The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-11
NO PERMANENT GRANTS
LAWFULLY MADE SINCE MAY 4 FOE
USE OF THE STREETS. ,

ri, A,p,tes - the Whele Greater City
u,der the railing OF tho Appellate Division
n, the KinEssridGe Rrnuchiss Case - view
charter Limits suoh Grants to % Ycars-
Tho order of Justice smyth, made on sppli.
cation OF Leopold Gusthal. as q taxpayer, on.
Joining tho Board Of Aldermen from granting q
! fronchiso for tho Kingsbridge Railroad. on the
application Of the Forty.socond Street, Man.
battanyille and st. Nicholas Avenue Railroad
Company for moro than twenty-five years, has
been affirmed by the Appellate Division Of the
Supreme Court. Justice Rumsey says:
at may DO remarked that II 10 conceded by the
Board of Aldermen, who camo into court ap-
pealing from this order. that It IL doubtful
whether they had the right to grant this fran
chise which was asked for at their hands. That
being 30, II IL q little remarkable, to say the
least, that they should persist in the effort to
exercise that doubtful riRhtsin the face Of oppo-
sition when the necessary effect Of such exercise
would be to deprive the city Of the great privt.
lego of limiting.future grants Of franchises and
to burden 1t with grants Of many permanent
franchises to occupy its streets for railway pur-
poses. 1t IL difficult to assign any good reason
for this persistcncy. but as the Board of Alder
men insist upon their claim Of the right to ex-
ercise this doubtful power and will do so unless
to decide whether they, havo the power to grant
franchises as formerly"
Tho Court holds that section 73 OF the now
charter, which says that after the approval OF
this act" the Municipal Assembly, shall NOT
grant franchises for moro than twenty-five
years, must DO construed by eliminating the
words Municipal Assembly" to mean that from
the date of the enactment of the charter fran
chiscs to use tho streets Of the city for q longer
period than twenty-five years shall not bo
granted. The charter became law on NAV 4
1897, and the prohibition applies to ali fran.
ohiscs to use tho streets granted in the Greater
New York territory since that date. The Court
says:
some means by which the city OF New York
might obtain some compensation for tho grant
Of franchises to use its streets for railway and
other purposes. Such grants were of great
value to tho corporations to which they have
been given, yet but little II any revenue had
been derived therofrom by the city. 1t was
quito apparent that upon the organization OF
the greater city such franchises would be still
more valuable, than they had been before, and
II might have been expected that IA soon as the
act constituting the greater city should become
ascortainty pressure would be put upon all these
various municipalities which for u abort time
possessed the right of granting permanent fran.
chiscs: to grant such franchises to corporations
before the statute creating the Greater New
York took effect; That this was tho condition
Of affairs, and that this was u reasonable and
probable expectation Is we'll known to every
body. and 1t must be considered In giving con.
struction to the provisions Of tho section now
under consideration"