Duty of. Removal or suspension of. ident, du § 2. Said president shall preside at the meetings of the board of aldermen, and shall, ex-officio, be a member of all the committees of said board. § 3. Said president may be removed from office by the governor in the same manner as sheriffs, except that the governor may direct the inquiry provided by law to be conducted by the attorney-general, and after charges have been received by the governor he may, pending the investigation, suspend said president for a period not exceeding thirty days. Vice-pres- § 4. The board of aldermen shall from their own number choose a ties of. vice-president in the manner now provided by law for choosing a president of said board, who shall be subject to removal only in the manner now provided by law for the removal of the president of the present board. Whenever the president of the board shall be under suspension, or there shall be a vacancy in his office, or whenever, by reason of sickness or absence from the city, he shall be prevented from attending to the duties of his office, the vice-president shall preside at the meetings of the board, and shall possess all the rights and powers of president thereof, during such suspension, vacancy, disability or absence. Ballot. § 5. The president of the board of aldermen shall be voted for upon the ballot indorsed "city and county" and upon the face of said ballot shall be designated as "president of the board of aldermen." § 6. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. § 7. This act shall take effect immediately. Jurisdiction ceded. Chap. 75. AN ACT ceding jurisdiction over certain land to the United PASSED April 2, 1884, by a two-thirds vote. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The jurisdiction of this state over a certain piece or parcel of land, situate partly in the town of New Lots, Kings county, and partly in the town of Newtown, Queens county, containing fifteen and thirty-nine one hundredths acres, an accurate description and plat of which, sworn to by an officer of the United States, has been deposited in the office of the secretary of the state of New York, is hereby ceded to Purpose. the United States of America, for the purpose of establishing a national cemetery whenever said land shall be acquired by the United States: Provided, that this cession is upon the express condition that the state of New York shall retain concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over said land when acquired as aforesaid, so far as that all civil and criminal process issuing under the authority of this state may be executed on said land in the same way and manner as if this act had not been passed; and exclusive jurisdiction shall revert to this state whenever said land shall cease to be the property of the United States. Concurrent jurisdiction. tion from § 2. The land aforesaid, when acquired, shall be forever exempt from Exempall taxes and assessments so long as the same shall remain the property taxes. of the United States. § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. Chap. 76. AN ACT to alter the map of the city of New York by laying out thereon a public park at Coenties slip, and to provide for the regulation and control thereof. PASSED April 2, 1884; three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: lay out be made SECTION 1. The board of street openings in the city of New York is Power to hereby authorized and empowered to locate and lay out a public park, park. of such dimensions as they may determine, on land in the first ward of said city, known as Coenties slip in said city. When the said board of Maps to street openings shall have determined upon the location and dimensions and filed. of said park, they shall cause maps to be prepared showing the same, which maps shall be certified by them and filed, one in the office of the register of the city of New York, one in the office of the department of public works, and one in the office of the department of public parks in said city, and upon the filing of said maps the land included within the boundaries of said park as shown thereon shall become and be a public park. § 2. The department of public parks of said city shall have the same Departpower and be charged with the same duties as to the said park, when ment of public so laid out, as they now possess or are now charged with as to the other parks to public parks in said city. This park shall be known as Jeannette charge of park. §3. This act shall take effect immediately. have same. Chap. 77. AN ACT to authorize the city of Kingston to borrow money. PASSED April 2, 1884; three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: common may borrow SECTION 1. In case the general fund in the treasury of the city of When Kingston, and the amount borrowed by virtue of the provisions of council section ninety of the charter of said city, shall become exhausted during the year eighteen hundred and eighty-four, the common council of said money city may borrow an additional sum, not exceeding in amount the expenses incurred by said city in prosecuting the appeal taken by the same. supervisors of said city to the state assessors in the year eighteen hundred and eighty-two, and issue the obligation of the city for the and levy tax to pay sum so borrowed, with interest thereon; and the amount necessary to pay the obligation so incurred and issued may be added by said common council to the sum to be raised by tax in the next annual tax levy. § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. Proceed. had be fore bonds shall be issued, etc., for etc. When Chap. 78. AN ACT in relation to local improvements in the city of Brooklyn. PASSED April 2, 1884; three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Hereafter in the city of Brooklyn before any bonds shall ings to be be issued, any money expended, or any contract made for any grading or paving or sewering of any street or avenue, or for any local improvement whatsoever except flagging or reflagging sidewalks or fencing vacant lots, and immediately after the prospective cost and expense grading, thereof shall have been estimated (in the case of sewers by the department of city works, and in other cases by the common council) and the board of assessors shall have made their preliminary report thereon in the cases by law provided, the common council shall cause an assessment to be laid by the department of city works in the case of sewers and by the board of assessors in other cases for the amount of such estimated cost and expense, in the case of each local improvement upon the district laid out therefor, but shall not include in such assessment any amount for interest nor for assessors' or collectors' fees, and after the confirmation of such assessment (in the case of sewers by the department of city works and in other cases by the common council) shall proceed to cause the same to be collected, and on such confirmation such assessment shall become and be a lien and charge on the lands so assessed. Before directing any such assessment to be laid as aforesaid, contract the common council shall cause the board of assessors to ascertain and may be report in each case what proportion of the lands within the district of assessment is subject to arrears of taxes or assessments, and in cases where it shall appear by such report that not more than one-third in area of the lands within such district are subject to such arrears, the common council may, immediately after the confirmation of the assessment aforesaid, authorize a contract for the work to be made by the department of city works, and thereupon it shall be lawful to issue bonds for said improvement, payable not more than three years after their date. In cases where more than one-third of the lands within the assessment district shall be subject to such arrears, it shall be lawful to make a contract for such improvement, and to issue bonds therefor when, and not before, one-third of the amount of such assessment shall have been collected, or all such arrears on at least two-thirds of the lands in such When as district shall have been paid. Immediately upon the making of a contract for any such local improvement the assessment therefor shall be revised by the department of city works in the case of sewers, and by the board of assessors in the case of other improvements, and if the estimate made therefor shall have been greater than the actual cost of made. sessment to be re vised. costs to ment. be pub. such improvement, such excess shall be deducted from the amounts assessed against the several parcels of land in the district of assessment in the proportion of their respective amounts; and if any part of such assessment shall have been collected, the proportion of such excess shall be refunded to the person paying the same. If the cost of such im- Excess of provement shall be greater than the amount of the estimate made be added therefor, the excess of such cost shall be added to said assessment and to assessapportioned upon the several parcels of land according to their respective proportions of the original assessment. The department of city Notice to works in the case of sewers, and the board of assessors in other cases lished. shall prepare a list showing the amounts of such additions, and shall publish in the corporation newspapers, for at least ten days, a notice of the time and place when and where the same can be examined and objections made thereto, and after hearing such objections shall make such corrections therein as they shall deem just, and shall certify the said additions as corrected upon the original assessment-roll to the collector of taxes and assessments, and thereupon the amounts so added shall become a part of such original assessment and be collected without any further warrant in the same manner and with the same lien and effect as if such amount had been included in the estimate of said work. The amount of bonds issued in any year for local improve- Amount ments made in pursuance of this act in excess of the amount of assess- limited. ments collected therefor shall not exceed the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Every assessinent hereby provided for shall in all respects, so far as consistent herewith, be governed by the same laws and entitled to the same exemptions and be of the same force and effect as are the assessments now laid in the city of Brooklyn for the various local improvements provided for in the charter of the said city respectively. But nothing in this section contained shall prevent the issuing of bonds for and the completion of any local improvement heretofore authorized by special act of the legislature; nor shall the common council or the department of health of said city be hereby deprived of any power which they possess under existing laws to abate nuisances and promote or protect the public health. of bonds sessment, § 2. In the case of any assessment laid under the provisions of the Power to preceding section of this act, the common council may, at any time cancel asbefore any contract shall be made for any local improvement aforesaid etc. (but not after such time) cancel such assessment and any and all proceedings had relating thereto or to the improvement for which the same was laid; and in case of such cancellation, all moneys paid for or on account of such assessment shall be refunded to the person or persons who shall have paid the same or to the legal representatives of such person or persons. act § 3. Section one of an act entitled "An act relative to the collection Sec. 1 of of taxes and assessments in the city of Brooklyn," passed May twenty- named third, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, as amended by chapter repealed. two hundred and sixty-five of the laws of eighteen hundred and eightyone, is hereby repealed. § 4. This act shall take effect immediately. of chief etc. Chap. 79. AN ACT to amend section five of chapter one hundred and twenty-seven of the laws of eighteen hundred and sixty, entitled "An act to organize a fire department in the village of Delhi, Delaware county." PASSED April 2, 1884; three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section five of chapter one hundred and twenty-seven of the laws of eighteen hundred and sixty, entitled "An act to organize a fire department in the village of Delhi, Delaware county," is hereby amended so as to read as follows: Election § 5. The members of the fire department shall meet on the second engineer, Wednesday of April, annually, at some suitable place to be designated by the president of the board of trustees, at which meeting at least two of the trustees of the village shall preside as inspectors thereof, and the clerk of said village shall also be present to keep the poll-list of said election, and in case of his absence the poll-list may be kept by any person who shall be appointed by said trustees so presiding, and shall then and there elect, by ballot, a chief engineer, a first assistant engineer, a second assistant engineer, a clerk and treasurer of the fire department, subject to the approval of the board of trustees, who shall hold their office for one year and until others are elected in their places, which said officers, or either of them, may be removed by the board of trustees for incapacity, neglect of duty or misconduct. In case said board of trustees shall remove any of said officers for cause aforesaid, or any vacancy shall happen in any of said offices by death, resignation, removal, refusal to serve or otherwise, the said board of trustees shall order a new election to fill such vacancy, at such time and place as they may deem proper. Lock No. 50 to be length ened. § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. Chap. 80. AN ACT to provide for lengthening lock number fifty of the Erie canal, and making an appropriation therefor. PASSED April 2, 1884; three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The superintendent of public works is hereby authorized and directed, after the close of canal navigation for the year eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and before the opening of canal navigation for the year eighteen hundred and eighty-five, to take suitable measures to cause lock number fifty of the Erie canal, to be lengthened in such a manner as to allow the locking of two canal boats of the ordinary size of those running on the Erie canal, at one and the same time, one |