Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-23
COAL ASHESA
LARGE ASSET
clfy's Refuse Is Being Utilized
for Filling in Meadow
Land.
FILLS" INCREASE THE VALUE
Local Development Progresses.
Activities in Evidence on
Newark Bay Front.
FILLS" INCREASE THE VALUE
ar H. MILTON KENNEDY.

BY H MILTON KENNEDY.
Superintendent Joseph Marrone Company.
The reclamation and development
Of lowlands and meadows is a subject
as old as civilization, and yet it Is
a topic that. as taken up by COM
munities for their immediate needs,
from time to time, is treated as a
new project of all absorbing inter-
est to those affected. Few house
holders realize when they place out
their ashes and refuse for the
scavenger's man that each of these
small units plays its important part
"a creating value and making useful
some worthless section. While an
ash dump may be Objectionable to
those living in the immediate vicinity
from a esthetic viewpoint, the con-
5ensus of opinion of health boards
and expert authorities, is that they
are not unhealthful. The local
Health Board is to be complimented
IN this respect. in that they have
frequently requested the city ash-re-
moval contractor to I'LL certain dis
ease and mosquito breeding low
spots, accepting the censure of house
holders adjacent thereto, with the
knowledge and observation-disclosures in
anticipating that the result would
more than justify the means and
temporary inconvenience of the few
Cor the benefit of the many.
During the hot weather, quantities
Of disinfectant are used on all the
Newark dumps to discourage fly
breeding, etc.
Aside from the value of this ma
terial to the contractor handling 1t,
and to the individual property owner,
whose land is given a market value,
this material also has a considerable
value to the city indirectly, in in
creasing land values. and, therefore,
adding to the city's tax income.
To cite a few specific cases within
The writer's experience. one of the
first fills made from the original
Brooklyn car ash-remoVal contract,
was about 800 acres of meadow lands
and creeks lying between Coney Is
land and Bath Beach, known as the
"Harway Basin" This was an aver
age fill of about ten feet, without al
lowing for the natural shrinkage or
settlement of from 25 to 80 per cent.
Filled Property Enhanced.
This ground was purchased at an
average price of from $500 to s400 per
acre and was completely filled in five
years from the refuse of Brooklyn
alone and was sold for upward of
i,000,0GO. This property is now laid
out into streets, curbs, walks. trees,
etc. and is being built upon with
modern type of suburban residence.
fhe Riker's Island development by
the department of street cleaning Of
New York is also an important eX
ample of what can be accomplished
with city refuse. This project was
anaugurated by Major Woodbury., for
merly commissioner of the depart
ment of street cleaning, and con-
tinued by Commissioner William II.
Edwards during which time the area
nf Riker's Island in the East River
was more than doubled The esti-
mated increased value of this land is
1850, 600. 1t is proposed to use this
entire island for city institutions.
Another recent development which
IS still in progress is that of the
Flushing meadows, with a water
mont on Flushing Bay. This involves
an area of from three to four hundred
acres, to which the ashes and refuse
from Brooklyn is taken by scows and
by cars. This land was purchased
for about $1,000 an acre and is now
valued by the owners at $4,000 and
Rlo,0UO an acre. Ihls property VIII be
available for industrial development
in connection with the New York
Barge Canal. now in process of con-
struction.
Previous to the recent contract en-
tered into for a period of ten years
by the city of Boston, the refuse ma
terial was tOwed to sea and wasted,
as was formerly done from New York.
For the past three years much prog
Tess has been made In retaining the