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NEW YORK CITY. 



Building Department. The measure known 

 as the Connolly codification of the building 

 laws, which makes a separate department of 

 the Building Bureau ana provides for the ap- 

 pointment of a building commissioner, was duly 

 signed by the Governor on April 11. By the 

 terms of the measure the new department will 

 include the Building Bureau, heretofore under 

 the Fire Department, the Bureau of Plumbing 

 and Ventilation, which has been under the 

 Health Department, and the Bureau for Build- 

 ing Vaults, which has been under the Depart- 

 ment of Public Works. Mayor Grant promptly 

 appointed Thomas J. Brady to the new commis- 

 sionership, at a salary of $5,000. 



Vital Statistics. The Board of Health con- 

 sists of the President of the Board of Police, the 

 health officer of the port, and two commission- 

 ers, one of whom must have been for five years 

 a practicing physician. The commissioner who 

 is not a physician is president of the board. 

 The commissioners are as follow : President 

 Charles G. Wilson, Dr. Joseph D. Bryant, 

 Health Officer William T. Jenkins, and Presi- 

 dent of the Board of Police James J. Martin. 

 The headquarters of the Board of Health is at 

 301 Mott Street. During 1892 the vital statistics 

 were as follow : 



The principal causes of death were as follow : 

 Pneumonia, 5,704: phthisis, 5,005; diarrhoeal 

 diseases, 3,597; under five years, 3,158; Bright's 

 disease and nephritis, 2,383 ; heart disease, 2,313 ; 

 bronchitis, 1,746 ; accidents, 1,591 ; diphtheria, 

 1,425 ; scarlet fever, 975 ; influenza, 495 ; mea- 

 sles, 863 ; croup, 667 ; typhoid fever, 399 ; whoop- 

 ing cough, 369 ; cerebro-spinal meningitis, 230 ; 

 malarial fever, 161; smallpox, 81; and typhus 

 fever, 44. Besides the foregoing there were 320 

 fatal sun-strokes, 240 suicides, and 38 homicides. 

 The special features of the year have been the 

 epidemic of typhus fever and the arrival of the 

 cholera, of which there were several fatal cases. 

 On July 1 the estimated population of New York 

 city was 1,827,396 persons. 



Insane. A board of five commissioners, in- 

 cluding El bridge T. Gerry, Franklin Edson, 

 Oscar S. Straus, Edward P.Barker, and William 

 Lummis, was appointed by Mayor Grant to con- 

 sider whether New York County should con- 

 tinue to take care of its insane, or whether it 

 should hand them over to State care, submitted a 

 report on March 22. Their recommendation 

 was that the care of these insane should not be 

 transferred to the State. According to the re- 

 port, there were 5,483 insane persons in the care 

 of the county namely, on Blackwell's Island, 

 1.813; Ward's Island, 1.919; Hart's Island, 

 1,319; Central Islip, 432. They found that it 

 cost $700,000 a year to maintain the insane, 

 which is $2.45 each a week, and the city, besides 

 this, pays 45 per cent, of the cost of caring for 

 the State insane, or about $500,000 more. 



Education. The board having control of this 

 subject consists of 21 commissioners, who are ap- 

 pointed by the Mayor and receive no salary. 

 The president of the board during 1892 was 

 John L. N. Hunt, and the city superintendent 

 John Jasper (salary, $7,500). There are 94 gram- 

 mar schools and 47 primary schools. During the 

 winter months sessions are held at night in 4 

 evening high schools, 14 evening schools for 

 males, and 11 evening schools for females. For 

 the support of these institutions there is received 

 from the State school fund the amount of $691,- 

 935.31. Of this, $367.700 is paid on the basis of 

 $100 for each one of New York's 3,677 teachers, 

 $299,303.31 on the basis of a population of 1,515,- 

 301, as returned by the national census, $12,632 

 for the library fund, and $12,300 for the supervis- 

 ion fund. This is for the fiscal year ending July 

 31, 1892. It is a noteworthy fact that while New 

 York city receives only $691,935.31, it paid into 

 the State school fund for the same period $1,735,- 

 264.97. Hence the city gets back only about 

 one third of what it contributed. 



The autumn sessions began on Sept. 12, and 

 it was then estimated that 275,000 children en- 

 tered the schools. At that time new schools 

 were opened one at the corner of Ridge and 

 Broome Streets, and one at the corner of Amster- 

 dam Avenue and 68th Street. 



New wings were added to the school at 25 Nor- 

 folk Street and the school at 121 East 51st Street. 

 Five other schools are in process of construc- 

 tion, 3 of which were to be ready for use before 

 the close of the year. These are a grammar 

 school at 85th Street and Madison Avenue, with 

 accommodations for 2,350 children ; a primary 

 school at 51st Street and First Avenue, with 

 1,472 sittings: and a primary school at Wood- 

 lawn, with seating capacity for 336 pupils. In 

 addition to these 3 new schools, Grammar School 

 No. 62, at 157th Street and Cortlandt Avenue, 

 with accommodations for 2,722 pupils, was ready 

 for use, except that there is no sewer in the 

 street. Other new school buildings 1 at Mul- 

 berry and Bayard Streets, with sittings for 1,736 

 pupils, and 1 at Hester and Chrystie Streets, with 

 a seating capacity of 2,520 will be completed 

 early in 1893. 



Police. This department is controlled by a 

 board of 4 commissioners appointed by the May- 

 or, and who receive a salary of $5,000 each. The 

 commission during 1892 was composed as fol- 

 low : James J. Martin, president, John C. Shee- 

 han, Charles F. McLean, and John McClave. 

 On April 12, William Murray, who had been 

 superintendent since Jan. 9, 1885, was retired 

 with a pension of $3,000 a year, and Thomas 

 Byrnes appointed his successor, with a salary of 

 $6,000. Headquarters, 300 Mulberry Street. 



Fire. This department is under the control 

 of a board of 3 commissioners, as follow : Henry 

 D. Purroy, president, S. Howland Robbins, and 

 Anthony Eickhoff, each of whom receives a sal- 

 ary of $5,000. The headquarters of the depart- 

 ment is at 157 East 67th Street, and the chief is 

 Hugh Bonner (salary, $5,000). 



The department numbers 1,069 officers and 

 men in the service, with 57 engine companies, 

 including the crews of the 3 fire boats, and 22 

 hook and ladder companies. ,They have 83 en- 

 gines, 4 water towers, 29 hook and ladder trucks, 



