New-York tribune., 1919-07-18
slo0,000,0o0 City Project
Approved by Sinking
Fund May Pave Way for
Extension of the Subway
Plan to Begin Work Soon
Several Firms ON Water
front Ousted i'm Move to
Acquire ] Il Niles of Land

The Sinking Fund Commission, on
sioner Murray Hubert, yesterday for
ma1ly approved the leases for twelve
large piers to be constructed on Staten
Island It cost Of $15, 100000 for the
piers alone, the enterprise altogether
involving an expenditure of at least
S1oo,oo0,000.
The formal approval Of the leases
not only means huge development of
shipping facilities on the waterfront on
Station Island but probably means that
the hopes Of the Staten Islanders for
an extension of the subway to Rich
mond Borough will be realized
The length of the waterfront to be
taken over for the improvement is one
and q quarter miles. The property is val
ued ct between $75,00O,00O and $8O,00O,-
900. Its owners are the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad, the Staten Island Rapid Tran
sit Railroad, I. T. Williams & Co., the
Edward Thompson Company, the Mer-
ritt & Chapman Wrecking Company
and the Consumers Ice Company.
Owners Are Ousted
Before September 26 the city is to
acquire title to this property either by
private sale or by condemnation pro-
ceedings, the present owners, in view
OF the fact that eleven of the twelve
new piers already have been leased.
being ousted, whether they will or not,
from that strip of water front. The
city has been advised of it's power to
proceed in that fashion after giving
sixty days notice to the owners of the
property.
The plan is to develop that section
OF Staten Island as a great ocean ter
minal. 1t is one which Dock Commits
sioner Hubert said he had been for
mulating for some time, but which he
did not wish to prosecute actively
until he had obtained lessees for the
piers.
Some of the piers are to be 1,4OO feet
long and 200 feet wide and the rest
1,2O0 feet long and 200 feet wide, each
OF them surmounted by a warehouse.
For the last two years the city has
leased to private operators two piers
st the foot OF Water and Canal streets,
Stapleton.
Rentals Are Fixed
Commissioner Hubert said that the
rentals would be IN per cent of the
cost OF the construction. The leases
are all for ten years, with two renew
ais. The leases are as follows:
American Dock Company, pier 6; S
L. Duval & Co., pier S; Moore & Nc.
Cormack, pier 8; Edward M. Raphael
9 Co., pier 10; Union Transportation
Co., piers 15 and 16; Japanese Line
pier IT; Pouch Terminal CORPORATION
pier l8; Pan-Ame erican Dock and Term
lnal Company, piers IL and 10; Inter
national Mercantile Marine, pier II.
Commissioner Hubert said there wa:
space left for one pier, and that fo]
this one he had five applications, bu
1T had been thought best to leave thi:
space Tor an open pier. The commits
sloner thinks the piers can be con
structed within one year from the tim,
the contracts are let.
Representative John B. Johnston. O.
brooklyn, attorney for the Luckenbacl
steamship Company, in a loud ant
long verbal encounter with Commits
sioner Hubert, told the commissio,
that his company would pay 10 ne
cent more for the lease of Pier Is tina,
anyone else in the United States, bu
that Commissioner Hubert would no
permit the company to have it.
Luckenbach Company Accused
The Luckenbach Company was ouste
from the pier by former Park Commits
sioner r. A. G. Smith on the groun
that the company had violated tn
terms OF the lease by subletting it.
Mr.. Johnston said that his compan
was no greater a sinner in this respec
than other parties leasing city pier:
but that did not mollify Commissione
hubert