The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-01
ODELL PIER LEASE Up TO-DAY,
AND GOVERNORS FRIENDS HOPE
TO JAM IT THROUGH.

what Are the City's Rights 10 . Governor's
Private Interests But Questions May
he Asked Before the City Makes the
Worst Bargain Il Has Made In Year,.
Gov. Odell's good friends among the
Commissioners Of the Sinking Fund are
going to make strong effort to get through
that body to-day without the asking Of a
lot Of embarrassing questions the recon-
mendation Of Dock Commissioner Hawkes.
that Pier "a, North River. be turned over to
the Governors Central Hudson Steamboat
Company for the next twenty-six years
at q rental which ten years hence will be
much less than one-third Of what pier In
this locality ought to bring
The Governors good trends In the Sink
ing Fund are especially Mayor Low and
Alderman Herbert B. Parsons. who is q
member Of the Sinking Fund by virtue
Of his chairmanship OF the Finance Com
mittee Of the Board Of Aldermen. City
Chamberlain Gould can be depended upon to
vote the way the Mayor does. 90 that there
seems to be little doubt that these three
can jam the Governors cheap lease through
without fail Whether they can do 1t with
out the fact being made plain 10 them that
BY closing this lease the city il making
one Of the worst bargains II ever made with
. private corporation remains to be seen.
Comptroller circuit and President Fornes
Of the Board Of Aldermen may ask few
pertinent questions, and II they do the grab
will be sure to come out. But they wouldn't
say yesterday Just what they would do.
Commissioner Hawkes., who said last week
that he would personally attend the meet
ing Of the Sink ng Fund and be prepared to
AAAt lad ~
him. may. however, get q chance 70 tell why
the Governor OF the State OF New York
visited him on his Battery pier the day
before he recommended the lease for the
Governors company.
This lease has been pronounced by all
ridiculously bad bargain for the city and
only explainable by the influence Of some
powerful person. That the city OF New
York should do . thing for the Central
Hudson Steamboat Company which u
ministration for any one else Is hard to
understand. 1t u only explained BY that
visit of Gov. Odell to Commissioner Hawkes..
There 10 no doubt In the minds Of those
who have looked into the facts surrounding
is the result Of that visit Of the Governor,
who IL practically the sole owner Of the
Central Hudson Steamboat Company.
The pier It 10 proposed TO give TO the
Governors company now brings In rent
in the neighborhood Of 81 900 q year.
although with recent improvements made
By the city II ought to bring at least 10 900.
Never In the history Of the city, 90 far as
Ia known, has q lease been renewed without
an increase In rent. And when an extraor-
binary favor Is to be done for q company
(such as the cancellation Of It's present lease
to provide for fine, fat extensions In the
future) there Is even less reason why new
lease should be made at the old rental.
In the only two coses under the present
administration where q lease has been alb
rogated to provide for q new ono the ten
ants were paying high rents for what they
got and nevertheless had to pay q big In
crease. In the case Of the Erie Ferry Com
pany the increase was % 600 year; In the
case OF the Fort Lee Ferry Company $500
year. or SO per cent.
The report Of Engineer Mclean Of Comp
troller CIRCUITS office, which winds up with
the statement that Mr. Mclean can see no
objection to the Sinking Fund approving
the Odell lease, was declared by city OH
cials yesterday to be the best argument
in the world against the approval Of the
lease. In this report Mr.. Mclean calls
attention to the big increases demanded
of the Erie and Fort Lee companies for new
leases after the abrogation Of their old
ones and then goes on to admit that there
IL no proposition In the Odell lease for any
advance at all. Az this In the principal
objection to the Odoll lease the approval
OF Mr.. Mclean can hardly have much weight
with the Commissioners Of the Sinking
Fund