New-York tribune., 1920-06-25
Cellars Are Flooded, Car
Traffic Is Demoralized:
Inch and Half of Water
Falls in 80 Minutes
Subways Tied Up;
Goods Are Damaged
Skidding Autos Fatal to
One, Three Hurt; Fall
ing Rock Wrecks Train

One man was killed and three wore
hurt, subway traffic was tied up. cellars
were flooded and many false alarms of
fire were turned in as the result of a
cloudburst which svamped the lower
part of New York last night. The total
rainfall was we'll over an inch and a
half, and in the five minutes between
S:45 and $3.50 nearly half an inch of
rain poured over the storm area.
Three automobiles skidded on Lenox
Avenue because of the wet pavements.
One of them, driven by Henry Mirken,
of 472 Fourteenth Street, Brooklyn,
slid backward across the sidewalk and
struck a group of four negroes. Will
liam Van Hagclhurst, Of 102 West 142d
Street, was killed. Lulu Moore, of
152 West 143d Street, suffered frac-
tured right leg Winton Scott, of 26
West 131st Street. and Clarence Brown,
of sos West 1876 Street, suffered laccr-
ations and bruises. They were treated
at the Harlem Hospital. Merkn was
arrested and charged with homicide.
A rock that broke loose from the
Palisades dropped a couple of hun
dred feet and imbedded itself on the
tracks of the West Shore Railroad
at West New York, N. j.. derailed
u New York, Ontario & Western
Edward Foley, the conductor, and Sc
rious injury to Lester Gordon, a brake
man.
The crew failed to see the obstruc-
ton, it was said. as the locomotive was
pushing the train and the headlight
was shut off by the car next to it. The
car that struck the rock telescoped
others behind it.
Downtown streets, particularly those
along the riverfronts, were trans
formed in few moments to very fair
limitations of mountain streams. The
rush Of water was tco great for the
ordinary sewer traps to handle and
practically every cellar and basement
water in half an hour. Emergency
crews summoned hastily by night
watchmon worked late bailing out base
ments and cellars in which valuable
merchandise was stored.
Overlooking sewers which backed up
and poured tons Of water through sub
way gratngs tied up Interborough sub
way traffic between Bowling Green and
Fourteenth Street. At the Canal Street
station the water flowed over the rails
and short circuited the third rail, Sc
that the current was cut off. Trains
bound from Brooklyn were turned back
at the Brooklyn Bridge and downtown
trains on the Lexington Avenue line
were switched at Fourteenth Street
to the uptown side. Normal service
was not resumed until nearly five
hours after the storm.
The b. r. 7. had water in It's Cana
Street station, but it was not sufii
cient TO halt the trains, and the Aooc
subsided without doing any consider
able damage The water interferet
with the signal currents on the Cen
ter Street loop and caused a little de
lay. but this was quickly adjusted b.
pumping crews.
Cells at Police Headquarters were
flooded when Center Street sewers
backed up and the water, flowing owe,
the sidewalks, entered the basement OF
the headquarters building. The water
flowed through the passages and passee
out through sewers at the rear Of the
building. Many prisoners got their
feet wet, but no other damage was
done
Easements in the Tombs also suf
fered, and some water reached the en-
gnc room, but the damage was slight
Some of the most spectacular results
of the flood were seen in the neighbor
(Contlnucd on pauc four)