The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-07-19
The Streets To Be Occupied and
Fares To Be Charged.
A LETTER TO THE MAYOR
Charged with Duty in Respect to
the Entire City"


the Board held daily sessions and continued their
work as If the Common Council never existed The
Commissioners and their counsel claimed that
their report presented to the Mayor merely
as act of courtesy, and that the
Aldermen had business to pass upon it until such
time the routes had been designated the plans Of
construction of the railroads agreed upon and the
different corporations formed. Then. they said, it
the duty of these corporations to obtain the
sent of the Common Council and the owners of more
than one-half of the property through which the
railroads to run. BY some it was expected that
the Commissioners would make no further report to
the Mayor until they had completed their labors, but
In this they mistaken, will be seen by the
following letter. which will reach the Mayors hands
to-day
49, THE COMMISSIONING LETTER.
OFFICE -
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF RAPID TRANSIT
No. 81 EXCHANGE PLACE, July IL, 1879.
To the HONORABLE THE MAYOR AND THE BOARD OF Al
GRsTLEMEN-We, the commissioners appointed on
the I'd day of April, 1879. under the provisions Of
chapter COG of the Laws of 1875 have discharged the
duties imposed upon by sections and of said
in respect to the routes fixed and determined by
US on the 10th and 18th of June last. We submit
herewith action, which contemplates:-
< krst-The formation OF 1.-The Suburban Rapid
Transit Company" for the construction and opera
ton of routes designated in our communication to
the Mayor, of June a. the Central route the East
Side route. the Jerome Avenue Branch. the Fordham
route for the crossing of the Harlem River.
.Sccond-The formation of 1.-The West Side and
and operation OF the route designated the Harlem
River, Kingsbridge and Riverdale route.
Third-The formation of THE Hunts Point
and operation of the route designated the Hunts
Point route.
Fourth-The formation of ''The Park Avenue and
City Hall Railway Company for the construction
and operation OF the routes designated by our
luton of June H.
FtEh-The connection Of the New York Elevated
Railroad with the Metropolitan Elevated Railway
through Fitty-ninth street.
Strh-The connection of the New York Elevated
Railroad with the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris
Railroad. the New York City and Northern Railroad
and the Harlem River and Portchester Railroad.
ROUTES ABOVE HARLEM RIVER.
In deciding upon the plans tor the construction Of
tons. requirements and particulars as to the COM
panies to be formed to construct and operate the
same. we were strongly inclined, had it been in our
power, to impose condition of the vesting of the
franchise some provision for the payment into the
city treasury either of a percentage earnings
OF gross sum to be liked by auction or BIDS as the
value OF the franchise to be conferred. AS to the
routes above the Harlem River. of the
existing elevated railway companies evinced
any such interest in those routes a satisfy us
that they would cooperate in the construction
operation of the same. either upon the routes or
within the time prescribed by u.s. upon any other
routes or within any other time which might
prescribe and without right to run over the exist
ing elevated railroads Manhattan Island
satisfied that the new routes located north or the
Harlem River would not be able on their own merits
IL loaded with such burden as the payment of
any sum of money for the franchise granted
to such companies. As to the Forty-second
street route, which is PROFESSIONALLY
valuable franchise, after consultation with,
counsel ana . examination n Of the question,
provision for compensa ton to the city TREASURY is
an act of legislation which is beyond our jurisdc-
ton, and # the power is not spent by the omission
OF the Legislature express it in the law of 1875
can only be exercised by the local authorities
When the company to be formed by us has be- ONE
acorporation ard asks the consent of the local au-
thorities the use of that portion OF the streets
upon which it is proposed to construct and operate
such railway, the question NAV properly arise
whether such company will and can make q valid
Stipulation for such payment into the city treas
ury AS a consideration for such consent
FROM FoRTY-sEoosD STREET TO THE CITY HALL
Siace comm unication to the Ma, or of June IA
informed the public that we had determined the
route from Forty-second street to the City Hall
doubt has been suggested by articles in the daily
papers a. TO our power to make such determin alton
We did not fix that route without the advice of couu-
sci and their opinion first had duty i'll that
regard. While is quite probable, from the phrase
plogy of the application of the fifty househ olders
that the promoters OF that application only had in
view the extension of the New York Elevated Rail-
ROAD in connections across the Harlem River
aud new routes in the Twenty-third and Twenty.
fourth wards yet is clear that were appointed
with any such limited view. Not only the commits
sion OF His Honor the Mayor under which we act
does not suggest any such limitations but on the
contrary, l. rectes that 1T appears .that there IA
need in the city and county OF New York of a steam
railway or railways" aud therefore appoints us Ito
be Commissioners under and in pursuance of the
provisions of said act Moreover, the act of 1875
contains such limitation. Thus, both the law
aud commission concurred in charging us with
duty in respect to the entire city our own judg-
ment was in accord as to the need speedy rapid
transit from end OF the city to the other. aud
unable to secure any assurance
that the existing rapid transit roads on Manhattan
Island would promptly extend their lines over the
routes proposed to be located in the new wards
II only remained for to the needed result
by locating the route from Forty-second street to
the City Hall, and by imposing such conditions and
requirements made ITS construction dependent
upon the ability ofa the company, to be formed to
operate tile same, to secure such connection with
the railroad now in operation the sunken track
from Forty second street to the Harlem River and
the existing steam railways to the north line of the
city would the running of rapid transit
the entire connected line at an early day
III the routes located by us all constructed the