As the development of the grid advanced during the 19th century, keeping the streets clear became an increasingly complex problem. The Police Department was responsible for cleaning the streets until 1881, when the Department of Street Cleaning was created to handle the task. During the first decade of its existence, the department was notorious for graft, patronage, and incompetence, until it was reorganized by Street Cleaning Commissioner George E. Waring, Jr., appointed in 1895. A sanitation engineer, Waring had been responsible for the drainage of Central Park. This photograph demonstrates street conditions before Waring’s reforms. CY