class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">Plan 5)

This plan contemplates placing the new court house on Washington Street opposite the Post Office, and the new municipal building at the corner of Court and Joralemon on the site condemned for that purpose. It separates the court house from the Hall of Records. The chief objection, however, is that the available space is not sufficient. A court house of the size desired would be compelled to assume an awkward shape, and it would be so narrow that an inner court to light court rooms facing on it would be out of the question. Throughout our work we have kept in mind the desire of the judges for quiet rooms for the conduct of trials. Washington and Fulton streets are noisy on account of surface cars and vehicles and it would in our opinion be undesirable to have court rooms front on these streets. The court house is to be a much larger and more imposing building than the new municipal building, and it should not be placed on a contracted site.

SIXTH PLAN

Present Site for Court House

(See diagram marked Plan 6)

This plan contemplates that the court house would occupy all of the present court house block except the Hall of Records; that it should have a large inner court with court rooms opening upon it; and that the municipal building should be placed on the plaza site.

The available area for the court house would be 147,700 feet. The inner court could be 150 feet by 200 feet with a superficial area of 30,000 feet. The building, if six stories high, could easily have four floors devoted to court rooms. Each floor would afford space for nine court rooms, each forty feet by fifty feet, and one large court room for extraordinary trials, 50 feet by 65 feet. This would make forty court rooms in all and there would be ample space for a jury room and robing room in connection with each court room.

The street noises would be an objection to this site if the court rooms fronted the street. We are advised, however, that the fronting of the court rooms on the inner court would protect them entirely from street noise. Ventilation in so large a building as this would necessarily be furnished by a power system, and would be independent of the movement of outside air. Indeed, it seems to be conceded that a power system succeeds only when windows are not opened and shut at will. Moreover, trials are not held during the hot months of July, August and September. On account of these considerations we are of the opinion that inside court rooms can be fully as comfortable and as well ventilated as if they fronted on the streets. The inner court would be so large that there would be an abundance of sunlight. This would not be the case with the lower stories if the building were fifteen or twenty stories high, but our investigations have shown that with a building not over six stories in height, the sunlight will be abundant.

Careful consideration has been given to the subject of noise during construction. The first portion of the new court house built would be that fronting on Borough Hall Park between the present court house and Court Street. This would be followed in due course by the construction of the Livingston Street front after the Polytechnic Institute would be able to locate in a new place. Later the remaining portion of the new court house would be built where the old court house now stands. It cannot be denied that there would be some inconvenience to court work from construction noise while these successive portions were building, but if the new municipal building is erected within the next few months on the site selected for it adjoining the old court house, there will be the same degree of construction noise. Moreover, wherever the new court house is built, it is almost certain that it will be followed by some new construction in the immediate locality. The main thing is to obtain freedom from noise after construction is over, and we believe that the work of the courts could be conducted in inside court rooms on this site with more quiet than in outside rooms on any of the other sites that have been suggested. We find that the first wing of the new building could be built as a unit providing sixteen to twenty court rooms with all requisite minor rooms and facilities. These would be more court rooms than are now in use. This would afford the needed expansion in connection with the use of the old court house, which has fourteen court rooms. The later completion of the Livingston Street wing would furnish a total of thirty-two court rooms in the new building. This would permit the abandonment of the old court house so that the last wing could be built where the old court house now stands. If the money for the construction of the new court house is appropriated from time to time, as will probably be the case, it will be no disadvantage to have the different parts successively available for construction. Forty new court rooms will not be needed for some years, and there will be a saving of interest to the city if the entire expenditure is not made at one time. The county court now has four court rooms, the supreme court ten, the appellate division one, and the appellate term one—in all sixteen. The act empowering the judges to select a site and approve a court house does not contemplate that the county court will be provided for in the new building. If, however, a forty court room building should be erected, it is evident that the county court should be housed in it or else many of the court rooms would be idle for a long time.

The new court house in Manhattan will provide fifty to sixty court rooms. A new Brooklyn court house containing forty court rooms would provide as much space as is likely to be needed during the next forty years, and the city would hardly care to lose interest on unnecessary space for a longer period. When, however, the civil business transacted in the new court house should need all of the court rooms, the city would probably feel the need of a separate criminal court building in