ao VIII be available for
The ten months ending on July !. 1853. when next
years increased assessed realty valuations viii
give additional margin.
Ii rs the probable size of the increased vaIua-
items in isE thar is beginning worry the Board
"f fstlmaie- For the last three four years the
increase year by year has yielded between $4,000
sfl and S5e0ao.9o year. The industrial and bus
ness depression is having . marked effect build
Ing operations. and the probability is that instead
of increasing the assessed valuations s450dsl COO
TIeZI year and thereby obtaining under the cOnsfi-
tuton % per cent Of thar gross sum debt incur
ring capacity, the increase next year VIII be about
kte'sg". giving only see@e9000 of additional mar
E;n iu July. Ises. This added S5s.0ooo0). gives
gross margin of s7s6,0.eCl-
Tie increase IA The budget on account Of reCes-
saFE expenditures likely take 10000 co OF
11is, snd tile Mayors determination TO give 500
e5e0en leeVsy TO his successor ties up that much
:'loTe- hich- deducted from The gross margin of
ss s9oo0s. leaves s4S 0o01o the period from date
Ia The end Of December. lae
Commissioner E;.sIis OF The Public Service Com
mission. after exhaustive inquiry, las discoV-
cred that thu estimate Of $23efl0 for the Brook
lyn Fourth avenue subway Is TOO low by at least
s3000.9e' The estimate made ty the Rapid Transit
commission Lass year Gid include the cost OF
acquiring lalf block Of costly improved property
In Ashland Tlaco the heart Of the theatre dis
Iric5 IN Brooklyn. Allowing this increase, the
Brooklyn subway. about TO be advertised. will
cost about t9s.o.leeo o. se7.fao0,t leaving about
&I.goe. oo9 for al Improvement purposes for al
least sixteen months.
When fhe Mayor and Controller looked oyer The
figures yesterday aad mentally estimated Tho de-
IlaDds 10 he made that margin of q, ,tN. go
they were much disappointed Here are some OF
the things 10 come out Of it New school DulldlGS
street openings and pavemenIs. fire houses
police stations The terminal Office building, 20
cost sscg;.or9 and improving parks. the sites FOR
which have been bought BTnchlng tnoSe needS
together 4 Is lOH estimate 10 say that S-'--
oes 90e Eili he needed cover them. Some Of them
are mandatory. and this fact tends 10 make the
construction Of the Brooklyn Fourth avenue SUD
Way The plans laid down somewhat problenlat-
icaL
i IS expected that the Controller Will turn in
today 10 the Board Of Estimate and Apportion-
naenI a statement giving the CitE's exact hnan-
cial condition 1t proba bly, viii he found that the
figures herewith given approximate those 10 be
turned in 10y the Controllers office.