The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-05-14
TWO MILES
OF PIERS
P. R. RS Application to
Secretary of War for
Change Of Solid Fill
ing Line.
HEARING BEFORE ENGINEERS TODAY
No Opposition to the Riparian
Boards Request on Hud
son River to Restore
Their Lines.
HEARING BEFORE ENGINEERS TODAY

Col. H. NJ. Robert, president, Gen. G. s.
Gillespie and Major W. L. Marshall, com
posing the .Harbor Line Board of New
York, gave a hearing this morning in the
Army Building, Whitehall street, New
York City. TO the Riparian Commission
ers of the State of New Jersey, the Penn
sylvania Railroad and other applicants
from New Jersey 10 be permitted to ex-
tend the line of solid foundation for piers
along the bay opposite Greenville and the
Hudson River. from Pleasant Valley to
Boomers, or in other words to allow GER
tain owners to reach navigable waters.
Mayor Hoos and Corporation Counsel
Allan L. McDermott were present for
jersey City; Counselor Geo. L. Record
and Engineer James C. Payne for the
Riparian Commission; Counselor James
B. vredenburgh for the P. r. R.; Coun-
selor S. C. Mount, for the Board of
Trade and certain owners and Counselors
De Witt Van Buskirk and Mungo j. Cur
rie, for owners in Greenville and Bay
onne, and Mr.. P. Sandford Ross, of Jer-
sey City, and Col Chas. Sterling of the
National Dock Co.
The first application heard was that af-
fecting the Hudson River front. On that
shore between the points mentioned the
applicants asked to have the line of solid
filling and piers restored to the line of
1865 In 1891 the Harbor Line Board set
the line back, but later extended it to the
Riparian Board lines on the individual ap-
plication of Mr.. Sanford Ross, who owns
property at Coytesville. The Riparian
Board therefore asked that the balance of
the line should be restored, Counsellor
Record and Mr.. Payne both declaring that
the State suffered pecuniarly because of
the present state of the line There being
no opposition the hearing on that subject
was closed.
1.-THE Board will now take up,'' said
Colonel Robert, the application of the
Pennsylvania Road to extend the solid
filling line on the shore to the west of
Greenville.'
Major Marshall read this application.
which asked for 1900 feet additional space
from the present line to the line axed by
the Riparian Board in 1883. thus enabling
the railroad company to fill in up to the
line of 1888 and from that point out build
a pier two miles long, digging a channel
to the bulkhead line, to accommodate ves-
sells in 80 feet of water.
The first speaker to the proposition, of
course, came from the Chamber of Com
merce Of New York, which steadily OPP
poses every application from New Jersey
to extend its pier line and thus compete
with New York The President of that
Board lectured the army officers, pointed
out how great New York's needs were,
and how important it was that they
should be conserved above the interests of
Others at the same time, he said, he
would like to see trade benefited
Gustav H. Schwab of the North German
Lloyd Steamship Company endorsed the
last speakers fears that any new channel
might injure the shipping.
j. B. Falks of the Maritime Exchange,
said that if the P. R. RS application
didn't interfere with the harbor his board
viii approve it.
Counselor James B. vredenburgh, for
the Pennsylvania Railroad, unfolding a
map, pointed out precisely what the COM
pany wanted. 1t owned. he said, to the
north of the lands owned by the Point
Breeze Ferry Company and Morris and
Cummings opposite the idle Hour" in
Greenville, 2,400 feet. The company, he
said. desired to build tracks to load bulky
freight on water in a depth of S5 feet, but
ii was unable to do so because the ap-
proach to the present bulkhead line was
a ledge of rocks rising to with II feet OF
tide water and that was not deep enough
for their purposes. If the line of solid
filling he continued, was restored to thai
fixed by the Riparian Board in 1888, the
company could fill in over that ridge ano
from that point run out piers for two
miles. The Pennsylvania Company pro
poses to ship from the cars in that YARD
onto the vessels coal for shipment
abroad and if it could not get the line
extended it would mean heavy expense
In shipping their freight, because 1t wouie
be almost impossible to cut through tha
ridge of rock and pile down.
Mr. vredenburgh said that the company
some years ago purchased the right o.
way from Waverly, across Newark Bay
Greenville and to the water of New Yort
Bay to make that place terminal for III
lines. When the company bought ina
property the line was as fixed in 1888 ane
the company now sought to have the line
restored to the Riparian lines. In ordel
to reach the property the company hat
a grade of forty feet to the mile.
"Our trouble is this said Mr.. Vreden
hurgh. 'sthat we want more room W.
want more room for switching cars, stor
ing freight and bringing it from the yes
sells to our yard"
.~The question is interrupted Genera
Gillespie, "do you need solid filling fo
switching cars? Wouldn't piling do az
well?"
Mr.. vredenburgh said not, and men
toned the peculiarities of the shore ant
the lands under water, which made piinf
there useless. He called Engineer Brown
who told the Board that TO dredge th'
channel there would mean a great ex
pense. Coal. if the line asked for were
granted, would be shipped there insteat
of at Harsimus.
The main objections to the Pennsylvania