New-York tribune., 1911-12-29
SEE BUILDING CODE FLAW
Declared in Watson's Office
Tammany Made Fatal Error.
PRINTING RULES IGNORED
Sponsors for Ordinance Say 1t
Will Pass To- day and Courts
Can Decide Dispute.

1-roe5cial opinions in the Corporation
Co,,nsevs Office are that the TammahE ma
,oritv In the Board of Aldermen III thel'
haste 70 lam through a new Dulldlns cuuo
bavo made p fatal error. which VIII MUMMY
,,,,,tbi,g that they may do. In printing
the proposed code in The City hecoiu'
the official paper. yesterday the lu'es "
me BOARD Of Aldermen were not ioho"eu'
Aldermen Bowling and kenneailY' ""'
are AT the head of The Tammany pidii,
doc,ored that the rules did not apply, ana
that. anyway, they purpose 10 pass wv.
code at the special meeting OIL lhe po"iU
70 he held this afternoon II any
thinks we have made technical error 'e'
him take IT to the courts, SAID Aiuei ii'''''
Kennealy .,..e
Rule 80 OF the board reads as 1olio"S'
An ordinances introduced shall be in writ
ing. ordinances which are amendatoIy yI; ~
or repeal any existing law, code or orui
nance or any part of either Thereon, sIali
contain in parentheses the part dinelIu,u ~
or repealed and shall have the new par
which is 10 be inserted marked by un9eI
scoring. When the ordinance is printed IN
the minutes the new part shall be in itahcs
instead of underscored.
Alderman Kenneally holds that this IS
not an amerded code but an entirely new
document. That. it is pointed out, is not
so because II is an amendment OF the pro-
posed code as originally introduced last
july An examination of the original
manuscript I'm the City Clerks office SHOWS
number of things struck out In penciI
and insertions made These do not appear
IN italics, however. in THE City Record
the matter reading along as new matter
Again, the code specifically repeals lhe
existing code, which would require that
tAe proposed new code be printed IN such
shape as 20 show the new matter ana "hdt
II was intended TO repeal. The rules can
Re suspended only by two-thlrcs VOTE
and Tammany cannot get it.
Mayor Gaynor gave no indication as 10
what action he would take when the cooe
reached him, If il passed to-day, except
that he had been told tha; the document
had been so changed as 10 meet all MS
objections Engineers who protested 10
him against the original document last
July declared yesterday that all or the
objections had not been met, by any means
1t is not thought probable however that
the Mayor would sign the code II he
should be advised by the Corporation
Counsers office that there was flaw In
the way In which it had been put through.
II the code does go through the atten-
ton OF the Mayor will be called to the
irregularity as well as to the alleged dis
ordinations, and he will be asked TO hold
a public hearing so that all the opposition
may have a chance 10 be heard.
G. Edward Escher, of the White Fire
proof Construction Company, said that an
examination of the code as printed showed
many 'Jokers" In spite Of some ap-
parent concessions" ne declared, 1--WE are.
n ANYTHING, a trifie worse off than before.
The code is as iniQuitous as was the
draft OF last spring" SAID II. G. Turner,
chairman OF the executive committee of
the Allied Concrete Interests. 1t is fun
Of glaring errors, and has all the ear
marks of having been prepared In d very
hasty manner. | feel that code works
against the fire prevention movement
which is being pushed 50 commercially in
other quarters"
Allan Robinson, president Of the Allied
Real Estate Interests, has written TO the
members OF the Board of Aldermen ask
ing tLat they take no hasty action on the
code TO-DAY So has Charles II. Strong,
president, on behalf Of the City Club. MIR.
Strong wrote:
The City Clubs oolecuon 70 TINS cOue Is
not based upon any intimate knowledge OF
ITS contents, but upon the fact that the
conditions under which 1t has been intro
du,ed prevent adequate examination ahd
public criticism. The measure will affect
1itaily the business interests of the city
and the safety of its citizCns, and its pro-
visions are such as to require the most
expert consideration.
Disregardng the work Of experts who
have been making the subject a matter
Of careful study and supplying only tht
hIt
supporters of this measure ask its passage
by yoUr board on the day following its de-
livery by the printer. We earnestly hope
that you will oppose any such disposition
. nj