"Che Conservative. 9
olovatiou whore the Recreation League
hns established one of its well-patronized
gymnasiums. Undoubtedly , Clinton
Park will serve to improve the condition
of its immediate environment ; but it is
altogether too limited in area to exert a
favorable influence upon the district as
a whole. A far greater improvement is
now possible , in view of the fact that
the growing necessity of building piers
along the entire North Uiver front will
in turn lead to the construction of a
broad marginal avenue from the Battery
to Fifty-ninth Street. Evidences of
such an nvenuo are already visible at
Christopher Street and at various points
along the Battery. What a splendid
opportunity for small parks would be
here afforded ! From Manhattan Mar
ket , at the foot of Thirty-fourth Street ,
to the terminus , a strip of land might be
reserved except at street crossings
wide enough for a continuous line of
small parks similar in size to those extending -
tending along Park Avenue. The only
requisite here would be proper soil ,
banked sufficiently high to admit of the
planting of numerous trees.
If owners of large tracts of real estate ,
now remaining unimproved , were to
assist in making such a betterment along
the river , they would soon be
repaid by finding lucrative employment
for their property. Since the Back Bay
of Boston was redeemed , the district has
been transformed from a morass into
the proudest quarter of the American
Athens. Within three years from the
time that work was actually begun
(1877) ( ) , the surrounding estates had risen
50 per cent in value ; and this transformation
mation has now spread far beyond
Brookline. Similar improvements in
New York would be attended by equally
beneficial results ; and instead of being
ashamed of the gates to our city , as we
now must be , we should become proud
of them. Wherever passengers descend
from boat or bridge they should bo wel
comed on our shores by a strip of greens-
' ' ' ward. As the tourist approaches harbors
of the Mediterranean lying in the same
latitude as our own , his eye everywhere
beholds busy quays fringed with fresh
verdure ; when he ascends the North
River , he gazes upon a succession of
nuisances all the way from the Ounard
dock to Seventy-second Street. The
contemplated extension of Riverside
Drive Park to Spuyteu Duyvil has been
estimated to cost $30,000,000 , and will
when finished , benefit for some time to
come a very limited number of people
a small expenditure for the modest ex
tension of Riverside Drive to the south
would at once benefit a great portion ol
the population , and perhaps clear the
entire shore of crime.
The value of trees as agents of sani
tation has ever been recognized. Here'
need refer only to the example of the
Romans , who reared olive trees to
absorb the malarial effluvia of the Cam
mgua. Nor has this fact been over-
ooked now ; for in many cities of the
world , rows of trees have been planted
n the streets to serve as arteries for the
circulation of purified air. Unfortu
nately , New York is a glaring exception
to the rule , although no city ever pre
sented finer opportunites for the culti
vation of arboreta. When Henry Hudson
discovered Manhattan Island , he found
it covered with a primeval forest , traces
of which may still be seen on Washing
ton Heights and along the Boulevard
Lafayette. In the days when the city
barely extended beyond Fourteenth
Street , and when our population was
still comparatively poor , the trees sur
rounding the dwellings of our citizens
were objects of pride and solicitude.
Today , the numerous stumps in the
sidewalks of downtown streets bear
silent witness to that ruthless process of
extermination which has despoiled our
city of its fairest ornaments.
The conspicuous absence of trees from
; he residential streets of modern New
York is hard to explain. Rich men
who live here only during the winter
appear to take very little interest in
their fellow-citizens who are compelled
to remain in town all summer. In some
instances , indeed , the absence of trees
in front of houses situated upon our
park and river fronts seems to suggest a
fear on the part of the owner that foliage
might obscure architecture , apparently
oblivious of the fact that the beauty of
a dwelling is frequently enhanced
thereby. As it is , few of our side-streets
are embellished with vegetation ; and
even along the Boulevard an avenue
highly favored by nature the trees are
neglected. This is true also of Seventh
Avenue above Central Park , St. Nicholas
Avenue , and of all other thoroughfares
not placed under the jurisdiction of the
Park Commissioners a body which
should be authorized to exercise control
over every avenue upon which the
preservation of the trees is desirable.
Except in front of St. Luke's Hospital ,
Morningside Drive , which is the glory
of upper New York , is today barren of
trees on its western side ; while on the
historic King's Bridge road the few trees
still remaining are sadly neglected
What must we think of a corporation
that recently spent the enormous sum of
$7,000,000 on the construction of the
Harlem Speedway , without exercising
sufficient foresight to provide that fine
avenue with a row of shade-trees for the
protection of riders and drivers am
their horses ?
How different are the conditions in
other American cities 1 Boston has its
Commonwealth Avenue and other fine
parkways which connect the old town
with the suburbs. Buffalo boasts its
Delaware Avenue , the ideal of an Amer
ican boulevard , lined with comfortable
homes , each surrounded by its garden
The residential portion of Euclid Avenue
n Cleveland is equally beautiful , and
oven the founders of Chicago have
hewn their appreciation of verdure.
When I visited that city , Michigan
Avenue was lined with cottages sur
rounded by gardens , and presented a
distinctively rural aspect. These cot-
ages have now been superseded by
ubstautial residences , hotels and club
houses ; and the avenue , which , forty
years ago , was hardly open beyond
Twelfth Street , the present site of the
Illinois Central Railroad Depot , has
) een extended for miles. Yet such is
ts attractiveness today that it is every
where referred to as a model of elegant
municipal construction.
Queens Borough , which undoubtedly
s destined in time to become thickly
populated , should be made as attractive
as possible to prospective residents. No
district of Greater New York presents
iner opportunities for boulevards and
: or the creation of paries and play
grounds. Here , at last , we may relin
quish that rectangular system which
makes most American cities look so
commonplace , and adopt , instead ,
diagonal crossings , with small parks and
squares at every convenient point. The
larger thoroughfares at present existing
should be widened , and thus eventually
become united with the central approach
to the bridge. One of these , Jackson
Avenue , leads from Thirty-fourth Street
ferry to the charming village of Flush
ing , where shade-trees in great variety
have for several generations been cultivated
citizens. Another
vated by public-spirited
other , Thomson Avenue , and its con
tinuation the Hoffman Boulevard , leads
to Jamaica , whose Forest Park , although
nearer to the Battery than Grant's
Tomb , is almost unknown. ' This sylvan
retreat comprises 500 acres of virgin
forest , traversed by secluded driveways
and situated on hilly ground command
ing a very extensive view of the sur
rounding country.
These are but a few examples of the
excellent opportunites for municipal
improvement afforded by the most ex
tensive borough of Greater New York.
The following table shows the annual
total expenditure of four of the most
important cities in the world , together
with the amounts each of them has
used for parks and parkways :
Those who know the advantages of
London and Paris over New York and
Chicago , and compare the economical
administration of those cities with our
own , will appreciate that we have still
some lessons to learn in municipal
government. Louis Windmuller in The
May Forum.
