12B P9H ) LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 002 402 664 4 ^ ' ^ P 128 .47 .P84 Copy 1 UBRARV OF CONGRESS ^^3 FITZ JOHN VOKTER V 3 Ip 1 COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS. ANDREW H. GREEN i COMPTROLLER OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DecerrLbe,?^ 2, 187-5. ■IM :--i r» ■■<£ '/ ■^< "'■' \'^ DErARTMKNT OF PuULlO WoKKS, City Hall, Kew Yokk, Decenibcr 2, 1875. Hon. Andkew H. Gkeen, Comptroller of the City of New York : Sir— On the 2d of September you addressed a letter to His Honor the Mayor, reflecting upon his supposed inattention to what you were pleased to term the wasteful expenditure of the public moneys through this Department. The Mayor forwarded the letter to me— an unnecessary attention on his part, as you do not detain an expectant public — but, disiegarding the re- straints of official courtesy, prf)mpt]y give your official cor- respondence to the press. To your letter I replied, September 20th, and sought to an swer your allegations, because, holding an office of dignity and power, you ai-e, by some people, supposed to be, what I pur- pose to show^ you are not, a person whose statements are entitled to respect. My correspondence with you and about you has, thus far, been conducted with patience and courtesy. 1 sincerely regret that the tone of your letter and the inaccuracy of your state- ments, compel me now to plainer language than I should in another case have chosen. With your characteristic, arrogant, and disrespectful lan- guage in your connnunication to theMayor, our common superior officer, 1 have here nothing to say; but you mistake the judg- ment of reflecting men, if, by intemperate language and un- founded charges, you seek to make tliem believe that all honesty has been lodged in yon, and that eveiybody else should be sus- pected. You ])ecame Comptroller when bad men had recently sacked the City Treasury, and you rose to official distinction by apparent contrast with them. The times have changed, and the men wdio now fill offices over wliich you assume the function of a chief detect! vc. are at least your peers in all things, and some of them are in many respects your snporioi'S. It ma}" be well to consider whether you can afford to arraign me or them, unless your pi-oof is as Mell in hand, or as attaina- ble, as is other proof in which your personal interests are not Braall. With these remarks, which are of no special concern to the public, perhaps, I come to the text of yonr late letter to the Mayor. Park Expenditures and RESPONsiBiLixr. As a contribution to literature, that portion of your letter which seems to be intended for a history of the Parks, is inter- esting, and some of it may be veracious. If, however, you con- sider that to be an equivalent for the portion of the sum of $7,500, paid by you to yourself out of the public purse in 1S68, for engaging to write a proper history of the Parks, tax-payers may doubt your estimate of its value, though it is all they have had as yet for the money. The official history of the Parks from 1858 to 1872— that history which is to be found in the records of the Park Depart- ment, and with which you, as the ruling spirit, then have a pecu- liar obligation to be familiar — does not sustain your statements. In my letter of the 20th September, I asserted that you were respousible for expenses of openings of streets and other lands to the amount of $23,248,325.18, and I then gave the items as follows : " The following are the principal street ancV park openings " made on the application of Andrew H. Green, as Comptroller " and Treasurer of the Central Park : COST. " Seventh avenue (widening), One Hundred and Tenth street to Ilarlem river . $412,812 97 " Sixth avenue (widening), One Hundred and Tentli street to Harlem river 432,367 00 " Circle at Fifty-ninth street and Eighth avenue. . 545,819 51 "Boulevard, Fifty-ninth to One Hundred and Fifty-fif ih street 3,607,916 20 "Plaza at Fifth avenue and Fifty-ninth street.. . 533,530 50 "Avenue St. Kicholas, and widening Manhattan street 989,468 26 '" Twelfth avenue, Fifty-ninth to One Hundred and Fifty-third street 454,215 00 " Ilighbridge Park 483,622 00 " Morningside Park and avenues 1,720,192 40 "Triangle at Boulevard, Ninth avenue, and Sixty- third street 153,480 00 " Riverside Park and avenue 6,173,960 80 " Broadway widening 4,369,305 52 " One Hundred and Tenth street widening 188,494 00 " Eleventh avenue, north of One Hundred and Fifty -fifth street 729,700 00 $20,794,884 16 " To this should be added openings on the appli- cation of the Department of Public Parks, Mr. Green being still a member : "Triangle at Boulevard, Ninth avenue, and Sixty- sixth street 52,232 00 " Boulevard, from One Hundred and Fifty-filth street to In wood street 1,029,875 02 " Kingsbridge road 1,371,334 00 " Total cost of openings 23,248,325 18 " You re])ly tluvt " this is a inisiepreseiitatioii," and that during the time you were in the service of that Department, the total expense incm-red for such objects amounted to only $1,456,472.50. As the awards were in some cases made after the date you name, your assertion is plausible, but as none of those awards could have been niade witliout your antecedent authority, my statements remain correct in fact. The moment you filed your maps as required by law, the lands therein mapped out to be taken for public use, were con- demned, and the city became by your act responsible for the cost of the improvement, sooner or laler, as the openini^-s might take place. The annexed table (A and B), taken from the Park records, confirms my statements. In the further prosecution of the investigation into the records referred to, your mind will be refreshed, not only as to the general liistory of the Parks, but of your persistent leader- ship in every movement that looked to the purchase and w'orking of other propertj' that you say " was not required for many years." One of " these measures to be consummated " under your admimstration was that of securing the lands, etc., for the Riverside Park, The records of the Park Commission show that on the 11th of August, 1S6G, you offered the resolution, under which author- ity was given to acquire lands of which Eiverside Park was but a part. You state that the application to take the land was made in November, 1868, after a delay of two years from the time when the proceeding was instituted ; that at that time competent per- sons deemed the land worth $1,400,000, and that the proceedings were further protracted and delayed until August 2, 1872 (nearly four years moi-e), when the final sum reported as the value, etc. , of the land was fixed at over six millions of dollars. At the tiine this award was made (August, 1872), the power of the " Ring " had been greatly impaired, but you were still one of the four Park Commissioners. Mr. Thomas C. Fields, wliom you stigmatize as a " cunning and corrupt representative of the Ring," was a Commissioner with you, and offered (June 19, 1872), a resolution " to stop fur- ther work on the Riverside Park;" and for the purpose of " wiping out this legacy of the Ring." The record shows that the vote on that motion stood — In favor of stopping the work, Dillon and Fields. Opposed to stopping the work, Gkeen and Olmsted. Under the rules of the Board, the resolution to stop the work was loHt^ because the vote was a tie, — and thus, so ' far as the Park Commission were concerned, the Ri\erside Park became by your vote a permanent care and cost to the city. Additional Responsibility for Expenditures. Yet you say, from 1870 to 1872, you had " neitlier control nor influence in the affairs of the Parks, nor any of the works of the city." Wliat you mean by such a statement may be a matter of consideration ; but the Park records show that you attended the meetings of the Board quite regularly, and that you voted quite brisklv for whatever you are now pleased to denounce. For instance ; at the organization of the Department by the Charter of 1870, on motion of Mr. Hilton, and the combined votes of Messrs. Sweeny, Grekn, Hilton and Fields, Mr. (Treen was elected Treasurer. At the same meeting, you offered resolutions directing the Comptroller of the city to place to the credit of the Park Department, to be disbursed by you as Ti-easm-er, the sum of $598,000. On May 21, 187'>, Mr. Fields offei-ed i-esolutions to acquire title to land for widening and straightening the Kingsbridge road — one of your pet projects. Those resolutions were adopted by the votes of Messrs. Sweeny, Green, Hilton, and Fields. 6 On September 27, 1870, Sweeny offered a resolution to take title to land for Foi-t Washington Park, the nmps, etc., for which had been prepared wiih great care by yon under Laws of 1805 ; and I find that that motion was carried by the vote of Messrs. Sweeny, Grken, Hilton, and Fields. On De(;ember 6 following, attention having evidently been called to the enormity of this transaction, I find Mr. Sweeny {not you) offering a resolution praying the Supremo Court to enter an order discontinuing all proceedings in this matter. In view of these facts, can j'ou still pretend that you had " neither control nor infiuenco in the affaii's of the Parks, nor any of the works of the city ?" On May 21, 1S71, on motion of Mr. Fields, it was Resolved, That the President of the Department of Public Parks be authorized to carry into execution by contract w other'- wise as allowed by law, the regulating, grading, etc., of that portion of One Hundred and Twenty-sixth street lying between Sixth and Seventh avenues. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, and Fields. You also voted to pay Mr. Hilton $10,000 per annum, as Treasurer, and joined in asking the Comptroller for $100,000 on acccount of Seventh avenue, to be disbursed by Hilton, The tabulated statements "A" and "B " present a refreshing exhibit for some of the works orginally projected by you, and finally fixed upon the city with your vote — and to them I append (C) a synopsis of resolutions for other openings, etc., all of which were adopted with your vote in favor of each of them — during this period of no influence. You always co-operated tlien with associates you are pleased to call infamous, now that the public has ascertained that which you then knew about them. Then they wei-e powerful, and it advanced your interests to be zealous in co-operating with them— now they are overthrown by a public indignation which has not yet reached its full destination, and it advances your interests to characterize them by epithets which tliey as well deserved during all your intercourse with them. Of one hundred and twenty Resolutions passed in the Park Department from x^pril 20, 1870, to November 2, 1872, involving expenditure of money, and calling upon the Comptroller for $8,559,713.58— 32 were oifered I)y you ; 107 were passed with your concurrent vote ; 13 were passed without your concurrent vote. The High Carnival Season. You say that after 1870 those in power in the city govern- ment and in the Parks, held " high carnival over the prospects of plunder." The records of the Park Department here again «6how, the part you played in pressing or suppressing this "high carnival." The annexed statement C, above referred to, gives a synopsis of the resolutions offered duriug that period, the name of the Commissioner who offered the resolution in each case, and the votes on each. The taxpayers will fail to find in it that vigilance in their interests of which you boast, but will stand amazed to find that such a job as the Fort "Washington Park was planned and pressed, by you, and only saved from being fixed on the city by persistent efforts of ])roperty owners ; that such premature works as tunnels and suspension bridges leading to Westchester County, and the acquisition of lands on each side of the river at the terminr.s of each bridge or tunnel pi-oposed, and the issue of bonds for the pur[>ose, failed of accomplishment to be sure, through the efforts of othei's, but that you energetically persisted to the last in the attempt to fasten the burden of each of these pieces of work upon the public treasui-y. 8 In but a few minor cases is your voice shown to have been raised a,o-ainst any of the projects proposed in the Board, while the following are some of those to which yon gave your heart and hand : The Parade Ground at Inwood, now complained of by you, was your scheme, though you wanted it between Sixth and Eighth avenues, and One Hundred and Tenth and One Hundred and Sixteenth streets, where it would have cost much more. Those records show, also, that the " Circle " at Fifty-ninth street and Eighth avenue, and the " Plaza" at Fifty-ninth street and Fifth avenue, are two of your plans, by which a debt of nearly a million of dollars was put upon the city for the benefit of a few property owners who were then your friends and worth serving The useless piece of ground at Pligh Bridge, overrun with brambles, but known by the Park records under the pleasant title of " High Bridge Park," was purchased at a large expense duriug yolir term of office, with your concurrent vote. To you, as the records show, are we also indebted for the un- necessary and extravagant width of the B(^ulevard, and of Sixth and Seventh and St. Nicholas avenues. You admit your share of the responsibility, but say the im- provements have been piosecuted too rapidly. Yet, in the pamphlets prepared — printed and distributed, at public expense, over your own name — these improvements were stated to have been inaugurated aiul so conducted that the growth of the city " might he rapid, and that enhancement of value might occur."^ These, your own bantlings, you now denounce as profligate, forgetting your published pathetic appeals "for rapid improve- ments" and for outlets even into Westchester County. So long as you remained the supreme power in the Park Board, and were the dispenser of the patronage and funds of the Department, all went well, and ''public improvements" were nrged forward. Now you no longer control the works or dispense that 9 patronac^e, and it suits yon to insist that the works must be stopped. Affilliations. As before remarked, 3'ou have referred to Thomas C. Fields as a "cunninoj and corrupt representative and efficient aid of the Rino;." You liad every opportunity to know him welL Yet I. find by the Journal of the Park Commission, this record : For six of the sixteen years you were toj^ether in the service of the Parks, each gave his vote in favor of the other, for the position to which he was elected, Treasurer or Secretary. It was on motion of Mr. Fields that your salary, as Treasurer of the Parks, was increased in June, 1865, from $7,500 to $10,000 per annum, and that (by an arrangement which has since been stigmatized as "salary-grabbing") the increase was made to date back to January 1 of that year. You seem to have favored the back-pay system tiien, and prior in 1859, though only for the benefit of your own pocket. The records further show that in July, 1S6S, Mr. Fields secured to you the payment of $7,500 extra compensation in part for comijiling the, as yet, unseen History of the Parks. The same day, and on Mr. Fields' motion, leave of absence was given you for ninety days to visit Europe. When you returned, and on motion of Mr. Fields again, you were paid by the Department $1,600 foj- the expenses of the trip, though you drew your salary for the whole time of your absence. It was l)y Mr. Fields' motion, and by your own vote with his, that the city paid the cost of lobbying at Albany and of your expenses there, and also that the house on Great Hill was fitted up at the exj)ense of $13,000 HS a residence for you. It appears that whenever an increase of salary was to be voted, Fields offered the resolution, and both he and you voted for it. So, too, of resolutions granting you leave of absence to go abi'oad with no diminution of pa}', etc., etc., etv.. 10 Oil September IS, 1872, yon, as Viee-President, appointed Mr. Fields one of two, to examine and audit the Treasurer's accounts. These were friendly acts— very — as between yon and this ** cunning and corrupt representative, and efficient aid of the King." Yon refer to tlie wasteful manner in which, as 3"on allege, the affairs of this Department are now conducted, and give es- pecial attention to the previous occnpation of some of the In- spectors. You also state that upon their inspection my demand is made npon 3'onr Department for payment of employees. Replying to these statements in inverse order, I remark, that payment is not made upon the certificate of tliese Inspec- tors, and that all work has, from time to time, finallj^ to undergo the inspection of competent mechanics, and also of educated and trusty engineers, and this you knew when you wrote, be- cause the certificate of such inspection accompanies the vouch- ers, in each case, forwarded to you. I may add that, with exceptions, inseparable from the em- ployment of large numbers of men, the Inspectors have proved tliemselves competent to discharge their duties. Your own life demonstrates the fact, that men often assume that they possess ability to conduct other business than that for which they were trained. A public officer may be misled by confidence reposed in the source of recommendation, as you have occasion to know in your own De})artment. You convey a false impression when you assert that a Ijlind man was appointed by me to be an Inspector. I liave the evidence of the Engineers of the Bureau in which the man referred to was employed, that he is not blind, and lam assured that, although on the occasion of liis first visit to your office he was suffering from a tempoi-ary injury in one eye, and was accoinpanied by his son to identify him for payment, on the second visit that defect did not exist. The piece of work — an undei-ground drain — which he supervised has been finished, 11 and bv c-oinpetcnt Engineers has been declared to be not excelled in qualily. The testimony that will most interest our tax-payers, as to the economical conduct of the affairs of this Department, will be found in the comparative cost of equal work under my care and that heretofore conducted under the care of others. I may, under the circumstances, properly anticipate my official annual report, and say now that the saving to the city will be o\ or thirty-three per cent, for work of equal quantit}^ and quality. You can S(tarcf^ly claim credit for this. Days' Labor and Contract Works. I am well aware of the danger of prosecuting public work by days' wages, and 1 am awaie that evils may and do occur under the system. But I find that the system was begun, and that it was advocated by you, and that you for a long time justi- fied it and condemned the contract system in these words, which I quote from one of your official reports : '"' On the other hand, in carrying out an enterprise hy days' " work, the interests of all concerned, employed and employer, " combine to have the work done in the best manner — the only " probable loss to the proprietc>r being in failing to get all of the "time and energies of the employed that he pays for. What- " ever lie does ^et is directed in his favor.'' " Altliough the Croton Boai-d is one of the Departments of " the city government, and is bound b}^ the provisions of the "Charter of the city relative to contracts, yet none of the laying "of their pipes is done by contract, but b}' days' work, under a "vigilant supei'intendence. This is because of the importance "of this kind of work and of the damage that might accrue "from its unfaithful performance. 12 " The contract system has its advantages of which public "officers should avail themselves; yet, under that system in " vogue in this city, what have we witnessed in the Department " but frauds in bidding, combinations in bidding, abandonment "of contracts, straw securities, lawsuits, injunctions, claims for "extra work, delays, and the whole swarm of vexatious acts and "artifices in the mystery of contracting that the ingeiniit}' of " men bent on gain could devise — in many instances cari-ied to "such an extent that reliable, competent mechanics and con- " tractors Imve left the field of competition, finding it impos- " sible to compete with the acts of dishonesty." In view of that, is not your conversion to present belief in the contract system somewhat remarkable? I trust 1 have refreshed your memory as to whom the " in- iquitous system" of days' labor was begun by, and by what persist- ent means its fangs have become fastened upon the city, and how much more difficult it is for me to-undo what you now deem wrong, than it seems to have been for you to have begun it. x^PPOINTMEJSTS. As to appointments, it has been the misfortune of our governments— Federal, State and Municipal— to have appoint- ments largely influenced by political considerations. Even the Civil Service Law of the Federal Government does not seem to have lived an active life. The Park Department has been no exception in this matter of ])olitical influences in making appointments to office. In 18()0 the Fark Department expended $601,227.64 on the Boulevard improvement for days' labor; and in the f;dl of that year Mr. Fields was elected to the Assembly fi-om the district in which the work was located. It may have been admitted by one of my subordinates to the Senate Committee tliat political appointments were made in this la Department; l)iit I can truly assert that no appointments liave ever been made liere, unless there was actual work to be ))er- formed for which the applicants were deemed competent. It is also ti'ue, as was stated before the Committee, that in no case wheie incompetency has been shown, have I hesitated a moment in removing tlie officer. I have more than once requested you to indicate to me the presence of unfit or inefficient men in this Department; but you liave kept silent upon that sub- ject in direct communications to me — and the Senate Committee was your ]>referi'cd channel for convej'ing the information. Those who know you, have no difficulty in divining reasons for that course. Intkrfkuence wnii the Department. I am sorry to say that, from my entrance upon the duties of this office, I have expeiieliced nothing but interference on your pai't, and obstructions to my efforts to make a successful admin- istration of this Department. On the 15th of April last, you required me to dispense with the time-honored system of triplicate vouchers, which is one of the strongest guards against fraud, and is the only means of keeping a correct account of expenditures and balances, and in its stead you demanded that the system of single vouchers be substituted. Under the former system, each creditor of the city had to give this Department triplicates of each bill ; one of these was kept Jieje, and was compared with the triplicate returned by your Department after payment. Actual collusion between this Department and the Finance Department had to take place, under such a system, to render fraud possible. Against my remonstrance, you despotically broke down this safeguard, which could, by no possibilitv, do any harm. Under it, all reductions or changes in accounts were promptly reported to this Department. 14 Not only did your Department " audit and control," but this Department had constant evidence of the exact change you had made, or the exact amount paid ; it had also the means of fixino- Avhere it might belong the responsibility for improper transactions, if any should be attempted. Yet this uniform and simple triplicate record of the city pay- jneiits— almost abolishing tlie danger coming from accidental or intentional destruction, or abstraction of vouchers— you have broken up without assigning any reason but to " promote uni- formity and simplicity " in the form of rendering accounts, and this existed at the time. A section of the Charter, ^vhich was intended to give you power to increase the security of the city in matters of accounts, 3'ou have perverted and have made a source of danger to the treasury. A discussion as to what your motives are is not germane to this note. The Obstkuctive Policy. Notwithstanding your record as an official favoring large and unnecessary expenditures of the public money, your present "role" is that of reform and retrenchment. To tliis no reason- able objection will be made. But anxious as all classes of citizens are to adopt a sound policy of retrenchment, they will promptly distinguish between a mere obstructive policy and genuine re- form. Your interference with the duties of this Department, ever since your accession to the ComptroUership, has crippled it in ex- tending the system for giving the city a better supply of water, and to it, through your influence, is mainly due the failure to secure authority for additional mains to increase the supply of water in the lower and business portions of the city, which wero needed and demanded as urgently as now for the preservation of property. A notable instance of the damaging effects of your obstructive interference has just occurred. The fire which destroyed a large 15 amonnt of proi)erty in Xassan and Ann streets, a few days ago conld readily have been checked had the Croton-mains been laid which this Department has been urgently asking the power to do. If you think property-holders and insurers are likely to mis- take your "policy" in these matters for true economy, you underrate their sense and final judgment. Finally, I had not forgotten that, upon my accession to tliis oflS.ce, you had the temerity to say to me, upon an occasion which you have not forgotten, that if I did not rid myseif of the influ- ences then about me in this Department, and down there (point- ing towards the Mayor's office), you would " make me feel your power." The prompt apology which was required from such an exhi- bition of insolence, seems to have been a retraction of your words only, and not an abandonment of the purpose to attempt what the words expressed. During my continuance in this office I shall faithfully en- deavor to perform its duties, unconcerned as to the opinion of one whose cooperation I once earnestly desired, and by the side of whose official record I shall fear no comparison. Eespectfully, FITZ JOHN PORTER, Commissioner of Public Works. 16 c: 1? IT in ? § C3 (Tl t- o o o 00 \a ot O *-i »-» CO :0 r-( GV 1 (» CO o) oi lo^ -^ cy tt> Ql tT »0' i"^ C?" 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Green : 1870. May 8. On motion of Connnissioner Hilton, for the improve- n)cnt of City Hall Parh, under the direction of the Executive Connnittee. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. May 3. On motion of Commissioner Green, calling on the Comptroller for the following funds: For the Boulevard improvement $200,000 OC For the Seventh avenue im])roveraent„. . 100,000 00 For the Sixth avenue improvement 50,000 00 For the A\enue St. Nicholas improve- ment .')0,000 00 Fo]- maintenance of the Park — deficiency in 18G9 27,357 08 For Mount Morris Park 1,356 50 For Eighth avenue, adjoining the Park. . 25,000 00 For City Parks and Places 95,000 00 For Central Park improvement 50,000 00 Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. May 6, On motion of Commissioner Green, designating Na- tional Bank of Commerce as the depository of the funds of the Department. Ayes — Sween^', Green, Hilton. May 6. On motion of Commissioner Green, for the withdrawal of $200,000 from bank for use of the Department. Ayes— Sweeny, Green, Hilton. May 6. On motion of Commissioner Green, authorizing (he Treasurer to pay salaries, bills, etc. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton. 21 1S70. May 6. On motion of Commissionor Green, calling on the Mayor, Aldermen, etc., to issue "Oentral Park Im- provement Stock," $460,666.66. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton. May 6. On motion of Commissioner Fields, directing that work on Boulevard be prosecuted with additional efficienc}', etc. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. May 0. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, authorizing the Treasurer to purchase gravel and other material for Central Park. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. May. 16. On motion of Commissioner Green, authorizing the Treasurer to pay 50 per cent of reserved percentage on contracts of J. H. Sullivan & Co. and Thomas Crimmins, for regulating and grading Seventh avenue. Ayes — Green, Hilton, Fields. May 16. On motion of Commissioner Fields, authorizing the Treasurer to purchase supplies and materials. Ayes — Gi'een, Hilton, Fields. Mav 10. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, establishing the following salaries of ofhcers in the Department : Comptroller $5,000 per annum. Engineer-in-Chief 5,000 " Architect-in-Chief 5,000 " Superintendent Ceiiti'al Park 5,000 " Landscape Gardener 3,000 " Captain of Police 2,000 Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 1870. May 19. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, authorizing the Executive Committee to consider the subject of selecting location for Parade Ground. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. May 24. On motion of Commissioner Fields, to acquire title to Kino-sbridge road. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. May 24. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, directing the President to execute lease of second and fifth floors of 265 Broadway, for offices. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. May 81. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving bills audited to the amount of $39,413.70. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. May 31. On motion of Executive Committee, establishing eight hours as a day's work. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. May 31. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving acts of Executive Committee. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. May 31. On motion of Executive Committee, directing the President to have One Hundred and Twenty- sixth street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, regulated and graded, by conti-act or other- wise, and calling on the (Comptroller for funds therefor, $5,000. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. 23 1870. May 31. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling on the Comptroller for funds for maintenance of Museum and Observatory $30,(J00 00 ImiH'ovement of Mount Morris square. . . . 15,000 00 Improvement of Circle 10,000 00 Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon Hilton, Fields. June 7. On motion of' Auditing Committee, approving hills audited, amounting to $1,813.00. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, i^'ields. June 7. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, for witlidrawal of $200,000 from bank for use of Department. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. June 7. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling on the Comj)troller for funds for improvement of City Hall Park, $10,000. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. June 7. On motion of Commissioner Green, calling on tlie Supervisor of West Farms for funds for surveys, $10,000. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. Sept. 27. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, amounting to$95,016.19. A^'es — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. Sept. 27. On motion of Conniiissioner Sweeny, to acquire title to Fort Washington Point Park. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. (Laid out by Mr. Green, under Law of 18G5. Subsequently annulled on motion of Mr. Sweeny, December, 1870.) 24 1871. May 2. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, to pay tlie Treasurer a salary of $10,000 per annum. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Fields. May 2. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling on the Comptroller for funds for Seventh avenue improve ment, $100,000. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. May 2. On motion of Commissioner Fields, to acquire title to Ninety-seventh and Ninety-eighth streets, between Eighth avenue and the Boulevard. Ayes — Sweeu}', Green, Hilton, Fields. May 2. On motion of Connnissioner Fields, for withdrawal of $300,000 from bank for use of the Department. Ayes — Swxeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. Mav 23. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, to acquire title to One Hundred and Sixth and One Hundred and Seventh streets, between Fifth avenue and Harlem river. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. May 23. On motion ol' Commissioner Fields, to acquire title to the folh^wing streets: Tenth avenue extension around Fort George Hill, Dykman street, between Kingsbridge road and Harlem liver. Three several streets between Tenth avenue and Kingsbridge road, in the vicinity of Fort George Hilh The triangle (Public Place) at Boulevard and Sixty-sixth street. Ayes — Sweeny, Gi'een, Hilton, Fields. 25 1871. Nov. 14. On motion of Commissioner Fields, calling on Treasurer of Westchester County for funds for surveys, $20,000. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. Nov. 14. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling for issue of bonds for improvement of Ilarlem river bridges and tunnels. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. Nov. 28. On motion of Commissioner Green, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. Dec. 5. On motion of Commissioner Churcli, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Stebbins. Dec. 12. On motion of Commissioner Green, directing the Treasurer to carry out the improvement of One Hun- dred and Fifty-fifth street, from Tsinth avenue to Hudson river, by contivact or otherwise. Ayes — Green, Fields, Stebbins, Church. Dec. 12. On motion of Commissioner Dillon, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Stebbins, Church, Dec. 2t>. On motion of (Commissioner Fields, approval of bills, $70,253.34. Ayes — Green, f)ilIon, Fields, Stebbins. Dec. 26. On motion of Commissioner Fields, withdrawal of $100,000. Aj^es— Green, Dillon, Fic.'lds, Stebbins. 20 1872. Feb. 14. On motion of Mr. Green, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Chui'cli. Feb. 28. On motion of Mr. Green, callinc; on Comptroller for moneys appropriated by chapters 9 and 29, Laws of 1872. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Church. Feb. 28. On motion of Mr. Green, tixing salary of Treasurer at $10,000. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Church. Mar. 6. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. Mar. 6. On motion of Mr. Green, fixincj salaries of Olmsted and Vaux at $10,000, and that of C. Ryan, Superintendent, at $5,000. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. Mar. 13. On motion of Mr. Green, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. Mar. 13. On motion of Commissioner Stebbins, callinor on the Comptroller for funds, as follows: Central Park Improvement Fund, $200,000 ; City Parks Improve- ment Fund, $200,000. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. Mar. 13. On motion of Mr. Green, to rebuild bridge No. 26. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. 27 1872. Mar. 20. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, amounting to $11,041.12. A3'e3 — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Cliurch. Mar. 20. On motion of Mr. Green, directing the planting of trees on the Boulevard. Ayes— Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. Mar. 27. On motion of Commissioner Church, calling on the Comptroller for funds for improvement of One Hun- dred and Forty-fifth street, $35,000; for improvement of Tenth avenue, $100,000. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. Mar. 27. On motion of Audit. Com., a))])rovi_ng bills audited, amounting to $.^,864.06. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. Mar. 27. Commissioner Green appointed a Committee to pre- sent to the Board of Street Openings the applica- tion for opening Sullivan sti'eet, from Amity to Fourth street. (No vote I'ecorded.) April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green — liesulved^ That work on the Boulevai'd be pushed forward to sjK^edy completion. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. April 1). On motion of Commissioner Dillon, designating Xational Park Bank as depositoi-y. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green, leferring to Special Committee the question of impioving Moin- ingside avenue, west. (No vote recorded.) 28 1872. April 0. On motion of Commissioner Green, directing the pav- ing of Avenue St. Nicliolas. Aj'es — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church, April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green, directing that immediate steps be taken for regulating and grading One Hundred and Tenth street, from Fifth avenue to the Boulevard. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church, April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green, for withdrawal of $150,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. April 9. On motion of Audit. Com, approving bills audited, amounting to $43,559.89. Aj'es — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. April 24. On motion of Audit. Com., ajiproving bills audited, amounting to $4,075.54, Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. April 24. On motion of Commissioner Green, for withdrawal of $150,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. May 8. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of $150,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church, May 8. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, $73,803.22. A^'cs — Green. Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 29 1872. mIv^ 8 On motion of Commissioner Green, directing the Treasurer to pay Olmsted and Vaux $5,000, for plans and services. Ayes— Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. May 15 On motion of Connnissioner Church, calling on Comp- troller for funds for Seventh avenue improvement, $^00,000. Ayes-Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. May 15. On motion <.f Audit. Com., approving bills audited, $28,156.09. Ayes- Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. May 29 On motion of Commissioner Green, to acquire title to the Boulevard, north of One Hundred and Fifty- fifth street. Ayes-Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. May 29. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, $30,284.24. Ayes— Green, Fields, Church Olmsted. June 5 On n.otion of Comnnssioner Green, to acquire title to a street parallel to and 2,644 feet north of One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street. Ayes-Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. June 5. On n.otion of Connnissioner DiUon, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes-Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. June 5. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, $43,207.91. Ayes-Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 30 1873. June 12. On motion of Andit. Coin., approving bills audited, $50,407.77. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Churcli, Olmsted. June 12. On motion of Commissioner Churcli, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Aj'es — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. June 19. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, $41,450.12. Ayes— Green, Dillon, Fields, Churcli, Olmsted. June 19. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdniwal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. June 26. On motion of Commissioner Green — Whereas, By a resolution of this Board, adopted on the 24th day of May, 1870, the necessary measures were adopted to secure the widening of Ivingsbridge road, between the westerly side of One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street and the Harlem river ; and W/iereas, More than two years have elapsed since the adoption of the above resolution, and the interests of the public are unfavorably affected by the dela}'-, and the necessary arrangements for sewerage and water supply are retarded, much to the inconve- nience of the inhabitants of the northerly part of the Island ; Resolved, That the President be requested to ascertain and report to the Board the reasons for the delay in these proceedings, and to report to this Board whether any measures can be taken to expedite the same. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 31 1873. June 26. Similar preamble and resolution adopted relative to streets and avenues to be opened north of One Hun- dred and Fifty-fifth street. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. June 26. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdravt^al of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. July 10. Resolution to discontinue proceedings for opening Riverside Park defeated. Ayes — Dillon, Fields (many petitions presented against opening). Nays — Green, Olmsted. July 17. On motion of Mr. Green, designating Third National Bank as depository. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. July 17. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes— Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. July 17. On motion of Commissioner Church, calling on the Comptroller for funds : City Parks Improvement Fund $50,000 Central Park '• " 100,000 Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. July 17. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving bills audited, $30,478.65. Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. July 30. On motion of Mr. Green, calling on Comptroller for balance of City Parks Improvement Fund, Ayes — Green, Fields, Olmsted. 32 1872. Auc^. 7. On motion of Mr. Grreen, approving plan for improve- ment of triangle at Boulevard and Sixty-third street, and directing work to be done. Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Aug. 7. On motion of Commissioner Church, calling on Comp- troller for fuuds for Museums of Art and Natuml History, $100,000. Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Aug. 7. On motion of Commissioner Green, to acquire title to approaches to jM-oposed bridge and tunnel across Harlem river, both in City and County of New York and Westchester County. Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Aug. 7. On motion of Commissioner Fields, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Aug. 7. On motion of Mr. Gi'cen, approving plan of park en- trance at Fifth avenue, Fifty-eighth to Fifty-ninth street. Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Aug. 21. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving bills audited, $38,382.65. Ayes — Green, Fields, Olmsted. Sept. 4. On motion of Commissioner Church, to pay Calvert Vaux, architect, a commission of 2^ per cent, on cost of the Museum Buildings. Ayes — Green, Church, Olmsted. Nav — Fields. 33 1872. Sept. 4r. Resolutions, successively offered by Mr. Fields, to de- duct from tlie above commission* the annual salary of $6,000 paid to Mr. Vaux; to pay the commission from the date of his j-esiojnation as Architect to the Board : to deduct the time devoted to plans for Museum Buildings from the salary of $6,000, were voted down as follows : Aye — Fields. Nays— Green, Church, Olmsted. Sept. 4. On motion of Commissioner Church, approving plan and directing improvement of triangle at Boulevard and Sixty-sixth street. Ayes — Green, Fields. Church, Olmsted. Sept. 4. On motion of Commisioner Church, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Sept. 18. Mr. Green, as Vice-President, appointed Fields and Church as Auditing Committee. Sept. 18. On motion of Commissioner Olmsted, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Sept. 18. On motion of Commissioner Olmsted, calling on the Comptroller for funds — City Parks Improvement Fund, $300,000 ; Central Park Improvement Fund, $200,000. ^\yes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. Oct. 2. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank, ^yes— Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 3 34 1872. Oct. 2. On motion of Andit. Com., approving bills audited, $36,453.29. Ayes — Green, Fields, Chnrch, Olmsted. Oct. 16. On motion of^ Commissioner Olmsted, for withdrawal of 100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Churcli, Olmsted. Oct. 16. On motion of Andit. Com., approving bills audited, $22,653.54. Ayes — Green, Churcli, Olmsted. Oct. 24. On motion of Mr. Green, appointing- F. W. Whittemore Treasurer. Ayes— Green, Stel)bins, Chui'ch. Oct. 21. On motion of Commissioner Clnirch, calling on the Comptroller for funds — City Parks Improvement Fund, $200,000 ; Central Park Improvement Fund, $100,000. Ayes— Green, Stebbins, Church. Nov. 2. On motion of Commissioner Stebbins, calling on Treasurer of Westchester County for funds for surveys, $30,000. Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. Nov. 2. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited $11,932.22. Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. 35 1872. 'Nov. 2. On motion of Commissioner Stebbins, establishing salaries as follows : Frederick Law Olmsted, Landscape Architect $10,000 per annum. Calvin Vaux, Consulting Architect. 5,000 " F. W. Whittemore, Treasurer 7,500 Isaac Evans, Assistant Secretary. . . 3,000 " Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. Nov. 6. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of $100,000 from bank. Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. r 12B \ LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 002 402 664 4