New-York tribune., 1920-02-09
|Hylan Bars
Trucking to
Open Traffic
Order Permits Only Haul
ing of Milk, Food, Coal
and Newspapers To-day
in Effort to Clear Streets
1850 Join Task
OF sDigging>Out'
Prospect of Moving Troll
ley Cars Stalled Since
Blizzard No Brighter


Still choked with ice and snow, de-
spite the Sabbath efforts Of 1880
street cleaners, New York's streets will
be closed to-day to all vehicular traffic
save that for the transportation of
food, fuel, mail and newspapers. The
police were directed last night to en-
force this rule, which puts the request
contained in the Mayors proclamation
OF last week into mandatory form.
The order is moro drastic even than
any issued during the war days of fuel
control.
Fifth Avenue, from Forty-second
Street to Washington Square, will be
closed to all traffic except that of the
snow removal trucks. The thorough
fare was got in shape from Fifty-ninth
Street south to Forty-second Street
teen blocks to-day by the carriers Of
essential commodities. South Street is
to be barred to all vehicles, as is West
Street, from Fourteenth Street to the
Battery. Unless the sun gets in some
good licks within day or two, Broad
way and Madison Avenue likely will be
fenced off, while an army of shovelers
is turned loose on them.
"Notify all stables and garages that
no trucking will be allowed Moaday
except for carriage Of milk, foodstuffs,
coal, snow, mails and newspapers" ran
the order given to every patrolman in
the greater city last evening.
Order Follows Mayors Tour
Street Cleaning Commissioner Ar
mold B. MacStay explained that Mayor
Hylan had decided on this course after
tour of inspection of the city's high
ways. He said the order was issued
under the police power of the city.
rule will paralyze building activity and
cripple operation of industrial plants
that have no reserve supply Of raw ma
terial. Ambulances and express wag-
ons, delivering baggage to terminals,
are not exempted in the order, but
Commissioner MacStay was convinced
the police would exercise reasonable
discretion in such cases. 1t is sup
posed that department store delivery
trucks, in the event they carry goods
from their grocery departments, will
not be interfered with.
The prospect of moving the stalled
trolley cars that stood in every section
of the city last night, just where their
crews abandoned them Thursday, did
not seem any brighter after four days
of concentrated effort" in that direc-
tion.
Surface Transportation a Riddle
Progress in the movement of cars,
as reported during the day, was hardly
sufficient to warrant any guesses as to
the time necessary to get the surface
transportation facilities back on
normal basis. The Lexington Avenue
line, from Forty-second Street NORTH
was reported in operation most of the
afternoon.
At the Offices of the Third Avenue
Railroad Company it was announced
service had been resumed from the Fort
dam Avenue. On Fifty-ninth Street
cars were reported running from
Broadway west and on Grand Street
from the East River to Broadway. Off
cials Of the company said service would
be resumed to-day on the 125th Street
cross-town lire. The Third Avenue line
is expected to be operated from Sixty
fifth Street north.
The closing of many Of the city's in
dustries, particularly the work along
the river fronts, resulted in the or
ganisation of the greatest army of
snow lighters ever recruited in the
larly employed by the Street Cleaning
Department, $500 men were employed
by that department during the day.
City contractors, using every truck
and vehicle that could be found, en-
ployed 1000 additional men. The
emergency organization brought about
by business men employed another
army Of 1000 men. These, with the
volunteer organizations that helped
wherever they were needed, brought
the number Of men thus employed up
to the total of 1880.
To prevent the threatened food short
age, due to non-delivery Of perishable
products that have been delivered to
Manhattan during the last four days,
efforts Of the Street Cleaning Depart
ment were concentrated on the streets
about the market districts. particularly
West and South streets. Volunteer
workers, many of them clerks and
bookkeepers from the offices of COM
mission houses along those two streets,
welded shovels throughout the day.
Fifth Avenue, as announced Satur-
day, was closed at 10 o'clock in the
morning and remained closed while
shovelers worked along it's entire
length. Last night it was found that
that portion of the avenue lying north
of Forty second Street had been
cleared sufficiently to permit its re-
opening to necessary traffic to-day.
Private passenger vehicles were
warned away by both Mayor Hylan and
the Street Commissioner. who urged
that the workers be permitted to do
the polishing" there to-day.
But the portion of the avenue below
Forty-second Street still held so much
snow and ice that it was decided to
close it again to-day to give the clean
ers opportunity to work. This was de-
cided after Mayor Hylan and the
Street Commissioner had driven over
| the street in tour that took them as
far north as Broadway and Ninety
i, sixth Street.
Statement by Mayor
After the tour the Mayor gave
out the following statement:
with Street Cleaning Commissioner
Arnold B. MacStay I made an inspec-
tion Of many streets Of the city and
found that great deal has been &C.
complished by way Of cleaning up. Inn
portant thoroughfares In the " last
| twenty four hours. The street clean
ing forces are to be commended Many
of them are almost exhausted because
of the long hours Of labor, but are