Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/330

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324 BROOKLYN and has a capacity for about 160,000,000 gallons. Besides this, Mount Prospect reservoir has a capacity f> 20,000,000 gallons, with an eleva- tion of 28 ft. above that of Ridgewood. From these two reservoirs the water 5s distributed throughout the city. There are 277 m. of dis- tribution pipes and 2,000 hydrants. The aver- age daily consumption of water in 1872 was 24,000,000 gallons. To secure a supply of water in case of drought a storage reservoir at Hempstead is in process of construction; its estimated cost is $1,393,743, and its capacity will be about 1,055,000,000 gallons. The bonds issued by the city on account of the water works amounted in 1873 to $9,521,000; this department is self-sustaining. The water works are under the control of a board of city works, comprising three commissioners and a secretary, a chief engineer, water purveyor, register of water rates, and a general superin- tendent of sewers. This department also has charge of the sewerage and cleaning, paving, and repairing the streets of the city. In 1872 there were 546 m. of streets in the city, of which 283 m. were paved ; the total length of sewers was 214 m. The 2d division of the na- tional guard of the state of New York, consist- ing of the 5th and llth brigades, has its head- quarters here, and is composed mainly of citi- zens of Brooklyn. This force consists of 3 batteries of artillery, 3 troops of cavalry, and the 13th, 14th, 23d, 28th, 32d, and 47th regi- ments of infantry. The city debt, Jan. 1, 1873, was $32,012,884, and consisted of $20,260,929 in bonds issued for public, and $9,458,055 for local improvements, and certificates amounting to $2,293,900. The city's quota of the county debt was $3,471,977. Of the bonds issued for public improvements, the most important are $8,738,000 public park loan, $9,521,000 perma- nent water loan, $2,100,000 East river bridge loan, $726,000 Wallabout bay improvement loan, and $345,000 Kent avenue basin loan. The property in possession of the city was valued at $26,220,000. The amounts author- ized to be expended during the year 1872 for city purposes were: principal of public debt, $131,650; interest on same, $877,600; princi- pal of certificates, $178,417 ; interest on same, $9,748; salaries of city officers, $245,000; board of health, $25,000; general purposes, $795,596 ; board of education, $651,700 ; police department, $518,640; fire department, $332,- 417 ; water and sewerage department, $1 90,000 ; park commission, $75,000; resurveys, ward maps, &c., $30,000 ; repairs to wells, pumps, &c., $8,000; total for city purposes, $4,058,768, of which $3,375,062 was to be raised by taxation. The amount authorized for county purposes was: for quota of state tax, $1,103,495; com- missioners of charities, $400,000 ; maintenance of parade ground, $2,000 ; supervisors' budget, $870,700; total for county purposes, $2,376,- 195. The following table exhibits the valua- tion of property and taxation since the con- solidation : YEARS.- PROPERTY. T. Rwl. Personal. Is55. . $84,574,848 85,795,741 87,848,725 88,186,781 90,082,122 92,198,422 98.562,519 94,198,752 99,674,808 108,729,497 106,484,858 118,928,421 122,982,284 181,260,851 179,118,881 188,788,766 187,651,591 $10,216,867 10,068,994 11,168,868 10,776,176 10,970,518 11,068.521 11,495,874 10,981,799 12,568,920 15,798,688 16,944,475 22,483,415 20,262,581 17,688.067 17,564,980 17,548,770 18,245,581 $1,582,692 1,881,114 1,788,884 1,567,948 1.256.S20 1,!I69,693 2,485,929 UlSi.s'J.H 1,784,759 8.810,081

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4.662,854 5,421,828 r..ll7li,fiifi 6.510,166 8,199,575 5,728,894 1856 1857 1888... 1869 1860... 1861 1862... 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869... 1870. 1871 Prominent among the charitable institu- tions is the city hospital in Eaymond street. Accommodations are afforded to those un- able to pay, while private wards may be obtained at a moderate price. The Long Island College hospital occupies 14 lots at the junction of Pacific and Henry streets. Its plan embraces a hospital with an indoor and an outdoor department for the treatment of medical and surgical diseases ; a lying-in depart- ment ; a department for the regular education and licensing of nurses ; and a college in which all the branches of medical science are taught. In 1870 it had 9 professors, 72 students, and 315 alumni. There are also St. Mary's female hos- pital in Clinton street, and St. Peter's hospital under the care of the Sisters of Charity; the eye and ear hospital, in Washington street, estab- lished in 1868; the dental infirmary, in Wash- ington street, organized in 1870 to afford gratu- itous dental treatment to the indigent ; and six dispensaries. The female orphan asylum, cor- ner of Clinton and Congress streets, had in 1871 530 girls under charge of 16 Sisters of Charity. Besides the Brooklyn orphan asylum in Cum- berland street, which has accommodations for more than 150 children, and the Roman Cath- olic asylum recently erected in Albany avenue, with still greater accommodations, there are three other orphan asylums, one of which is for colored children. The Graham institution, corner of Washington and De Kalb avenues, for the relief of aged and indigent females, was founded in 1851 through the beneficence of John B. Graham, and has accommodations for 90 persons. The industrial school association and home for destitute children, organized in 1854, lias a commodious building and 14 lots in Butler street, between Flatbush and Van- derbilt avenues; its mission is to reach chil- dren not attending other schools, and afford them instruction, and a home and clothing to the needy. The church charity foundation oc- cupies a handsome building with 43 lots on the corner of Albany avenue and Herkimer street ; its object is to afford a foundation upon which may be built up the different charities connect- ed with the Episcopal church. The society for improving the condition of the poor is one of