The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-10-28
THE NEW PIER LINE
Great Victory for Hohokeu
and a Saving Of Mi1lloaa
in Trade to the City
EXTENDED DOCKING FACILITIES
History of the Fight Bsfosy 4hs
New York Harbor Line Board
and Who Made 1t.

The Board of Riparian Commissioners
met in the Fuller Building this moVning
and adopted the new pier line fixed by the
United States Government This means
great victory for the city Of Hoboken and
the Hoboken Land and Improvement
Company, and the saving to the city of
millions of dollars In trade, to say moth
ing of the larger business interests which
will be attracted by an improved water
front. The large steamship companies are
the business life of Hoboken. Last spring
the more important companies, notably
the North German Lloyd and the Ham
burg-American, asserted that they would
be driven to New York, as the docking
facilities in Hoboken had become insult
cient to their needs, and the established
pier line precluded the possibility Of en-
larging the steamship berths. Not one of
the Hoboken piers was large enough to
dock the Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse,
which at that time was in course Of con-
struction. While the steamship compan-
les were complaining of the lack of faoil-
tiles in Hoboken, the city of New York,
which had applied for and secured an ex-
tension of it's pier line. was offering large
inducements for them to dock on the
other side of the river.
While things were in this condition the
city of Hoboken and the Hoboken Land
and Improvement Company appeared be-
fore the Board of Riparian Commission
erS of New Jersey and making state
ment of the situation. asked the Board il
1t could not afford some relief. Tbs Com
missioners took the matter Up al once,
and on looking into it found that exist
ouf nE per as the ead t es xad BY ahs nnitsd
States Government in 1892. The Board
thereupon made application to secretary
of War Daniel 8. Lamont for suoh extsn-
sion of the pier head line as would meet
the requirements of the steamship com
panieS of Hoboken. The application was
dated Feb. 26. 1897. By the Secretary OF
War the matter was referred to the New
York Harbor Line Board, and the Hipar-
ian Commissioners were informed on
March 25 of a public hearing 20 be had
in the Army Building in New York CITY
to consider the question.
At the hearing the Riparian Commis-
sion was represented by its engineer ana
secretary, ]. C. Payne, and its counsel
George L. Record. The maps and data,
showing the situation, were presented by
Engineer Payne, and the argument WAS
good results that on May IS, the formal
notice of the granting of the application
of the Riparian Commission was received,
together with the official map showing
the new pier line. The map was signed
by the Secretary of War, Richard Alger.
Following the extension OF the pier head
limo came applications to the Board from
riparian grantees interested for the ex-
tension of their rights to the new pier
head line fixed by the Government. This
matter has been under consideration by
the Riparian Commission since that time,
and this morning the line fixed
by the Government was formally approx
ed and adopted as the pier head line OF
the State of New Jersey. In all but one
case within the territory affected by the
new line the riparian grantees will have
the right under the terms Of their grants
to extend their rights to the new pier
head line without further compensation
to the State, the original grants contain
ing a provision that whenever the lines
were extended by the State their rights
would follow to the new line.
The adoption of the new line VIII per-
NIT the steamship companies and the
other grantees between Ferry and Fifth
streets, Hoboken, to extend their piers
length of 525 feet and q maximum length
of $50 feet. Some of the large steamship
companies have pier length of 92o feet,
as they have not filed in along the shore
to the bulkhead line. The vacant space
and the additional pier head length gives
of 750 feet. The extension In front Of tho
city of Jersey City Is tS0 feet at Ferry
street, the city line, running to an inter-
section with the former pier head line
at the Morris Canal Cove pier, being
an average extension In front of Jersey
City of 80 feet. The extension Of the pier
head line from Weehawken Cove to Old
Bulls Ferry landing, In which section
the West Shore terminus and ferries lie,
is 200 feet From Old Bulls Ferry landing
north to Shady Side, the average extern
sion is about 50 feet. Only 1000 feet OF
and only one small grant can be assessed
for the extension.