USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I > Part 137
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The salary of the firemen appointed by said commissioners shall be $800 per annum, subject to the will of the common council to fix or change. No person holding office in or under this department shall be liable to military or jury duty, while performing his duty as a fireman. The powers and duties of this department are very numerous and ex- tensive. From it has originated one of the most completely equipped, gallant and effective fire departments now in existence. (For a history of this department, see pages 568 to 578.)
Department of City Works .- This is one of the most im- portant departments in the municipality of Brooklyn ; it has, perhaps, a wider range of duties, intimately touching the public interests, than any other.
At the expiration of every two years, the Mayor, with the consent of the board of aldermen shall appoint a Board of City Works, consisting of a president and two commissioners, who shall have, subject to the direction of the common council, charge of all structures and property connected with the public water works; the supply and distribution of water, and the collection of the water revenue; the construction and main- tenance of public sewers and drainage; opening, altering, regulating, grading, re-grading, curbing, guttering and light- ing streets, avenues, places and roads; flagging sidewalks, and
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laying crosswalks; constructing and repairing public roads, extending beyond the limits of paved streets ; the care of public buildings and offices ; filling sunken lots, and fencing vacant lots ; digging down lots; licensing street vaults, cis- terns and cesspools ; paving and re-paving, repairing and cleaning streets, avenues and places, and keeping the same clear of encroachments and obstructions ; digging, construct- ing and repairing wells and pumps ; making and preserving all surveys, maps, plans, estimates and drawings, relating to the laying out and improvement of streets, avenues, roads and sewers ; the construction, altering and repairing of pub- lic structures, buildings and offices, and all other buildings under the said department.
The president receives an annual salary of $7,000, and each of the commissioners receive an annual salary of $6,000. This board appoints a secretary, and fixes his compensation.
Bureaus .- The department is divided into six bureaus, the chief officers, subordinates and employees of which are appointed and removed at pleasure. -
1st. A bureau having charge of water works, sewers, streets, avenues and places, roads and sidewalks and cross- walks, sunken lots, lots to be dug down, vacant lots, wells, pumps, lamp-posts, docks, bulk-heads and bridges ; making and preserving all maps and surveys relating to the laying out, regulating, grading and paving all streets and avenues, and all public improvement under the charge of this depart- ment ; and the supervision of altering and repairing of all pub- lic buildings and structures. The chief officer of this depart- ment is called the Chief Engineer. 2nd. A bureau having the care of the extension and distribution of the water; laying water pipes ; setting all water meters ; taking their record ; the sale of water to shipping ; the setting of fire and drink- ing hydrants. The chief officer of this department is called the Water Purveyor. 3d. A bureau arising from the sale and use of water. The chief officer of this department is called the Water Registrar. 4th. A bureau for the inspec- tion, cleaning, granting permits for sewer connections and their inspection, and the general care of all sewers. The chief officer is called the Superintendent of Sewers. 5th. A bureau having the care and charge of street cleaning; re- moving ashes and garbage ; keeping the streets clear of all obstructions ; regulating the occupancy of streets by licensed hacks, carts and trucks ; granting builders' permits ; num- bering streets ; putting up street signs ; cleaning and repair- ing public lamps ; inspection of gas and lamps ; the erection of awnings. The chief of this bureau is called the Superin- tendent of Streets. 6th. A bureau having charge of fur- nishing fuel, furniture and utensils, books, stationery and all articles for public offices (including the city courts), except- ing as may be otherwise provided for, and all supplies shall only be furnished upon a requisition signed by the heads of this department. The chief of this bureau is called Superin- tendent of Supplies.
For many years there existed in the city an officer known as " Street Commissioner, and Commissioner of Repairs and Supplies." By an act of the legislature, passed April, 1872, these offices were abolished. The powers and duties of street Commissioner devolved upon the Commissioner of City Works. This office of Street Commissioner was one of the best paying offices in the city, the salary being no less than $5,000 per annum.
The Board of City Works in a recent and highly interesting report,* shows that there were in the city in 1882, 192 churches, all of which were of brick or stone, except 83, which were of wood. That there were 117 private and public
school-houses, all of which were brick, except 34; that there were 52 public halls, 542 brick stables, and 770 frame stables; and that there were 1,312 warehouses and sheds ; there were 75,679 dwelling houses, 34,078 of which were brick or stone, and 41,601 were frame; that the 7th ward had the great- est number of dwellings-5,295; the 22d ward, 4,395. The total square miles in the city is 20184. (For a history of the Water Works, see pages 585 to 594.)
Department of Parks .- Under a former charter of the city there existed a department known as the Brooklyn Park Commissioners. When the present charter was formed in 1877, the old Park Commission and commissioners were retained and were continued in office till the first day of January, 1880, serving without compensation.
At the first meeting of the Common Council in 1880, the Mayor, under the powers of the new charter, nominated, and with the consent of the Common Council appointed, a successor to each of the said commissioners. The powers exercised by the old Park Commissioners were transferred and vested in the present Department of Parks, and these powers extend to everything necessary, to the management, control, arrangements and by-laws of the city parks, their avenues, lanes, paths, grounds, and the exercise of govern- ment necessary for the protection of their property, and the safety of the persons and the property of all who frequent them. (For a history of the parks, see pages 595 to 601.)
Department of Public Instruction .- The history of this department having been elsewere presented by the president of the Board of Education, TUNIS G. BERGEN, Esq. (see pages 609 to 618), we shall simply confine ourselves to the law creating the said department, and the time and manner of appointing its members.
This law declares that there " shall be a Department of Public Instruction in the city, which shall be under the con- trol of a Board of Education." A Board of Education, simi- lar to the present one, existed under the previous charter, and the present charter provides that "all the provisions of law relating to that Board of Education shall apply to the present board, except to that which relates to the appoint- ment of members thereof, which is made in the following manner : On June 1, 1874, the Mayor nominated, and the board of aldermen, under the provisions of the new charter, appointed, " competent and suitable persons, and residents of the city," in place of the members of the old board whose term of office had expired. The terms of such appointees was fixed at three years. The law directs that in " making such appointment care must be taken to preserve, as near as may be, the representation in said board of at least one mem- ber from each district. The persons so appointed, held office until their successors were appointed. The law also provides that if the Common Council does not approve of the nominations made by the Mayor, or any of them, within ten days after the making of such nominations, the Mayor shall nominate other persons for said offices, and shall con- tinue to nominate until all of the said offices shall have been filled as heretofore provided. The law provides that all va- cancies in the said board, occasioned otherwise than by the expiration of the term of office, shall be filled on the nom- ination of the mayor, with the approval of the board of aldermen; that appointments are made once in two years.
Salaries of Officials .- Chapter 1, article 1, and section 1, of the ordinance, in relation to city officers, adopted by the Common Council, orders that the penalties of the official bonds required of the city officers before entering upon their
* Brooklyn Advance, July, 1883, page 225.
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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.
duties shall be as follows : That of the City Treasurer, $150,- 000; that of Comptroller, $45,000; that of Collector of Taxes and Assessments, $250,000; of the Registrar of Arrears, $50,- 000; of the City Attorney and Counsellor, $10,000; of the City Clerk, $10,000; of the President of the Board of Police and Excise, $20,000; that of each Police and Excise Commissioner, $20,000; that of the President of Fire and Building Depart- ment, $10,000; that of each Commissioner of Fire and Build- ings, $10,000; that of the President of the Board of Assessors, $5,000; that of the President of the Board of City Works, $10,000; of each Commissioner of City Works, $10,000; that of the Water Registrar, $50,000. Such officers, except the Collector and Treasurer, shall execute such bonds respectively within ten days after the notice of their election or appoint- ment, or their office shall be declared vacant. The bonds of all officers must be executed with two or more sureties con- ditioned, as we have seen provided in the city charter. Such sureties must justify separately, on the back of the bond, that they are respectively worth the sums stated in their respective justifications, over and above all debts and liabil- ities by them owing or incurred, or for which their property is liable or encumbered, at the time of justification, and over and above all exemptions by law of their property from executions.
It will thus be seen how carefully thic interests of the city, its money and other property is protected, and how sedulously it protects itself against the pec- ulation, frauds, incapability and misconduct of its officers.
We have thus given a brief summary of the legisla- tive and administrative departments of the municipality of Brooklyn, and a digest of the laws under which they derive their powers, duties and tenure of office. As the Common Council has power to make such ordinances or by-laws as they may deem proper in relation to city officers, limiting and defining the duties of some of them under the present charter of the city, and to pre- scribe other and further duties to be performed by them, the Common Council have exercised that power in making ordinances, which, in some instances, change or limit, to some extent, the powers and duties of the heads of the departments and their subordinates; but the ordinances of the city are mostly recapitulations of the charter of the city, and too numerous to be here mentioned.
We shall, in the course of this history, in its appro- priate place, give some statistics connected with the departments we have described; and, as far as possible, a list containing the names, &c., of the officers of these departments.
Departments of Law .- We have given, in other parts of this work, the history of the municipal and other courts of Brooklyn, during the existence of the village charter and its various amendments, and dur- ing the existence of the first city charter, with its sev- eral amendments. We shall devote some time to the history of the municipal courts as they now exist under the present charter, with a summary review of their procedure, and a description of the judicial officers who have conducted, and are conducting, these courts.
City Court of Brooklyn .- In the year 1849 an act passed the legislature of the state establishing the City Court of Brooklyn, and providing for the election, in the city, at its then next charter election, and every six years thereafter, a City Judge, to hold his office from the 1st day of May next, after the passage of the said act, subject to removal in the same manner as the county judges. A City Judge was elected, according to the provisions of the said act, every six years, who presided over the City Court of Brooklyn. Such a judge was in office in 1870, when a law was enacted for the election of two additional judges of the city courts by the electors of the city, at the time provided by law for the first election of judges of the Court of Appeals, under the sixth article of the Constitution of the State. The official term of these two judges commenced, according to law, on the first Monday of July, 1870. The law further provided that the two judges thus elected with the said City Judge, or any of them, should hold a court of civil jurisdiction, to be called the City Court of Brooklyn. Thus, it will be seen that the City Court established under the previous charter was con- tinued under the new or present charter. The rapid growth of the city, and the large increase of the legal business, had rendered the City Court, with its single judge, unable to dispose of the great accumulation of business, although the court was a highly respectable tribunal. Hence the act of the legislature appointing two additional judges. This act extended the jurisdic- tion of the City Court to several actions and proceed- ings where the cause of action arose, or where the sub- ject thereof was situated in the City of Brooklyn.
These causes of action are as follows: For the re- covery of real property, or any interest therein, or for the determination of any such right or interest; for the partition of real property; for the foreclosure or satis- faction of a mortgage of real or personal property; for the recovery of personal property distrained for any cause. By the laws of 1871, chap. 282, and of 1872, chap. 688, the jurisdiction of the said court was extend- ed to all other actions where the cause of action arises in the city, or where one of the defendants shall reside or be personally served with a summons within the said city; to and against corporations created under the laws of this state, transacting their business within the said city, or established by law therein; to actions for the partition of real estate of infants, in which actions the said court shall have the same jurisdiction as is given the supreme court by section 1 of chap. 277 of the laws of 1852; actions for the admeasurement of dowers; for the sale, mortgage or other disposition of real property of infants, habitual drunkards, lunatics, idiots or persons of unsound mind; to compel the specific performance, by infant heirs or other persons, of contracts respecting real property and chattels real; for the mortgage or sale by religious corporations of their property, and the application of the proceeds
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thereof; actions against corporations created by or under the laws of another state, government or county, having property in the city or an agency established therein.
The act of 1871 gives the said City Court and the sev- eral judges thereof the powers and authority in rela- tion to actions in said court, the process and proceed- ings therein, as are possessed by the Supreme Court ,in regard to actions pending in said Supreme Court. It also gives the said City Court, within the county of Kings, concurrent general jurisdiction with the Supreme Court in law and equity; and all laws regulating the practice of the Supreme Court and the procedure there- in shall, as far as practicable, apply to and be binding upon the said City Court and the judges thereof.
The act provides for removing into the Supreme Court any action pending in the City Court, which could originally have been brought in the Supreme Court, whenever, on motion, it may appear to the latter court that the convenience of witnesses or the ends of justice require it.
The judgments of the City Court are docketed and made liens the same as judgments recovered in the Supreme Court, and the City Court shall have the same power over the dockets of its judgments in the office of any county clerk, and over such county clerk in respect to the same, as for the time being may be pos- sessed by the Supreme Court in respect to the dockets of judgments in that court. The whole expense of the City Court is a county charge, paid by the Supervisors in the same manner as other charges are now allowed.
Provisions are made for an appeal from the law, from the trial or special term of the said City Court to a general term thereof, and for an appeal from said general term to the Court of Appeals of the state.
The law also provides for the appointment of a clerk of the said City Court, whose fees for services in civil cases are the same as for similar services rendered by the county clerk, and all fees which he shall receive shall be paid by him to the county treasurer.
The annual salary of the clerk is fixed at $2,000. He must appoint a deputy with like powers as those of the deputy county clerk; his salary is fixed at $1,000 per annum. The said City Court must always be open for the transaction of any business for which no notice is required to be given to an opposing party: There are ten terms for the trial of issues of law or fact, in every year, and as many special and general terms as the judges shall appoint. The judges of the said court each receive an annual salary of $10,000, to be paid quarterly by the county treasurer.
It is thus seen that the City Court of Brooklyn is a tribunal whose importance in the territory over which it has jurisdiction is equal to that of any other court in the State.
Thus far we have confined ourselves to the civil jurisdiction of the City Court. The law provides that
any of the judges of the said court may and shall hold a court of criminal jurisdiction to the same extent and in the same manner, and with the same powers as courts of Oyer and Terminer, in any county in this State, in the indictment and trial of all offences com- mitted in the said city whenever any bill of indictment for an offence shall have been transmitted to the City Court pursuant to law. The proceedings thereinshall be, in all respects, the same as indictments in a court of Oyer and Terminer.
The District Attorney of the county prosccutes all in- dictments found by the Grand Jury cmpanneled by said City Court, and all indictments transmitted by law to the said court in the same manner as if such indictments had been tried in a Court of Sessions of the county, and shall have the same powers in all respects. The fees to be allowed and paid to attorneys and coun- selors conducting suits or proceedings in the City Court, and the costs to be recovered for similar services in the county court.
Police Courts, Police and Other Justices .- The law of 1869, Chapter 125, provided for the election in the city of Brooklyn, at the next charter election to be held in the said city after the passage of the said law, and every four years thereafter, a Justice of the Peace, to be denominated a Police Justice, to hold his office for four years from the first day of May next after his election, from May, 1869. The said justice was given no civil jurisdiction, except in suits, actions or proceedings brought on any of the ordinances, by- laws or regulations of the city, or the Board of Health of the city, where the penalty does not exceed the sun of $250, in all of which cases, the said police justice, and each of the justices made by the Act of 1850, possessed jurisdiction. The Justices of the Peace or Police Justices have jurisdiction in criminal cases over all persons arrested or charged with any offence in the county of Kings; and in such cases each possess all the jurisdiction, powers and authority of a justice of the peace in said county, and have power to hear all com- plaints and conduct all examinations in criminal cases. Said justices shall not receive any fee or reward for their own use. The Justice of the Peace of the City of Brook- lyn, elected under and by virtue of an act to establish courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction in the city, passed March 24, 1849, and the Police Justice in said city, shall receive, by the laws of 1869, an annual salary of $3,500. And the clerks of each of the said justices shall receive an annual salary of $1,800 each. Thesc salaries are in lieu of all fees or emoluments whatsoever.
Courts of Special Sessions .- Either of the said Justices or Police Justices has power, under the laws of 1871, to hold a court of special sessions alone, and shall have jurisdiction other than that heretofore given them to try any person arrested in said county who may be brought before them, or either of them, charged with an affray, riot, malicious mischief, or cruelty to
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any animal, committed within said county; and in all cases which are triable in such courts of special sessions, the party accused shall not be required to give bail to appear in any other court of criminal jurisdiction, un- less the City Judges, the County Judge or a Justice of the Supreme Court shall certify that the charge is one that ought to be tried in some other criminal court.
Civil Jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace .- The civil jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace in the city of Brooklyn in actions as provided for in section 53 of the code of procedure, and in actions for the recovery of personal property, was extended by the laws of 1871, chapter 492, to $250. This section of the code thus referred to has been subjected to some modifications by the recent amended code, but we believe the jurisdiction of the said justices of the peace remains unchanged.
The Common Council of the city may, if they deem proper, appoint-and they have appointed-a clerk for the Police Justice, and also a clerk for each of the other Justices, and they fix and regulate the duties of such clerk or clerks. They each receive by said act an annual salary not to exceed the sum of $500. The Common Council may designate policemen to attend upon the police court and other courts of the city.
By an act of the legislature of 1869, the Common Council of the city of Brooklyn were authorized to divide the city into two or more districts; in each of such districts a Justice of the Peace was to be clected at the then next charter election in said city, and cvery four years thereafter; said justice to hold the office for five years, with the same jurisdiction in the city that justices of towns have, and deemed to be Justices of the Peace of the County of Kings, with jurisdiction in all cases arising within said city, under article 2, title 10, chapter 8, of part 3d of the revised statutes, to the same extent as the assistant justices in the city of New York then had. The said justices exercising civil jurisdiction are entitled to receive the same fees, for the use of the city, as were allowed for similar services in the late Municipal Court of Brooklyn. By the said act, all acts and parts of acts which related to the organization of the municipal court of Brooklyn, the proceedings therein, and the jurisdiction and powers of the justices thercof, were repealed.
By an act of the legislature, passed April, 1871, pro- visions were made for electing in the city of Brooklyn, at the then succeeding charter election, and every four years thereafter, a Justice of the Peace in the Sixth District in the said city, said justice to have the same jurisdiction in civil and criminal proceedings as were possessed by the justices of the peace in said city.
We take the following from an interesting and instructive article by S. M. OSTRANDER, Esq., published in the Brooklyn Advance, for July, 1833, descriptive of the criminal business of the police and city courts of Brooklyn: "Of the large number of offences that
engage the attention of our police magistrates, many of them are petty, and are at once dismissed. A large number of the criminals convicted in our courts are New York professionals. * * * The police force to-day is not much larger than it was ten years ago. In 1878, the force arrested 23,334 persons; in 1880, 26,558; in 1881, 28,889. During the year 1882 the arrests numbered 27,610. The percentage of arrests to population was, in 1878, 4 41 10% per cent .; in 1880,
4 106 per cent .; in 1881, it was 4 25 10% per cent .; in 1882, 4 6% per cent. The arrests in 1882 exhibits a decrease of 719 males and 560 females-one arrest for cvery 22 inhabitants. The total number of officers and men (of the police force) was 646, or one to every 950 inhabitants. Of those arrested, 22,216 were males; 5,394 were females. The report of the commissioners of police for the year ending December 31, 1882, shows a marked decrease of arrests among workingmen and laborers. Among the occupations of those arrested, seven were clergymen, twelve actors, nine artists, one- author, twenty-two bill-posters, twenty-seven brokers, thirty-eight conductors, thirty-one lawyers, thirty-two musicians, twenty-three physicians, two hundred and ninety printers, three deputy-sheriffs, and one railroad president. The number arrested for drunkenness was 9,500 males, 2,893 females. The arrests for this cause was two per cent. of the whole population. * The rogues gallery contains 3,082 pictures. During the year ending November 30, 1882, the police recovered and restored $91,520.63 of stolen property.
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