The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-06-01
OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL
Oil Company Trying to
Steal a Grade Crossing
Over Seventeenth
Street.
CITIZENS UP in ARMS
Water Pipe in Danger-Unau-
thorized FiIling-Funny Sort
of Agreement.

The Jersey City News a few days
ago exclusively published the fact that
the property owners on the north side of
the Erie Railroad tracks were alarmed at
the action of an Oil company which has
Deen hlling in portion of Seventeenth
street preparatory to laying a spur track
from their yard on one side of the street
10 the West Shore tracks. The spur was
10 run by way of the Cooperage Com
panys property, the owners of which
nave leased to the oil company for ten
years, the land they already occupy
Inc opposition principally comes from
the several citizens Improvement associa-
llons, which were formed exclusively for
the purpose of opening up Seventeenth.
eighteenth and other lateral streets from
Jersey avenue to the Hill. These asso-
ciauons are also unalterably opposed to
grade crossings and they propose to offer
every resistance to the oil company's pro-
posed track across the street which thew
nue. to the Hill
Inc company, it appears, has been pill
lng stone on the water pipe running
down the street, which supplies all of the
section north of the Erie, tracks with
wafer Should the company be permitted
10 I'LL IN over the pipe and run a fifty-ton
locomotive over the embankment the pipe
age could be averted by turning off the
water at Belleville, millions of gallons of
water viii flood the cellars of the houses
throughout that thickly populated dis
lflct, causing great loss and entailing in
Vulnerable suits for damages against the
city For this reason alone, the citizens
say, the oil company should not be per-
mltteo to tlll in over the pipe and lay
tracks across.
Who gave the oil company permission
to even fill in, is not clearly known
Mayor Hoos certainly did not and he does
not know who did Chief Engineer
Ruggles did not and was even unaware
Street and Water Commissioners have
passed no resolution granting the per-
mission and if the citizens account be
true true the company has been exercising its
own sweet will.
1t was said this morning that the
Creveiich Company, the oil company re-
Ter lerred 9s1 70. mad sent to Corporation Coun-
sci Blair an agreement between them and
the city, by which, if the city would per-
NIT the crossing, the company would give
bonds to remove the tracks within ten
days notice from the city. No action has
been taken on that agreement by the
corporation Counsel.
This agreement has excited the ridicule
OF the citizens association who say that
let the company get it's tracks across the
street and to remove them will mean
much litigation and money
Does anyone suppose that a railroad
company would tear up its tracks when
ordered by the city without maintaininr
pig nght! observed one of the citizen S
this morning. Has not Jersey City had
sufficient experience with railroad COM
panies and grade crossings?'
The Street and Water Commissioners
nave little to say about the proposition
Some of them think that the Oh Company
in locating in that section would confer
a benefit on the people, while others look
askance at any suggestion to lay tracks
across a public thoroughfare at grade.
The Board will, however, soon be Obliged
to meet the request, but before they act
they will be treated to visit from the
citizens associations, all of whom are
preparing for a very vigorous fight
against the proposal to close Seventeenth
street with another railroad track,