536 



NEW YORK CITY. 



ment paid into the city treasury the following 

 revenues: From the water service, $3,322,900: 

 from various classes of permits, auction sales, etc., 

 $239,600. The expenditures for 1894 were : Ap- 

 propriation account, $3,133,285 ; street improve- 

 ment fund, $1,577,452 ; repavement fund, $582,- 

 682 ; Croton water funds, etc., $547,393 ; miscel- 

 laneous funds, $382,751 ; total, $6,223,563. 



Public Parks. This department is under 

 the direction of a board of 4 commissioners, of 

 which the president receives a salary of $5,000. 



WILLIAM L. STRONG. MAYOR OF NEW YORK. 



During the year the board was composed of 

 Abram B. Tappan, president, but who was suc- 

 ceeded in that office by George C. Clausen on 

 May 1, Nathan Strauss, and Paul Dana, who re- 

 signed on March 30, and was succeeded on April 

 6 by Edward Bell. The secretary of the Board 

 is Charles De F. Burns, and the headquarters 

 are at 31 Chambers Street. During the life of the 

 Legislature several bills concerning new parks 

 in the upper portion of the city were introduced. 

 Of these, that concerning the acquisition of the 

 plot of land lying between St. Nicholas and 

 Bradhurst Avenues and West 145th and 155th 

 Streets, on Washington Heights, has become a 

 fact. It will be called Colonial Park when laid 

 out. and saves to the city a picturesque and 

 charming bit of landscape. Other measures in- 

 cluded the acquisition of the ground to be called 

 St. Nicholas Park, also that to be called Fort 

 Washington Park. The latter includes a beauti- 

 ful wooded stretch of hillside lying between the 

 public drive now in course of construction and 

 the Hudson river. It begins just above 181st 

 Street, and extends southerly to a point nearly 

 opposite the end of 170th Street. A well- wooded 



point projects into the river just above the rail- 

 road station, and the entire surroundings are ro- 

 mantic and attractive. 



The Corporation Counsel has asked for the ap- 

 pointment of commissioners to condemn the 

 property on which the Jerome Park race track is 

 situated so that it can be converted into a lake 

 for supplying water to the annexed district. 



On Nov. 5 the north wing of the Metropolitan 

 Museum of Art was opened with appropriate cere- 

 monies, consisting of its presentation to the 

 trustees of the museum by President Clausen of 

 the Park Commissioners. Its acceptance by 

 Henry G. Marquand in behalf of the museum 

 authorities, and other addresses, followed. The 

 Aquarium, which is to occupy the old building 

 of Castle Garden, and which was to have been 

 opened in the autumn, is still unfinished, but al- 

 ready numerous specimens of marine life have 

 been secured, and many of the tanks are occu- 

 pied. After long discussion in the public jour- 

 nals concerning the most desirable locality for a 

 public speedway, it was finally decided to utilize 

 the most picturesque portion along the western 

 shore of the Harlem river. Operations on the 

 construction began on Feb. 5 by appropriate cere- 

 monies participated in by the Mayor and Park 

 Commissioners. The general course of the speed- 

 way is north and south, following closely the 

 river edge for the greater portion of its route. 

 Starting at its southern end, it begins near the 

 western end of the 155th Street viaduct, run- 

 ning to the north at about right angles. Here it 

 is about 100 feet above high-water mark. It 

 gradually descends with a slope nearly 4 feet in 

 100, until at about 165th Street it reaches its 

 river grade, which is 6 feet above high water. 

 Again it gradually rises to a 17- foot elevation at 

 High Bridge, and with other rises and descents 

 reaches the 6-foot river grade at its northern 

 end. To maintain, it a retaining wall over 42 

 feet high is to be built at its starting point. 

 The termination of the speedway is at about 

 198th Street, giving a total of 43 blocks, or, 

 measured on the center line, of 11,558 feet. 

 There will be a footpath on either side. 



Vital Statistics. The Board of Health con- 

 sists of the President of the Board of Police, the 

 health officer of the port, and 2 commissioners. 

 1 of whom must have been for five years a prac- 

 ticing physician. The commissioner that is not 

 a physician is president of the board and receives 

 a salary of $5,000, while the other member is 

 paid $4,000. The ex-officio commissioners re- 

 ceive no salary. The officials during 1894 were 

 as follow: President Charles G. Wilson, Dr. 

 Cyrus Edson, Health-Officer William T. Jenkins, 

 and President of the Board of Police James J. 

 Martin. The secretary of the board is Emmons 

 Clark, and the headquarters are in the Criminal 

 Court building, on Center Street. The vital sta- 

 tistics were as follow : 



