Ni;\V YORK CITY. 



531 



found necessary to deny admission to so many chil- 

 divti in certain districts, there were 20.615 vacant 

 3 in the public schools, of which 1:2. 21 6 were in 

 grammar schools. At this time 2 new schools were 

 opened. They cost s4 10,000, ami accoinniodale 

 3.H50 pupils. 



(.'lianires in (government. -In accordance with 

 tlic provisions of the law enacted by the Legisla- 

 ture of 1SD5. the Department of Charities and Cor- 

 rection eea<ed to exist on Dec. 31. ls<)5. and on Jan. 

 1. 1896, the new departments of Public Charities 

 and of Correction came into existence. The lir>t 

 named is managed by 3 commissioners, each of 

 whom receive^ a salary of x5.oOO. The incumbents 

 during the year were Silas (.'. Croft, president. 

 James R. O'Beirne. and John P. Faure. The De- 

 partment of Correction is controlled by a single 

 commissioner, who receives a salary of !? 7.500. 

 Robert J. Wright was the commissioner during the 

 year. His most conspicuous act was the prompt 

 removal of Warden Fallon. keeper of the city pris- 

 on, for " incompetency and inconsistent conduct.'' 

 In consequence of the enactment of the Raines law. 

 the Board of Excise (consisting of Commissioners 

 Joseph Murray, president, Charles H. Woodman. 

 and Julius Harburger, each of whom received a 

 salary of s5.00('h. (.-eased TO exist on May 31. The 

 regulation of the traffic in liquors is now a State 

 charge, and the office in New York city is under 

 the control of Deputy-Commissioner George II il- 

 liard. who receives a salary of $4,000, and has his 

 headquarters in Xo. 1 Madison Avenue. 



Pilots. The pilots are under the jurisdiction of 

 a board of commissioners consisting of A. F. lliir- 

 gins. J. II. Winchester. W. 15. Hilton, Thomas P. 

 Ball, and W. I. Comes. Office. 24 State Street. 

 Their report for 1*96 says that the system of fewer 

 boats and less extended cruising grounds has 

 proved satisfactory. The cruising grounds are 

 from Fire Island, on the Long Island shore, to Bar- 

 negat, on the New Jersey shore, and 7 boats are 

 continually cruising. A chartered steamer has 

 b.-i-u used as a " take-off '' boat with such success 

 that a large steamer is now being constructed espe- 

 cially for the purpose. The number of active pilots 

 is 106. The number of vessels piloted inward and 

 outward was 5.410. with a gross pilotage earned of 

 $375,612.89. The number of vessels sunk within 

 the harbor limits was 145. 



Rapid-Transit Railroad Commission. This 

 body at the close of the year consisted of Alexan- 

 der E. Orr. president. John Claflin, John II. Starin. 

 George L. Rives. "Woodbury Langdon. and Charles 

 S. Stewart (the 3 last-named succeeding Seth Low, 

 resigned, and John IT. Inman and William Stein- 

 way, deceased), together with the Mayor and the 

 Comptroller i-.r officio. The office is at 256 Broad- 

 "way. The work of this commission received an 

 unexpected check by a decision of the appellate 

 division of the Supreme Court, handed down on 

 May 22. denying the motion made in behalf of the 

 Rapid-Transit Commissioners for the confirmation 

 of the report of the General Term Commissioners 

 in favor of the plan for the construction of an un- 

 derground rapid-transit system. The court denied 

 the motion because of the probable large cost of the 

 ^undertaking and the lack of definite data regard- 

 ing it. 



The effect of this decision was to cast a doubt 

 on the legality of the status of the commission, and 

 accordingly an action was brought to have the 

 rapid-transit act declared unconstitutional, and 

 to restrain the Rapid Transit Commission from 

 further action. 



Concerning this action, the appellate division of 

 the Supreme Court handed down a decision on July 

 28, declaring the rapid- transit act constitutional. 



At the meeting held on Dec. 31. a new plan for a 

 rapid-transit road, mostly underground, was an-. 

 nounced. 



.Monuments. A site for the Heine memorial 

 Loreley monument (offered to the. city, and refused 

 by the I'ark Commissioners after a verdict against 

 it by a commission of the Sculpture Society; was 

 found at North Beach. A plot of ground "in 

 above water, known as Pine Woods, was <! 

 and 5,645 feet were given to the Heine Association, 

 who will erect waterworks for the sole purpose of 

 supplying the fountain. The memorial is to be 

 erected on a base many feet above the ground. M> 

 that it will be in full view of Flushing, College 

 Point. Port Morris, and Glen Island. 



At the annual meeting of the Grant Monument 

 Association, on Feb. 26. it was reported that tin- 

 total subscription up to date was $515,113.07. The 

 interest amounted to $14.818.84. The total of dis- 

 bursements to Feb. 25, 1896, was $296,729.36. leav- 

 ing $2:53.202.55 cash on hand. The marble lining 

 in the main structure and crypt, the stairways, in- 

 terior decorations, carving, and the sarcophagus 

 will be completed, and if no extraordinary <! 

 occur the structure will be finished and ready to 

 receive the remains of Gen. Grant and to be dedi- 

 cated upon April 27. 1897, his birthday. 



The Aquarium. In 1889 the Board of Park 

 Commissioners secured possession of Castle Garden, 

 which had long l?en used as a receiving station for 

 immigrants. Measures were at once taken to trans- 

 fer it into an aquarium. 



On Dec. 10 the aquarium was opened with a re- 

 ception by the Park Commissioners. There were 

 then in the aquarium 78 species of fish, 125 animal 

 forms, and 12 species of aquatic plants, 9 of which 

 are from fresh water and 3 from salt water. 



Botanic Garden. During the year the Board 

 of Managers of the New York Botanic Garden ap- 

 pointed Prof. Nathaniel L. Britton director. Plans 

 for the garden were prepared on Dec. 16, and one 

 was accepted. There will be a broad plaza in front 

 of the Bedford Park Railway Station, and a con- 

 nection with the Mosholu Parkway will be carried 

 on a bridge over the railway cut. 



For the main museum building a site has been 

 selected on an elevation about 1.000 feet from the 

 railway station. It will have a frontage of 304 

 feet, a' depth of 50. and two lateral wings of 200 

 feet in length. The horticultural building will be 

 an equal distance from the station and the museum, 

 and midway between them will be the heat and 

 power house. 



Zoological Park. The New York Zoological 

 Society, which for several years has agitated the 

 question of a zoological park, secured the passage 

 of a bill by the Legislature authorizing the city to 

 set aside 300 acres for the purpose, the choice to be 

 between Van Cortlandt. Pelham. Bronx, and Cro- 

 tona Parks. Prof. Henry F. Osborn. in behalf of 

 the society, made formal application to the Sinking 

 Fund Commissioners for "all that portion of Bronx 

 Park which lies south of Pelham Avenue, of about 

 261 acres in extent, to be used by this organization 

 only under the terms of its charter as a public- 

 zoological park, and to be laid out for improvement 

 and use upon a general plan, which shall be ap- 

 proved by the Board of Park Commissioners before 

 any actual work is begun." 



On April 6 \Yilliam T. Hornaday was made di- 

 rector of the zoological park, and during the sum- 

 mer he was sent to Europe to inspect the zoological 

 gardens of Germany, Belgium, Holland, France, 

 and England. 



Political. At the election of 1896. held Nov. 3. 

 the only city officer voted for was coroner. The 

 registration showed a total of 331,214, being an in- 



