The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-04
Committee on Streets and Sidewalks Completely
 Reverses Action.
NO NEW ARGUMENTS
 PUBLICLY ADDUCED
Acme Shear Go. Wishes Pub lie Land For Factory
 Buildings.

and recommended a resolution closing Hicks street, which has been a public I for 31 years, and which for 29 years earlier was a private thor oughfare.
 Despite large opposition on the part of property owners in the neigh borhood, this street, which for 60 years | has given passage to traffic, was aban- | doned by the city, or will be as soon 1 as Mayor Wilson signs the resolution.
 Hicks street runs from William l street to Know1ton street and the Wa- l ter front It is a natural terminus for l the Grand street bridge, should such | a bridge ever be erected.
 The petition for closing the street l was at the instance of the Acme Shear company, which wishes to occupy the l land with factory buildings.
 This is not likely to end the matter. 1 Property owners who opposed the clos ing of the street and who were repre- sented by counsel at the hearing last night, are talking of bringing injunc- ton proceedings.
 F. L.. Blackman, Hugh J. Lavery and E. T. Johnston were named a com nittee to make a layout of the street for the closing.
 E Dwight Wheeler, secretary for the Acme Shear Go, appeared again for the company and said the concentra.- tion and extension of it's plant re- quired the closing of the street on
 
 both sides in the sAction named. He said the closing of the street would permit the company to carry out it's plan for successful competition with foreign companies and that it would mean the addition Of more factory buildings, would increase the number of employees and consequently increase the grand tax list. He read a long list of prominent business men and prop erty owners in that section who fa,- vored the closing of the street.
 Attorney E. J. MoMauus appeared 1 oppose it. He said the policy of the 1 city at present was to open new l streets and widen others rather than 1 to close any In ten years, he pre- 1 dicted Noble avenue would be one of 1 the principal business thoreughfares of the East Side and streets like Hicks street would be necessary to l delieve traffic congestion. Attorney 1 McManus said if the company wanted to expand it's plant it ought to buy property and bridge Hicks street as l other factories are doing in other 1 sections. He said to cut the street in two and make a. dead end on either l side would damage the property of small property holders many of whom 1 were the descendants of those who gave the street to the city in 1865. He l said the street was accepted as a l thoroughfare in 1879. A number of l other property owners spoke along I the same lines and declared the clos l ing would greatly inconvenience the public and benefit the Acme Shear
 company alone. A number of prop ' erty owners in the vicinity appeared l in favor of the closing.
 Two weeks ago the same committee on similar petition reportedf against l the closing of the street. The ques- l l was as to the means adopted to in- l duce the committee to change it's 1 mind. No new arguments were pub
 Hcly expressed, on either side. 1 Capt. Simon Lake for the Lake Tor !Ipedo Boat Go. explained why his Icompany desires to close DeForest avenue for 262 feet to the water. He
 said his company has bought all the flats on either side and extending to
 the Wolverine Motor Co- factory. Most of the land is under water now at high tide. About 100000 yards of fill will be required to make it avail for factory purposes. Capt. Lake said his company would extend the T DeForest avenue sewer to deep
 water and proposed to dig a deep l basin and build ways to launch eight | ships. He said she had permission
 from the government to dredge the l basin but permission from the city l for the other work was necessary. He said if his company was permitted to carry out its plans it would bring
 much business to Bridgeport and work 1 for mechanics that would have to go
 elsewhere if the needed facilities
 could not be obtained.
 Much opposition to his plan deve1-
 oped, however, a. number of property owners in the vicinity were present to
 oppose it. Chief among these was Charles Wellington who said he was the largest owner of property in the
 street He caused much laughter
 when he said:
 .ewhen I tried to put a. sewer in DeForest avenue, Mayor Lee wanted
 $500 for the privilege of crossing a
 dyke he owned. Later we found the
 street was open to the water and we l could build sewer. Everyone paid
 an assessment for the sewer except
 Mayor Lee T suppose they didn't as-
 sess him beca use he is a politician I
 don't want to stand in the way of
 progress of manufacturing industry
 but I don't want to see my property
 appreciated. If this closing will not
 injure my property don't care what
 is done there.''
 Other property owners there op-
 posed the closing of the street. All
 derman John Toole said that at pres | ent the street could not be used by anyone as there was really no street
 there, only water at high tide. He said he believed the Lake company s
 proposition would improve the prop 1 erty in that section as well as improve l property in Bridgeport.
 A large delegation of property Eowners stood up in opposition to the extension of Seeley street from Lewis street to Black Rock avenue but nc , one spoke for-or against it. Petitions signed by about 50 property owners ! against the proposed extension were read.
 : One man appeared in favor of the
 proposed sewer in Reservoir avenue No one appeared for or against the proposition to lay sewers in Cross and several other streets.
 It was announced that Merrill, Old l ham & Co. of Boston, were the high