 |
HENEVER a new building is to be erected for any
of the city departments,
or repairs or alterations
are to be made to any old
building, this work is not,
as generally supposed,
done by the various departments.
It is all done under the Department of Parks and Public Property,
the director of which is Commissioner A. Harry Moore.
It was quite evident to Commissioner Moore when he first assumed the directorship that past administrations had paid little or no attention to the police and fire stations of the city. After a very careful inspection of these various buildings, where many men were housed, he at once established the Repair Bureau and started to work on rebuilding both the interior and exterior of the police and fire buildings. |
Largest Fire House in the State.
Today we find every fire house and police station in our city in a fine sanitary conditions, with the many men who are housed in these buildings better satisfied and able to perform a more efficient service for the city. Just about four years ago work was started on what is today one of the finest and the largest fire houses in the State. In the Hudson City section of Jersey City, one of the fast growing sections, from both a residential and manufacturing standpoint, it was decided to erect a fire house of sufficient size to house three fire companies.
Two months after the City Commissioners took office the plans for this big house were drawn and approved and under the direction of Commissioner Moore this repair bureau started to work. Despite the war and labor conditions, work continued on this new building until its completion and today this city boasts of one of the finest and best equipped fire houses in the State of New Jersey.
Modern Features.
Many modern features were in- stalled for the fire fighting force. On the top floor of this big building is found a large assembly room that is used for drilling of the firemen, and has also been used by the various civic societies of that section of the city for public meetings, where questions regarding the welfare of the city have been discussed and debated.
The building is three stories high and the outer part is of stone and brick. The front of the building is beautifully designed with a two color brick and white stone. Ample sleeping quarters are provided for the three companies and their officers and there are reading rooms, shower baths and all the comforts that these men find in their respective homes.
The Free Public Library building, a very fine edifice, was permitted to go unnoticed from a repair standpoint until Commissioner Moore made an inspection of the building and at once placed this valuable asset to the city in perfect condition. Both inside and out repairs were made, such as pointing up the walls, erecting storm doors and painting and plastering and repairing the steam heating plant inside.
Practically every fire house and police station in the city today is a public comfort station. This is but another of the many improvements that Commissioner Moore has brought about for the welfare of the citizens of the city. The Mothers' Institute, Baby Hospital, the State and City Employment Bureau, have all been reconstructed and placed in fine condition by the men in the repair bureau. The Bureau of Municipal Relief Building, formerly occupied by the Exempt Firemen's Association, is now a model building. Prior to the improvements made on this building, the conditions under which this part of the municipal government had to work were anything but ideal.
Baseball and Baths.
All of the bleacher seats at the various municipal baseball fields were erected under the supervision of Commissioner Moore and by the men employed in the Repair Bureau. Both the Coles Street and Fourteenth Street Baths were remodeled and practically rebuilt by this department. Today finds conditions very greatly improved at these two municipal institutions and the attendance by the public at large growing in number each year.
At all of the police stations the old-time coal stoves have been replaced by modern heating apparatus, and concrete floors replace the old-time wooden flooring in all of the fire houses. The heaviest bit of apparatus in the Fire Department can now be placed in any fire house in the city. This condition did not exist prior to the directorship of Commissioner Moore.
The interior of the City Hall has practically been rebuilt since the advent of the present Commissioners. New walls replace the cracked and falling walls of days gone by. Every office in the building has been repaired and painted. Not alone the offices, but every portion of the big municipal building has been done over, so that today there are no leaking roofs that caused plaster to fall. New flooring and tiling made the building safe and in perfect condition. The Assembly Chamber, where all of the public municipal meetings are held, has been completely renovated.
