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condition of the city finances at the beginning of 1859 and the
operations of the preceding year:—
NEW YORK COUNTY.
The Street Department is under the charge of the Street Commissioner, who is appointed
for 2 years by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Board of Aldermen. He has the
general direction of ppening, altering, regulating, grading, guttering, and lighting streets, roads,
places, and avenues, of building, repairing, and lighting wharves and piers, and of the construc¬
tion and repair of public roads and the filling up of sunken lots, under the ordinances of the
Common Council. The paving of streets is not under his charge. The department has a Bureau
of Street Improvements, of Repairs and Supplies, of Lands and Places, of the Chief Engineer of
Fire Department, of Collection of Assessments, of Wharves, of Roads, and of Lamps and Gas. Of
each of these bureaus there is a superintendent, or chief, and several clerks, numbering in the
several offices of the Department nearly sixty persons.1
Appropriations in 1858 for city government $ 5,950,967.94
Expenditures.................................. 4,959,355.19
Expenditures iu 1858 on trust and special ac¬
counts...................................................... 10,549,621.54
Receipts in 1858.............................................. 17,152,471.19
Permanent city debts redeemable from Sinking
Funds, Jan. 1,1859............................... 14,399,998.00
Funded debt redeemable from taxation, same
date......................................................... 1,224,000.00
Funded debt redeemable from Central Park
assessments.............................................. 1,600,000.00
Estimated value of public parks....................... 14,761,526.00
“ “ bulkheads, wharves, and
, piers........................... 3,257,500.00
* “ “ real estate occupied by mar¬
kets .....................'....... 1,114,000.00
“ “ Croton Aqueduct Depart¬
ment.... .............. 15,475,000.00
“ K property used for Common
Schools......................... 1,200,000.00
“ “ property used for. ferry pur¬
poses ........................... 1,200,000.00
“ “ property used by Fire De¬
partment ..................... 315,813,00
“ “ property used by Governors
of Almshouse............. 1,250,000.00
“ et real estate of all kinds 41,625,639.00
Assessed value of real estate within city in 1858... 368,346,296.00
“ “ personal estate within city
resident........................... 150,813,462.00
“ “ . personal estate within city
% non resident.................... 12,034,532.00
“ “ personal estate within city,
total............................... 162,847,994.00
4i “ real and personal estate 531,194,290.00 |
The valuation, tax, and rate, for a series of years, at intervals
of 5 years, from 1805 to 1825, was as follows:—
|
IS
m |
Valuation. |
City and
County
Tax, |
State Tax. |
Total Tax. |
Os. |
Polls. |
|
1805 |
$25,645,867 |
*127,094.87 |
|
|
50 |
per 1 |
|
1810 |
25,486,370 |
129,727.15 |
|
|
51 |
|
|
1815 |
81,636,042 |
197,613.38 |
*163,372.08 |
$361,285.46 |
4H |
ll n |
|
1820 |
69,530,753 |
270,361.19 |
69,530.75 |
339,891.94 |
49 |
ll ll |
|
1825 |
101,160.046 |
336,868.82 |
50,580.03 |
387,448.85 |
38± |
ii <( |
The property, both real and personal, in New York, is of im¬
mense value, and is increasing at a very rapid ratio. The taxes
are uniformly heavy, and much higher than the average taxes
of the other portions of the State. The following tables show a
summary of the
Valuation and Taxes for a series of years.
|
Yeabs. |
Value of
Beal Estate. |
Value of
Personal Es¬
tate. |
Total Value. |
Amount
raised by
Tax. |
|
1826
1830
1835
1840
1845
1850
1855
1858 |
$64,804,050
87,603,580
143,742,425
187,221,714
177,207,299
207,142,576
336,975,866
368,346,296 |
$42,434,981
37,684,938
74,991,278
65,011,801
62,787,527
78,919,240
150,022,312
162,847,994 |
$107,238,931
125,288,518
218,723,703
252,233,515
239,995,517
286,061,816
486,998,278
531,194,290 |
$383,759.89
509,178.44
965,602.94
1,354,835.29
2,096,191.18
3,230,085.02
5,843,822.89
8,621,091.31 |
|
Comparative Valuation and Taxes of the City and State for a series of years.
|
Yeabs. |
Total Valuation. |
Total Tax. |
Rate of Tax in Mills,
ON $1. |
|
City. |
State. |
City. |
State. |
City. |
State. |
|
1835 |
$218,723,703 |
$532,418,407 . |
*518,494.00 |
$2,299,290.57 |
4.5 |
5.0 |
|
1840 |
252,135,515 |
641,359,819 |
1,354,797.29 |
3,089,920.94 |
5.4 |
4.9 |
|
1845 |
239,995,517 |
605,646,095 |
2,096,191.18 |
4,170,527.95 |
8.7 |
6.9 |
|
1850 |
286,061,816 |
727,494,583 |
3,230,085.02 |
6,312,789.23 |
113 |
8.6 |
|
1855 |
487,060,838 |
1,402,849,304 |
5,844,772.42 |
11,679,015.69 |
12.0 |
8.3 |
|
1858 |
531,222,642 |
1,404,907,679 |
8,621,091.31 |
15,426,593.20 |
16.2 |
10.98 |
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The blocks between them vary from 184 to 212 feet, being gene¬
rally about 200 feet, or about 20 blocks to the mile.
The Avenues run nearly n. and s., and are numbered from e.
to w., beginning upon the East River. Several short avenues
on the e. side of the city are designated by letters, as Avenue A,
beginning at the one next e. of First Avenue. These avenues
are each 100 feet wide, except s. of 23d St., where Avenues A
and C are 80 feet and Avenue B 60 feet. North of 33d St. Fourth
Avenue is 125 feet wide. The blocks between the avenues are
610 to 920 feet, being generally 800 feet.
The Lands and Places belonging to the city date their title
from Dongan’s charter, by which all waste and unappropriated
lands on Manhattan Island to low water mark, and all rivers,
bays, and waters adjoining, were confirmed to the city. The
real estate now belonging to the Corporation, amounting, to
$41,453,039, is mostly in use for Waterworks, Police, Fire, Alms¬
house, School, or Market purposes, or as parks, piers, bulk¬
heads, and wharves, ferries, and public buildings for municipal
purposes. The city owns, besides these,
Uncommuted quitrqnts reserved on property when-
sold, and water grants yet to be issued.................$900,000
Lots under lease without covenants of renewal............ 325,000
“ « “ with “ “ 500,000
Common lands......................................................... 500,000
Sundry lots and gores of land.................................... 250,000
Real estate in Brooklyn............................................ 50,000 |
1
MoBt of the streets in the lower part of the city are winding
and crooked; but above the old settled Dutch portion they are
very regular. An act passed April 3,1807, appointed Simeon De
Witt, Gouverneur Morris, and John Rutherford to lay out and
survey the whole island n. of Fitzroy Road, (Gansevoort St.,)
Greenwich Lane, (Greenwich Avenue,) and Art Street, (Waverly
Place,) to the Bowery Road; and down the same to North St.,
(Houston St.,) and thence to the East River. The powers of
these commissioners were more amply specified in an act passed
March 24, 1809; and Canal St. was by this act to he made a
covered passage for the waste waters of its vicinity. The labors
of the commission ended within the time specified, and their
maps were filed in the secretary’s office March 11,1811. The
surveys under this plan were executed by John Randall, jr.,
with great accuracy, and finally completed in 1821. To the
commendable forethought of these gentlemen is the city in¬
debted for the admirable arrangement of its up town streets
and avenues.
The Streets of the portion covered in this survey generally ex¬
tend from the Hudson to the East River direct, and are known
by their numbers, the highest being at the time of first survey
154, but since extended to 228. Above 14th St. these are known
only by their numbers, and the lots upon them are numbered
E. and W. from Fifth Avenue. They are each 60 feet wide, ex¬
cept 14th, 23d, 34th, 42d, 57th, 72d, 79th, 86th, 96th, 106th, 116th,
125th, 135th, 145th, and 155th, each of which is 100 feet wide.
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