USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > A history of the city of Brooklyn and Kings county, Volume II > Part 8
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In October the completion of the large Erie Basin dry docks was the occasion of a celebra- tion. These great docks, built by a Boston syndicate, have since been used by most of the large iron ships that are docked at the port of New York. The chamber of Dock No. I is 510 feet long, and 112 feet wide at the top. Dock No. 2 is 610 feet long and 124 feet wide at the top.
In this month occurred also the interesting occasion marked by the presentation of the medals ordered by the Common Council for each honorably discharged, or still serving, Brooklyn soldier who had done his share to- ward the saving of the Union.
Among the legacies of the war was a great deal of poverty that public provision had not obliterated. An exceptional degree of distress appeared during the decade following the war.
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There were admitted into the alms-house during the year ending July 31, 1868, 5500 persons, and at the close of the year there remained 1995. The total number relieved by the commissioners during the year was 44,734. The amount expended was $464,800.61, being an average of $10.40 to each person relieved. Of the number relieved, 7273 were in the institutions. The population of the county at this time was 375,000. It will be seen that II.9 per cent. of the population received aid from the public institutions. In addition to this, many others received assistance from the churches and benevolent societies.
Formerly the county was divided into dis- tricts, to which the poor would come to receive assistance. During the year ending July 31, 1870, 38,270 persons applied for and received aid. This was about ten per cent. of the popula- tion. The amount expended was $128,602.83.
This system has been discontinued, and the work is done by other agencies, notably by the Society for Improving the Condition of the Poor. This society, officered by public-spirited and efficient men, has made a highly credit- able record. Connected with the society is an effective advisory committee, selected from each ward. Every case is carefully investi-
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gated, and imposition is rendered almost im- possible. In 1880 the number of cases inves- tigated was 2755; of these 214, or about eight per cent., were rejected. The number relieved who were found worthy was about one four- teenth of the number receiving aid in 1870, while the disbursements were only $23,009.68, or 18.5 per cent. of the former expense.
During the year ending July 31, 1869, there were remaining in the lunatic asylum of the county, 557. The whole number under treat- ment during the year was 818. Of those re- maining, 225 were males and 322 females. There were admitted, during the year, 286. The whole number admitted into the alms- house in 1869 was 2090.
The number treated in the hospital in 1863 was 2023; in 1864, 2601; in 1866, 3505; in 1867, 2828; in 1868, 2613. In the hospital there were treated, in 1876, 4270 persons.
By an act of the Legislature in May, 1867, the Inebriates' Home for Kings County was incorporated. A movement led by A. E. Mudie resulted in the establishment of a Brooklyn branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The Legislature provided at this session for the dredging and docking of Gowanus Canal.
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BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR
and for the " Wallabout Improvement," under the direction of a commissioner. Another provision of the Legislature was for a depart- ment for the survey and inspection of build- ings in the Western District of the city. A section of this law provided that the chief officer of this department should be called the "Superintendent of Buildings." He was to be appointed by the board of trustees of the fire department, and confirmed by the Board of Aldermen. He was to have been an "ex- empt fireman " for five years, a fire under- writer for ten years, and was to be, ex officio, a member of the board of trustees of the fire department.
Concerning the duties of inspectors the law said : -
" It shall be the duty of the inspectors to examine all buildings whereon violations are reported, and all buildings reported dangerous or damaged by fire, and make a written report of such examinations to the superintendent, with their opinion relative thereto; to reëxam- ine all buildings under applications to raise, enlarge, alter, or build upon, and report to the superintendent the condition of the same, with their opinion relative thereto; and in the absence of the superintendent they shall be empowered to act with all the powers enjoyed
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and possessed by said superintendent. And the said inspectors shall perform such other duties as the superintendent of buildings may from time to time require of them.
" The inspectors of buildings shall be under the direction of the superintendent, and shall attend all fires occurring in their respective districts, and report to the chief engineer or assistant engineer present, all information they may have relative to the construction and condition of the buildings or premises on fire, and the adjoining buildings, whether the same be dangerous or otherwise, and report in writing to said department, all such buildings damaged by fire or otherwise, with a state- ment of the nature and amount of such dam- ages, as near as they can ascertain, together with the street and number of such building, the name of the owners, lessees, and occupants, and for what purpose occupied ; and said in- spectors shall examine all buildings in course of erection, alteration, and repair throughout their respective districts, at least once every day (Sundays and holidays excepted), and shall report in writing, forthwith, to the superin- tendent, all violations of any of the several divisions of this act, together with the street and number of the building or premises upon which violations are found, and the names of the owners, agents, lessees, occupants, builders, masons, carpenters, roofers, furnace builders,
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BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR
and architects, and all other matters relative thereto, and shall report in the same manner all new buildings in their respective districts, and the clerk shall perform such duties as may be assigned him by the superintendent. All the officers appointed under this act shall, so far as may be necessary for the performance of their respective duties, have the right to enter any building or premises in said city."
The fire limits of the city were then fixed to " comprise all that portion of said city begin- ning at the East River at the northwest corner , of the United States Navy Yard, and running thence southwesterly and southeasterly along said Navy Yard to the centre of Navy Street ; thence southerly along the centre of Navy Street to the northerly side of Flushing Ave- nue; thence easterly along the northerly side of Flushing Avenue to the centre of Washing- ton Avenue; thence southerly along the centre of Washington Avenue to the southerly side of Warren Street; thence westerly along the southerly side of Warren Street to the easterly side of Vanderbilt Avenue; thence southerly along the easterly side of Vanderbilt Avenue, and across Flatbush Avenue in a straight line, to the southeasterly corner of Union Street and Ninth Avenue; thence southerly along
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the easterly side of Ninth Avenue to the northerly side of Fifteenth Street; thence easterly along the northerly side of Fifteenth Street to the centre of Tenth Avenue; thence southerly along the centre of Tenth Avenue to the centre of Twenty-first Street; thence westerly along the centre of Twenty-first Street to a point distant one hundred feet west of the westerly side of Third Avenue; thence northerly and parallel with Third Avenue, and one hundred feet westerly therefrom, to a point distant one hundred feet southerly from the southerly side of Hamilton Avenue; thence northwesterly and parallel with Hamilton Ave- nue, and one hundred feet southerly therefrom, to a point distant one hundred feet easterly from the easterly side of Columbia Street; thence southerly and parallel with Columbia Street, and one hundred feet easterly there- from, to a point distant one hundred feet south- erly from the southerly side of Nelson Street ; thence westerly and parallel with Nelson Street, and one hundred feet southerly there- from, in a straight line, to a point distant one hundred feet easterly from the easterly side of Richard Street; thence southerly and parallel with Richard Street, and one hundred feet easterly therefrom, to a point distant one hun-
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dred feet southerly from the southerly side of King Street; thence westerly and parallel with King Street, and one hundred feet southerly therefrom, to the East River, and thence along the easterly shore of the East River to the point or place of beginning at the said north- west corner of the United States Navy Yard ; and also extending from the centre of Wash- ington Avenue along both sides of Fulton Avenue, one hundred feet on each side, to the easterly side of Bedford Avenue, and such further portion of the Western District of said city as the Common Council of the city of Brooklyn by ordinance may from time to time, as hereinafter provided, include therein."
The act provided in detail rules for build- ing within the fire limits, and regulations appertaining to building in general. Thus it was provided that "no timber shall be used in the front or rear walls of any dwell- ing, store, or storehouse, or other building here- after built or erected within the Western Dis- trict of said city, where stone, brick, or iron is commonly used; each lintel on the inside of the front or rear wall or side walls shall have a secure brick arch over it, and no wall strips in any wall thereof shall exceed in thick- ness one half of one inch, and in width two
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and one half inches; and no bond timber in any wall thereof shall in width and thickness exceed the width and thickness of a course of brick; and no bond timber shall be more than six feet in length; and such bond timbers shall be laid at least eighteen inches apart from each other, longitudinally, on either side of any wall, and the continuous line thereof shall be broken every six feet by inserting a brick of eight inches; and no front, rear, or other wall of any such dwelling, store, storehouse, or other building now erected, or hereafter to be erected, as aforesaid, within the fire limits, or as they may hereafter be extended as afore- said, or any brick or stone building or build- ings in the Western District of the city of Brooklyn, shall be cut off or altered below, to be supported in any manner, in whole or in part, by wood, but shall be wholly supported by brick, stone, or iron; and no wood or tim- ber shall be used between such wall and such supporters ; but it shall be lawful to insert a lintel of wood over the doors and windows of the first story of stores, of oak or Georgia pine, of such length and size as shall be first ap- proved and determined by the superintendent of buildings."
An important movement, begun before the
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war, culminating in 1860, and bearing fruit soon after the close of the war, resulted in the establishment of one of Brooklyn's chief ob- jects of pride, - Prospect Park. The actual construction of the park began in 1866, and was steadily continued until 1874.
The laying out and adornment of the park was placed in the hands of a commission, of which J. S. T. Stranahan, always a leading figure in the park movement, was the presi- dent. This commission, originally constituted under an act of the Legislature for the laying out, adornment, and management of the park, had its powers and duties increased by suc- ceeding laws, until it had under its control Washington Park, City Park, Carroll Park, the Parade Ground, and all the public grounds appertaining to the city.
In their report for 1868 the commissioners said : " The propriety, if not the absolute ne- cessity, of an extension of Prospect Park at its western angle, so as to allow the principal drive in that direction to be carried out accord- ing to the original design, has been repeatedly urged in former reports of the board, and the Legislature was on more than one occasion applied to for permission to make the desired acquisition ; but without success. The com-
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missioners have now, however, the pleasure of stating that an act was passed at the last ses- sion, authorizing this extension, and directing the board to apply to the Supreme Court for the appointment of commissioners to estimate the value of the land so taken."
The ground under treatment during the year covered by this report represented over two hundred acres. "The finished drives," says this report, "now amount to nearly three miles and a quarter, being a little more than two miles in excess of that which we were able to report last year. Of bridle paths, we have nearly a mile and a half finished or well pro- gressed; and of walks three miles and three quarters are completed, and nearly five addi- tional miles in progress. The very large and continually increasing number of delighted visitors show how thoroughly these walks and drives are appreciated by them. A fine speci- men of rustic work has been erected near the main entrance to the park for a summer house; and a vine-covered trellis-work, with seats overlooking the children's play-ground, commands a beautiful sea and island view, and, when covered with the foliage and flowers of climbing plants, will afford grateful shelter to all such as may be disposed to linger in its shade."
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BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR
The arrangement of the park steadily ad- vanced until it has become one of the most beautiful in the world. Covering 525 acres, its meadows, woodland, lakes, and drives com- bine to create a picture of remarkable beauty. The lakes cover 50 acres; the woodland, 1IO acres; the meadows, 70 acres; the gardens and shrubbery, 200 acres ; and there are over 60 acres of water-way. Five and a half miles of main drives were laid out, and minor drives and walks covering a distance of thirteen miles.
The later creation of the Ocean Parkway was a desirable movement, resulting as it did in a driveway running southward from the park to the sea, - a distance of five and a half miles. This magnificent drive is 210 feet wide for its entire length, being subdivided into a main and two minor roadways, with lines of shade-trees to mark the receding lines.
The Parade Ground, adjoining the park on the east, was a popular device. The broad field has contributed an important factor in the summer life of the city, its acres being in constant demand during the out-door season for all manner of sports.
These improvements and others associated with the minor parks of the city have placed heavy obligations on the park commissioners.
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A permanent board of water and sewerage commissioners was created by an act of April 2, 1869. The board received exclusive power to cause streets to be repaved, regraded, and repaired; to cause cross-walks to be relaid and sidewalks to be reflagged; and generally to have such other improvements, in and about such streets so to be repaved, regraded, or re- paired, to be made, as in their judgment the public wants and convenience shall require. The board held other authority, afterward vested in the board of city works.
The charter of the Nassau Water Company was obtained in 1855. In 1857 the city had acquired all the contracts, property, and rights of the Nassau Company. The thirty-six inch main laid from Ridgewood in 1858 was fol- lowed by an additional forty-eight inch main laid in 1867. Three mains have since been added, giving the city water from a drainage area of seventy-four square miles.
The act of 1869, by which the fire depart- ment of the city was reorganized, called upon the Mayor, the street commissioners, the president of the Board of Aldermen, the city treasurer, and the comptroller, to appoint four citizens as fire commissioners : " Said com- missioners, on being qualified, shall meet and
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BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR
reorganize the fire department of the city of Brooklyn, by electing one of said commission- ers to be president, and appointing a person to be secretary ; whereupon they shall possess and have all the power and authority conferred upon or possessed by any and all officers of the present fire departments of the city of Brooklyn, and of each division thereof, except such power and authority as is now vested by law in the trustees of the fire departments of the Eastern and Western districts of the city of Brooklyn, which said divisions shall continue distinct from each other, so far as relates to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of each district, but for no other purpose; and the persons elected and now acting as the trustees of the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of the Eastern District, and those elected and acting as trustees of the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of the Western District, shall remain and continue to have and exercise, each division respectively, all such powers and duties as are now vested by law in said boards, with regard to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of each district " (sec. 2).
By the report of School Superintendent Buckley, issued in July (1869), it appeared that the whole number of pupils attending the
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
public day schools numbered 70,000. In the evening schools 10,000 more were taught, while the private schools received 22,142 schol- · ars. At this time the value of the schoolhouse sites in the city was placed at $276,386 ; that of the buildings at $709,727.
Building throughout the city became very active. The widening of Broadway in the Eastern District materially affected the pros- perity of that section of the city, to which Broadway became the leading business artery. Grand Street developed into a busy thorough- fare, and Fourth Street, now northern Bedford Avenue, became the third important street of this section. For a site for a new building on Broadway at Fifth (now Driggs Street), the Williamsburgh Savings Bank paid the then enormous sum of $210,000. The superb struc- ture afterward erected on this ground is one of the most imposing in the city, its classic dome rearing itself among those objects in the city which command first attention from Bridge spectators.
In 1869 it was estimated that Brooklyn had 500 miles of streets, and 150 miles of sewer. Mayor Kalbfleisch's message reported a total of 3307 buildings erected in 1868. The as- sessed value of real and personal property in the county was $199,840,551.
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BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR
But most momentous of the movements of this period was that looking to the building of the first East River bridge. The possibility of a bridge over the East River had been dis- cussed early in the history of the two cities. General Johnson1 had discussed the feasibility of the suggestion, and had argued that the plan was quite within the possibilities of engi- neering science. Thomas Pope, in a volume published in 1811, by Alexander Niven, 120 Duane Street, New York, describes his idea of a " flying pendent lever bridge," which was intensely original as well as impossible.
In 1836 General Swift proposed the erec- tion of a dike over the river. The dike was to have a central drawbridge, and was to give foundation to a broad boulevard, running be- tween the two cities. At a later day Colonel
Julius A. Adams of Brooklyn, while engaged upon the bridge of the Lexington and Dan- ville Railroad, over the Kentucky River, con- ceived the idea of an East River bridge, to extend from Fulton Ferry on the Brooklyn side to a point near Chatham Square, on the New York side. The intention was to have the main body of the bridge built of two elliptic tubes, placed side by side, and supported by
1 Manuscript history.
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
ribbons of steel. There were to be three plat- forms for travelers, and it is claimed by its projector that the capacity would have been greater than that of the present structure. Colonel Adams communicated his plan to Mr. William C. Kingsley, who was largely engaged in the contracting business in this city. Mr. Kingsley entered heartily into the spirit of the enterprise, and carefully examined the dia- grams submitted by the engineer. He spent several months in a thorough and exhaustive examination of the entire question, studied the needs of the two cities, and finally became thoroughly impressed with the practicability and feasibility of the scheme. In connection with the project he consulted with some of the eminent and public - spirited citizens of Brooklyn, among them James S. T. Stranahan, Henry C. Murphy, Judge Alexander McCue, Isaac Van Anden, Seymour L. Husted, and Thomas Kinsella.1 The more these gentle- men talked and thought about the matter, the deeper interest they felt in it. Mr. Kings- ley in particular continued undisturbed in the belief that the time for bridging the river had come, and he persisted in this view until the enterprise was carried beyond the region
1 Brooklyn Eagle, May 24, 1884.
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of remote speculation into the clear atmosphere of intelligently directed and practical effort. The Hon. Henry C. Murphy at the time rep- resented Kings County in the state Senate, where he wielded a vast influence, and was re- garded as one of the leaders of his party in the State. Upon the basis of Colonel Ad- ams's plans a bill was prepared providing for the construction of a bridge across the East River. Copies of the original drawings were taken to Albany and exhibited in the Sen- ate and Assembly Chamber. The project re- ceived Senator Murphy's unflagging support, and through his endeavors and the energetic and untiring aid of its projectors, it became a law.
The act incorporating the New York Bridge Company was passed by the Legislature on April 16, 1867. It named as incorporators the following citizens of New York and Brook- lyn : -
John T. Hoffman Edward Ruggles
Simeon B. Chittenden
Smith Ely, Jr.
Samuel Booth
Grenville T. Jenks
Alexander McCue
Henry E. Pierrepont
Martin Kalbfleisch
John Roach Henry G. Stebbins
Charles A. Townsend
Charles E. Bill
C. L. Mitchell
Seymour L. Husted
T. Bailey Myers William A. Fowler
William W. W. Wood
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
Andrew H. Green William C. Rushmore Alfred W. Craven T. B. Cornell Isaac Van Anden Alfred M. Wood
William Marshall
John W. Coombs
John H. Prentice
John P. Atkinson
Edmund W. Corlies Ethelbert S. Mills Arthur W. Benson
John W. Hayward P. P. Dickinson J. Carson Brevoort Samuel McLean
William Hunter, Jr.
Edmund Driggs John Morton
By this act power was given these incorpo- rators and their associates to acquire real es- tate for the site of the bridge and approaches ; to borrow money up to the limit of the capital, and to establish laws and ordinances for the government of the structure upon its comple- tion. The capital stock was fixed at $5,000,- 000, in shares of $100 each, and the directors were given power to increase the capital with the consent of the stockholders. It was further provided that the incorporators already named should constitute the first board of directors, holding their places until June I, 1868, and that after that the board should have not less than thirteen nor more than twenty-one members. The officers were to consist of a president, secretary, and treasurer. The cities of New York and Brooklyn, or either of them, were empowered at any time to take the bridge by payment to the corpora-
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BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR
tion of the cost and 33.33 per cent. additional, provided the bridge be made free. An ad- ditional provision was made that the structure should have an elevation of at least 130 feet above high tide in the middle of the river, and that it should in no respect prove an obstruc- tion to navigation. In conclusion, the law authorized the cities of New York and Brook- lyn, or either of them, to subscribe to the cap- ital stock of said company such amounts as two thirds of their Common Councils respec- tively should determine, to issue bonds in pay- ment of these subscriptions, and to provide for the payment of interest. It was subsequently determined that the city of New York might subscribe $1,500,000 of the total capital; the city of Brooklyn, $3,000,000, and $500,000 to be paid by the private stockholders.
An enterprise of such magnitude was not carried forward without extraordinary strug- gles. To keep the work, so far as possible, out of politics required much ingenuity and per- sistence on the part of those who were actu- ated by the most public-spirited motives. It was not possible to wholly eliminate politics and self-seeking. An act of the Legislature in 1859 provided that New York city should be represented by its Mayor, comptroller, and
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
president of the Board of Aldermen, and Brooklyn by the commissioners of the sink- ing fund. The company was authorized to occupy land under water on each shore to the distance of 250 feet.
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