New-York tribune., 1911-11-29

Railroads, including railroad ferries oc-
cupy S5S miles, or about eighteen miles
] of wharfage; S7 miles OF waterfront civ
-hg SOY miles of wharfage room. is used
Tor general and miscellaneous wharfage.
improvements have been made from
tlme TO time throughout this Manhattan
shorehne on both rivers. the most impor-
tant OF lare years being the Chelsea docks.
Frehminary work for the Chelsea I'm
proVement' dredging. began in 1900. Less
tnhs cost and the value of the real estate
the expense to the city was s7.5S7.OO0 There
are eight piers extending into the Hudson
| between Bloomfield and 22d streets Four
are 80 feet long and four are 500 feet long,
the limits imposed by the War Department.
The piers vary I'm width from 125 feet in the
case OF five piers to 100 feet in the case of
TWO, while the last and narrowest measures
only 80 feet. The entire property was un-
/ der lease before completion.
The Cunard Line has Piers "a and 56.
The French Line has Pier 81
/ Piers IS, 50. 60 g. and 90 were leased to
/ the International, including the White Star
Atlantic Transport, American and Wilson
/ lines.
/ Below these piers are the docks Of the
I Hudson River lines. and on the East River
\ those of the Sound steamers
In the earlier period Of waterfront devel-
opment it was the custom to let city land
70 various transportation companies on
/ thirtyyear leases. This system OF tenure
/ proved unfair, however owing TO rapid
\ changes in values. and the policy Of late
| years has been TO grant twenty-year leases
/ only. with a provision for increased rental
/ at the end of the first ten years.
The Brooklyn shoreine.
/ In Brooklyn the city controls the water
| front between 2Sth and 35th streets. where
the property of the Bush Terminal begins,
continuing TO 5Sth street. The city also
controls the stretch of land from 58th street
to 6lst street. The first step toward the
/ Improvement of these tracts was made in
the purchase Of the seth street ferry, af-
fording means OF communication with the
Battery. Plans have been worked ont for
T the erection Of four piers in South Brook
/ lyn. each a quarter of a mile long-that is
/ to say, with four times the capac,ty of the
I largest piers in Manhattan. and al an ex-
/ pense Of S2O,OO0OoO. Increased facilities for
/ interborough travel will IL IS said, insure a
profit from expansion in this direction.
1t would. of course. be no exaggeration
to say that the docks built and owned by
the city for the accommodation Of the
+ Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island
municipal ferries are the finest Of their
I class. surprising even the handsome struct-
ures used by tho railroads on the Hudson
north Of the Chelsea Improvement How
ever important TO the comfort and con-
4 venience of the people, and therefore TO the
growth Of the outlying boroughs these are
not directly concerned with the commerce
Of the port. Neither are the wharves re-
tanned tor the use Of city departments.
Shorefront properties in private hands
may next be considered, the most i'm
portanr being those of Brooklyn. The en-
tire strip of waterfront in Brooklyn be-
tween Catharine Ferry and the Erie Basin
4 is controlled by the New York Dock Com
pauy. successors TO the Brooklyn Wharf
and Warehouse Company which had long
before acquired the property from the
Martins. Pierreponts, Lows, Woodruffs,
Nesmiths and other oldtime Brooklyn and
Long Island families.
This corporation, which is capitalized "a
N7,OO0OO0. has made a number Of improve
ments in the last few years. Only the Full
ton and Wall street ferry docks break the
/ continuity Of its vast property, which in
cludes more than two hundred warehouses,
thirty Of which, either in part or as
. whole. are classed as United States bonded
warehouses. Thousands of tons of sugar
are stored here after the capacity Of the
refneries for storage purposes has been
exhausted. Coffee, wool and hair. too,
are stored here in large quantities. A pri-
vate railroad connects the warehouses Of
this system which is provided with its own
fleet OF barges and tugs.
+ 1t need hardly be added that the overflow
OF New York waterfront traffic has long
been a factor in the development Of the
nearby New Jersey shore. Perishable i'm
ports are cared for there by the Merchants
Refrigeratng Company which also has
what is regarded as the largest plant in
the world for the cold storage OF furs, ar
ranged 10 maintain a temperature Of l6
degrees below zero. Other great factors
in the reception and distribution Of mer-
chandise are the Campbell Stores, the
Hamburg Stores and the Jersey City
Stores.
Feeding these concerns, so far at least
as imports and exports are concerned, are
the great docks OF the North German
Lloyd and the Hamburg-American lines.
The first ticket speculator in New York
appeared on the sidewalk when the Hoyt