Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Inside the Machine: Two Years in the Board of Aldermen, 1898-1899
In the early part of 1897 there was enacted by the State of New York a law known as The Greater New York Charter. This statute was drawn by a commission composed of such men as Gen. Benj. F. Tracy, Judge John F. Dillon, Seth Lo-w, Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, Mayor William L. Strong, and some ten others. And while it had been severely condemned by the Bar Association of New York City, and severely criticised at the public hearings held before the Mayor of that city, and only forced through the Legislature over his veto under extreme pressure as a Republican party measure, yet it was generally hoped that it would greatly promote the welfare of all the municipal. Ities embraced in the new city, and mark a dis tinct advance in the science of city government in America. By this Charter there were annexed to the former City of New York, Brooklyn, Long Island City, with the adjoining territory on Long Island constituting the present County of Queens, and all of Richmond County or Staten Island. By this change, the population of the city was in creased from about to about and its area was enlarged from to acres. For this new city was framed a system of government based in its minor details on that of the former city, but in its principles entirely different. And far more extensive than those possessed by former city. The principal additional powers ferred were: to establish ferries and bridges public waters within the city; to build docks to improve the harbor; to construct parks, scho houses and public buildings; to open and exte streets; to provide water; and to grant franchis These powers were conferred upon the city sponse to a general demand for a larger m of home rule, so that constant applications State Legislature for the above enumerated poses would no longer be necessary. This government, by the terms of the Charter, went efiect on January lst, 1898, and the fi for city officers under it was held in 1897. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.