Public Markets.—The commissioner of public markets, who is appointed by the mayor, has jurisdiction over all public mar kets, market-places and lands, and all auctioneers of foods and permits and leases for business. He also supervises the manufac ture and sale of ice. The chief markets for foodstuffs are the Washington, West Washington, Midtown Municipal, Old Fulton, Wallabout, and Gansevoort markets and the new $17,000,000 Bronx Terminal market opened by the city in 1935. A picturesque feature of the city's congested foreign districts is the open air push-cart market. There are 6o of these and their yearly business amounts to millions of dollars.
Parks and Recreation.—Administration of the parks of the city is vested in a park board of five members, who are the park commissioners appointed by the mayor for the five boroughs. The total park area of the 310 city parks is 15,723 acres. The largest of the parks are the Pelham Bay (Bronx), 1,977 ac.; Van Cort landt (Bronx), 1,132 ac.; Marine (Brooklyn), 1,593 ac. ; Marine (Richmond), 1,256 ac.; Flushing Meadows (Queens), 1,054 ac.; Central (Manhattan), 84o ac., and Bronx, 719 ac.
Central park extends from 59th to I loth streets, between Fifth and Eighth avenues. It was purchased in 1856 for about $5,500, 000, and laid out and developed by the architects Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, under the direction of a board of II commissioners, the first committee of construction including William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving and George Bancroft. Van Cortlandt, Pelham Bay and Forest parks are the largest generally devoted to outdoor sports and recreation. In Van Cortlandt park is the Van Cortlandt mansion built in 1748, and now maintained as a museum. The Bronx park is noted for its zoological and botanical exhibits and Prospect park for its beauty. Riverside park, in Manhattan, extends along the east bank of the Hudson river from 72nd to 129th streets, a distance of about three miles. Battery park was the site of "The Battery" in the early days of the city. The aquarium occupies the old Castle garden in this park. City Hall park constitutes a part of what was called "The Common Lands" in the middle of the 17th cen tury. Roger Morris park is the site of the Jumel mansion, the home of Mme. Jumel, wife of Aaron Burr, and here Gen. Wash ington made his headquarters during the battle of Harlem heights. In Audubon park was the home of the naturalist John James Audubon. Poe park, in the Bronx, is the site of the Edgar Allan
Poe cottage. In Fort Greene park, Brooklyn, is a vault containing the remains of a few of those who died in the British prison ships in 1776 and after.
Courts.—The judicial system of the city is composed of the following courts : magistrates' (minor offences) ; homicide ; mu nicipal term; night ; family; traffic ; woman's; probation; munici pal (civil actions involving not more than $1,000) ; city (civil actions involving $1,000 to $3,000) ; county (in New York this is the court of general sessions and in Richmond the county and surrogate's court are combined; major crimes) ; special sessions (chiefly misdemeanors) ; children's (children under 16, except mur der in the first degree) ; and surrogate's (estates of infants and deceased persons). The mayor appoints about 7o city marshals.
Public School System.—The free public school system is administered as the department of education by an unpaid board of seven, appointed by the mayor, for terms of seven years. The school system in 1935 comprised 699 public day schools with an enrolment of 1,018,154 not counting the is compulsory contin uation schools. There were 43 high schools, 4 of which were vocational. For each district there is a local board of five appointed by the borough president for five years. Members re ceive no compensation and may be removed by the borough presi dents after a hearing.
The chief executive officer of the board of education is the superintendent of schools who is elected by the board of educa tion and sits with this body though without vote. He receives a salary of $25,000 a year and holds office for six years. There are eight associate superintendents of schools. The superintendent and associate superintendents of schools constitute the board of superintendents. Teachers are chosen by the board of education from eligible lists of those who have qualified before a board of examiners of seven members appointed by the board of edu cation. The total personnel of the department of education is estimated at 42,00o. Expenditures of the city for educational purposes (including libraries) in 1936 amounted to $158,784, 056.63 of which $54,205,977.73 was appropriated by the State toward the payment of teachers' salaries. A teachers' retirement system is administered by the teachers' retirement board of seven unpaid members.