A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County, Volume II.

by Stephen M. Ostrander

The act of 1869, by which the fire department of the city was reorganized, called upon the Mayor, the street commissioners, the president of the Board of Aldermen, the city treasurer, and the comptroller, to appoint four citizens as fire commissioners: "Said commissioners, on being qualified, shall meet and reorganize the fire department of the city of Brooklyn, by electing one of said commissioners to be president, and appointing a person to be secretary; whereupon they shall possess and have all the power and authority conferred upon or possessed by any and all officers of the present fire departments of the city of Brooklyn, and of each division thereof, except such power and authority as is now vested by law in the trustees of the fire departments of the Eastern and Western districts of the city of Brooklyn, which said divisions shall continue distinct from each other, so far as relates to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of each district, but for no other purpose; and the persons elected and now acting as the trustees of the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of the Eastern District, and those elected and acting as trustees of the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of the Western District, shall remain and continue to have and exercise, each division respectively, all such powers and duties as are now vested by law in said boards, with regard to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of each district" (sec. 2).

By the report of School Superintendent Buckley, issued in July (1869), it appeared that the whole number of pupils attending the public day schools numbered 70,000. In the evening schools 10,000 more were taught, while the private schools received 22,142 scholars. At this time the value of the schoolhouse sites in the city was placed at $276,386; that of the buildings at $709,727.

Building throughout the city became very active. The widening of Broadway in the Eastern District materially affected the prosperity of that section of the city, to which Broadway became the leading business artery. Grand Street developed into a busy thoroughfare, and Fourth Street, now northern Bedford Avenue, became the third important street of this section. For a site for a new building on Broadway at Fifth (now Driggs Street), the Williamsburgh Savings Bank paid the then enormous sum of $210,000. The superb structure afterward erected on this ground is one of the most imposing in the city, its classic dome rearing itself among those objects in the city which command first attention from Bridge spectators.

In 1869 it was estimated that Brooklyn had 500 miles of streets, and 150 miles of sewer. Mayor Kalbfleisch's message reported a total of 3307 buildings erected in 1868. The assessed value of real and personal property in the county was $199,840,551.

But most momentous of the movements of this period was that looking to the building of the first East River bridge. The possibility of a bridge over the East River had been discussed early in the history of the two cities. General Johnson[35] had discussed the feasibility of the suggestion, and had argued that the plan was quite within the possibilities of engineering science. Thomas Pope, in a volume published in 1811, by Alexander Niven, 120 Duane Street, New York, describes his idea of a "flying pendent lever bridge," which was intensely original as well as impossible.

In 1836 General Swift proposed the erection of a dike over the river. The dike was to have a central drawbridge, and was to give foundation to a broad boulevard, running between the two cities. At a later day Colonel Julius A. Adams of Brooklyn, while engaged upon the bridge of the Lexington and Danville Railroad, over the Kentucky River, conceived the idea of an East River bridge, to extend from Fulton Ferry on the Brooklyn side to a point near Chatham Square, on the New York side. The intention was to have the main body of the bridge built of two elliptic tubes, placed side by side, and supported by ribbons of steel. There were to be three platforms for travelers, and it is claimed by its projector that the capacity would have been greater than that of the present structure. Colonel Adams communicated his plan to Mr. William C. Kingsley, who was largely engaged in the contracting business in this city. Mr. Kingsley entered heartily into the spirit of the enterprise, and carefully examined the diagrams submitted by the engineer. He spent several months in a thorough and exhaustive examination of the entire question, studied the needs of the two cities, and finally became thoroughly impressed with the practicability and feasibility of the scheme. In connection with the project he consulted with some of the eminent and public-spirited citizens of Brooklyn, among them James S. T. Stranahan, Henry C. Murphy, Judge Alexander McCue, Isaac Van Anden, Seymour L. Husted, and Thomas Kinsella.[36] The more these gentlemen talked and thought about the matter, the deeper interest they felt in it. Mr. Kingsley in particular continued undisturbed in the belief that the time for bridging the river had come, and he persisted in this view until the enterprise was carried beyond the region of remote speculation into the clear atmosphere of intelligently directed and practical effort. The Hon. Henry C. Murphy at the time represented Kings County in the state Senate, where he wielded a vast influence, and was regarded as one of the leaders of his party in the State. Upon the basis of Colonel Adams's plans a bill was prepared providing for the construction of a bridge across the East River. Copies of the original drawings were taken to Albany and exhibited in the Senate and Assembly Chamber. The project received Senator Murphy's unflagging support, and through his endeavors and the energetic and untiring aid of its projectors, it became a law.

The act incorporating the New York Bridge Company was passed by the Legislature on April 16, 1867. It named as incorporators the following citizens of New York and Brooklyn:—

John T. Hoffman
Edward Ruggles
Samuel Booth
Alexander McCue
Martin Kalbfleisch
Charles A. Townsend
Charles E. Bill
T. Bailey Myers
William A. Fowler
Simeon B. Chittenden
Smith Ely, Jr.
Grenville T. Jenks
Henry E. Pierrepont
John Roach
Henry G. Stebbins
C. L. Mitchell
Seymour L. Husted
William W. W. Wood
Andrew H. Green
William C. Rushmore
Alfred W. Craven
T. B. Cornell
Isaac Van Anden
Alfred M. Wood
William Marshall
John W. Coombs
John H. Prentice
John P. Atkinson
Edmund W. Corlies
Ethelbert S. Mills
Arthur W. Benson
John W. Hayward
P. P. Dickinson
J. Carson Brevoort
Samuel McLean
William Hunter, Jr.
Edmund Driggs
John Morton

By this act power was given these incorporators and their associates to acquire real estate for the site of the bridge and approaches; to borrow money up to the limit of the capital, and to establish laws and ordinances for the government of the structure upon its completion. The capital stock was fixed at $5,000,000, in shares of $100 each, and the directors were given power to increase the capital with the consent of the stockholders. It was further provided that the incorporators already named should constitute the first board of directors, holding their places until June 1, 1868, and that after that the board should have not less than thirteen nor more than twenty-one members. The officers were to consist of a president, secretary, and treasurer. The cities of New York and Brooklyn, or either of them, were empowered at any time to take the bridge by payment to the corporation of the cost and 33.33 per cent. additional, provided the bridge be made free. An additional provision was made that the structure should have an elevation of at least 130 feet above high tide in the middle of the river, and that it should in no respect prove an obstruction to navigation. In conclusion, the law authorized the cities of New York and Brooklyn, or either of them, to subscribe to the capital stock of said company such amounts as two thirds of their Common Councils respectively should determine, to issue bonds in payment of these subscriptions, and to provide for the payment of interest. It was subsequently determined that the city of New York might subscribe $1,500,000 of the total capital; the city of Brooklyn, $3,000,000, and $500,000 to be paid by the private stockholders.

An enterprise of such magnitude was not carried forward without extraordinary struggles. To keep the work, so far as possible, out of politics required much ingenuity and persistence on the part of those who were actuated by the most public-spirited motives. It was not possible to wholly eliminate politics and self-seeking. An act of the Legislature in 1859 provided that New York city should be represented by its Mayor, comptroller, and president of the Board of Aldermen, and Brooklyn by the commissioners of the sinking fund. The company was authorized to occupy land under water on each shore to the distance of 250 feet.