New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-11-29
THE CyTY'S WATER FRONT

One of the annually recurring questions ut
Albany is that of legislation affecting the Dock
Department. The administration of this i'm
portant branch OF the city government has long
been unsatisfactory. 1t has wholly failed to
meet the puLlic demand for the proper care
and Improvement of the water front. There
nave been some signs Of improvement recently,
bat while the Department remains in its present
semi-ndcpendent condition there is small proba-
bility of its satisfying the public needs. The
proposition to subject it to the scrutiny of the
Board of Estimate is a wise one, AMI although
the exigencies of Democratic politics may delay
the reform, it is certain to be accomplished in
the eud.
New-York is a commercial city, and plans for
facilitating and rendering inexpensive the oper-
atoms of commerce ought to be the c'ief care
of its citizens. Bat apparently almost every
other subject receives greater attention. The
total available water front OF the city is
twenty four and three-quarter miles, of which
only a small part has been properly improved.
With all this great water front commerce is
beng constantly driven across to the New
Jersey shore and to Long Island, for lack of
proper facilities at reasonable rates on the
shores of Manhattan Island. Advantages in
point of location, means OF comm nlcation
with the interior and along the seaboaId, and
the excellence and extent OF the harbOr, should
have enabled New York to make very signal
gain in its foreign and domestic trade during
the last three decades. But as matter Of
fact i'm comparison with Boston, Philadelphia
and Baltimore the city has only maintained its
relative position in controlling the foreign COM
merce of the country, while its position in the
domestic trade is less certain. This is largely
due to the l,ck Uf proper terminal facilities and
the excessive cost of handling goods here.
Some merchants now sell by sample in this
city and ship goods from the factories where
they are produ ced to the point of final delivery
In this way they avoid terminal charges in
| New-York. One of the heaviest of these
charges is the cost of trucking. All merchan
disc has to be removed froiu the water front to
| warehouses IN trucks and then returned or sent
| to a depot in the same manner. AS the piers
of the great transportation companies are
| crowded into comparatively small space on
the North River, West-st. is crowded with
! tracks a good part of the time. Owing to the
crowded condition of the streets it costs % per
cent more TO run truck now than it did few
years ago. A careful estimate based on the
number of trucks in use by wholesale houses
places the cost to them Of transferring their
goods in this way at $25,O00,0O annually
This Is an enormous tax 10 impose on the cen
nerce of the city. BY proper use OF the
water front the greater part of this sum could
he saved.
improvements in other directions are also
needed. The completion of the Harlem River
enlargement, by Offering facilities for ware
houses ON the water front in connection with
the railroads, will be of great advantage to the
city. One railroad with its terminus on the
Jersey shore now pays 100000 year for
handling freight in the haroor. Considering
| the numter of roads on that side of the river,
| it would seem that the completion of the
tunnel under the river, which was begun some
years ago, ought to be a matter of great
interest to them. These questions concerning
terminal charges and the improv enent of tho
water front demand earnest consideration
from those in authority. They have been too
| long neglected.