CHRONOLOGY : THE MODERN CITY AND ISLAND :
 

-1909   2001
 

1890         since Jan.,  1889,  the bureau of incumbrances has removed

Jan.   2,495 telegraph poles and about 14,500,000 ft. of dectric wires;

6    and it is "confidently bdieved that every pole wIU be removed

troro the streets and that every dectrical wire will he operated

under ground in properly constructed  subways"  by the end ot

Severd "laudable reforms," says the roayor, have faeen accom¬
plished in the department of public works. "By dispensing with
the services of unnecesaary employees and fay the reduction of
excessive salaries a saving In the expenses ot tbis department bas
been effected, amounting to 850,000 a year. The law which pro¬
vides that aU contracts shall be let to the lowest bidder after an
honest competition has been obeyed in its apirit as weU as in its
letter. By the terms ot the statute such letting is compulsory
only where tbe aroount to be eipended exceeds the suro of 8l,ooo.
In former years a few contractors obtained fay private arrange¬
ment, without competition, contracts which often were for one
dollar less than that sura. This aystem of awarding 8999 contracts
by private agreement haa been abolished, and no work or materids
involving the expenditure ot more than one hundred doUars are
now ordered, except upon competitive bids."

During the past year, "the city has obtained possession ot the
plot ot ground immediatdy north ot the City Prison. The old
structure of the Hariem Railroad Company has been removed
and the ground has faeen made ready for the construction of a
criminal court. . . , The erection of thia building wIU be pushed
to a speedy completion ao tbat the expenae of transporting pris¬
oners between the Tombs and the Courts may he saved to the

Tbe construction of a municipal building for the accommoda¬
tion of the various city'departments is stIU a great need.

Tbe mayor complains that the state legislature has for many
years treated the city unjustly. "The State Board ot Equaliza¬
tion bas uniformly fixed the vduatlon ot real estate within this
county at a much higher percentage ot its red value than is estab¬
lished for any of tbe other counties ot the State. The taxpayers
of this city are, therefore, compdled to pay an unjust proportion
of the cost of the governroent of the State." Also, in every city and
village outside of New York, arroories are constructed at the
expense of the state, while this rouniclpallty is forced to issue
its own bonds tor the purpose. In consequence. New York City
is not only compeUed to pay for ita own armories, but dso to
faear about 45% of the cost of all the armories erected in other
parts ot the state.—Proc, Bd. ofAld; CXCVII: 6-19.

19         The completed Rutgers Riverside Presbyterian Church at the

s. w. cor. of 73d St. and Western Boulevard, tbe corner-stone ot
which was laid on May 25, 1889, is opened for worship.—N. Y.
Times, My 26, 1889; Ja 20, 1890. See also L. M. R. K., UI: 931-
32. Fot v'ie'v, see King's Handbook (i%i)2), 2T^. This edifice was
removed in July, 1925, to make way tor an office building; and a
new church was built on the north side ot 73d St. adjoining the
Ansonia Hotel. This was dedicated on March 21, 1926.—■A'^. Y.
Times, Mr 22, 1926.

30         The 8th Regiment armory, erected on the west side of Park

Ave., between 94th and 95th Sts., is opened. The 8th Eegiment,
which had Its faeglnnlng in 1786, did duty at Fort Gansevoort,
tool ot West I3tb St., in the War of 1812, and served in the Civil
War and the Spanish War. For a time It occupied the upper part
of Centre Market, Grand and Centre Sts.—Souvenir ofthe Grand
Opening ofthe new Armory ofthe Eighth Regiment,N. G. S.N. Y.
Jan. 3D, 1890 (New York, 1890?); MiUer, New York As It Is
(1876), 40.
Feb.         From Fefa. 3 to 8, the lifarary of Americana ot the late Samuel

3    Latham MitchiU Barlow waa aold al the Am. Art Gdleries. It
Included much manuscript raaterial rdating to early New York.—
See sdes cat. (wilh price-list), in N. Y. P. L.

4          The 100th anniversary of the organization of the U. S. supreme
court is celebrated with exercises at the Metropolitan Opera
House. In tbe evening there was a banquet at the Lenox Lyceum.
—N. Y. Times, F 4 and 5, 1890,

17         A great mass-meeting is hdd in Cooper Union in favour ot a

world's fair in New York in 1892 (see Jl 25, 1889),—JV. Y. Times,
F 18, 1890. Congress, however, decided that a Columbian fair
should fae hdd at Clncago (see Ap 25).

21         The Racquet Court Cluh (see Ap 28, 1875) having been merged

in tbis year in the Racquet and Tennis Cluh, the latter is Incor¬
 

porated.  The rooms at 55 W. 26th St. continued to he uaed until   Fefa.
AprU 30, 1891, when the dub-house at 27 W. 43d St. waa opened.   21
—Club Book (1891); L. M, R. K,, III:  938. On April 15, 1918, a
new club-house, at 370 Park Ave., was opened.—Club Book (1918).

John Jacob Aator (grandson of the first J. J. Astor) dies at his   22
residence at Fifth Ave. and 33d St.-JV. Y. Times, F 23, 1890.

From Feb. 25 to 28, Bangs & Co. aold at auction the library   25
ot Jaa. Carson Brevoort, ot Brooklyn.  It consisted principdly of
scarce works rdating to the discovery, exploration, and hiatory of
North America.-See the sdes catdogue in N. Y. P. L.

The Manhattan Club (see N 13, 1865) signs a 21-year lease of Mar.
tbe A. T. Stewart mansion at the north-west corner of Fifth Ave. I
and 34th St.—JV. Y. Times, Mr 14, 1889, and Mr 2, 1890. See
also Watterson, JI/sl. ofthe Manhattan Club, 62-63, 7S~77' 83;
JV. r. Eve Telegram, Je 7, 1913; Mem.Hist.N. Y; IV: 252-53;
L. M. R. K., IH: 938, 952. However, the dub remained here
only until 1899 (q. v.. My 2).

Andrew H. Green preaents a meroorial to the legislature having     4
as ita object to emphasize the importance of official Inquiry into the
expediency of enlarging the area of the city of New York.  After           .

caUing attention to his earlier communication (aee D 30, 1868),
he says: "Tbe encounter is one hetween the retreating forces ot
the trihd ayatera and the coming forces ot the cooperative system,
hetween barbaric tradition and educated aspiration, to which
there can be but one result, when the frontier Unes of the Man¬
hattan, the Montauks and tbe Raritans sbaU he obliterated, and
New York, Brooklyn, Long Island City and Staten Island shall
he one poUtlcaUy as they are already in every other relation. . . .
There are some spheres of administration whose proper regulation
ia most vitaUy important to the coramon wdfare and which must
he apportioned out among different terrltorid authorities, Tbe
navigable water system of the port bdongs in common to all the
cities and towns and counties of the port. Its development and
protection Is the concern of dl, but under existing arrangements
is the duty of none. . . . The rogueries ot garbage and mudscow
boatmen in making the channds dumping place for all sorts of
waste are past finding out. From Sandy Hook to Yonkers aU the
shore and aU the water space is open to lawless enterprise. Every
little diatrict has its marauders, who by encroachment, appro¬
priation, and misuse deplete the general system to transfuse its
vitalities into some niggard scheme ot individual profit."—As¬
sembly Docs. (1890), II, Doc. 71.

The handling of iromigrants arriving at the port ot New York   Apr.
is transferred from tbe state commissioners of Immigration to the     i
U. S. superintendent of immigration at the barge office,—Ann.
Cyclop. (1890), 620.

The Union League Cluh bolda a reception In honour of Gen.    17
Wra. T. Sherman on his 70th birthday.   About 700 guests are
present including representatives of the army, the navy, the bench,
the dergy, as weU as business, professional, and political life.—
Manrice, Fifth Avenue, 116-17.

Immigrants land for tbe last time at Castle Garden.   The    18
barge office Is to be used  as a landing-place until EUis Island
is ready (see Ja 1, l892).^JV. Y. Times, Ap 16, 17, and 19, 1890.
See dso L. M. R. K., Ill: 983. See Ja 10, 1891.

The name of Ninth Ave. from 59th St. to 127th St. is changed   12
to Columbus Ave.—Proc, App'd by Mayor, LVUI; 59.

The narae ot Tenth Ave. from 59th St. to Fort George Ave.    "
ia changed to Amsterdam Ave.—ProC; App'd by Mayor, LVIII: 59.

Congress passes an act providing that the 400th annivetsaty   25
ot the discovery ot America by Christopher Columbus shall be
cdebrated in 1892 fay an internationd eihlfaition at Chicago.—
Laws qfU. S., 5iat cong., lat aesa., chap. 156.  SeeO 21, 1892.

Tbe legislature provides tor a bi-partisan commission ot 38    26
members, to be appointed hy the governor with the concurrence
of the senate, to revise the judiciary article ot the state constitu¬
tion.—JLaruj o/JV. r. (1S90), chap. 189. This coromission rendered
a report on March 4, 1891 (q.v.).

Proteatant Epiacopd services are held tor the laat time in Zion 27
P. E. Church at the s. e. cor. ot Madison Ave. and 38th St., and the
consolidation ot Zion Church with St. Timothy's is consummated.—
JV.r.ri"in5i,Ap25and28,i890;L.M.R.K,,III: 934. Theunited
congregations erected a new church (see Ap 29, 1891), and the old
Zion Church edifice was sold to the South Rdormed Dutch congre¬
gation (see N 30),

Tbe legialature incorporatea the New York and New Jersey   30