Coroner of New York City assumed by the District Attorneys, and the coroner's judicial function is to be performed by the City Magistrates. Originally New York City had two elected coroners. Each coroner was assigned a physician and a clerk. In 1852 the number of coroners were doubled to four. In 1896 Theodore Knapp Tuthill suggested doubling the number of New York County, New York coroners from four to eight, and increasing the compensation for the coroners to attract more competent officials. In 1898 New York City expanded from Manhattan to include Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and The Bronx. In 1903 senator Nathaniel A. Elsberg
Staten Island Tunnel funded by the city, the tunnel was expected to help expand the then-sparsely populated borough in a similar manner to the population and development explosions seen in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Under the Dual Contracts, three routes were proposed—two to Brooklyn and one to Manhattan—which would connect the Staten Island Railway's rapid transit service (SIRT) to existing subway lines. The Manhattan proposal, often called the "direct route," would have connected with the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s lines under Battery Park, near the current Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. "Direct Route A" would have utilized a five-section tunnel under the New York Harbor,