The New York herald., 1921-12-12
HYLAN SEES NO GOOD
In GREAT PORT PLAN
Wants City Only Developed
Without Regard to New
Jersey.

Mayor Hylan declared yesterday his
,lncompromising hostility to the plan
adopted by the Port Authority for in
creasing harbor and freight facilities
by establishing belt lines and terminal
centres. The plan seeks to develop New
Jerseys harbor and waterfront at the
expense of New York with this city pay
ing the bills. the Mayor asserts, and he
will have none OF It.
This scheme proposes to perpetuate
the flow of traffic through congested
centres, to cut off Staten Island, to
build an expensive and useless under.
water tunnel to divert business from
New York to Piermont and no one
knows what such a project would cost,
the Mayor contends If the Port Au-
thority would state clearly just how the
several features of its policy are to be
carried out and what the cost would
be the Mayor thinks that in itself
would end the discussion. The state
ment In part follows:
"The city is opposed to the plan OF
the Port Authority because it would be
handicap to the plan now under con-
sideration by the city. Not only is
there no room for two plans, but the
various features of the Port Authority
plan are challenged in comparison with
the far less costly project outlined by
the committee of the Board of Esti-
mate.
1--WE feel that the Narrows tunnel
proposed by the city will solve the
problem Of interconnection between the
railroads of New Jersey and New York
better and at a far less cost than the
plan of the Port Authority. AS pro-
vided in the act which authorizes the
building of the Narrows tunnel, the
project must be self-supporting in order
that 1t may not be burden on the tax
payers or on the city's debt limit
lin compliance with the terms of the
act. the city has provided for the pas
sage of O. stream of lifegiving railroad
traffic through the entire length of Staten
Island and thence under the bay to tho
Brooklyn waterfront and connect with
the railways that serve Long Island and
beyond by means Of tunnels which ag-
gregate only one-third the length Of
those proposed by the predecessor of the
Port Authority.
'The plans. profiles and estimates of
cost of construction and operation have
all been made public by the city In a
way that has been denied in the case of
the Port Authority plan.
1.-THE cty's plan calls for the construc-
ton of underwater tunnels of very much
shorter length than that proposed by the
Port Authority: places Richmond. in
Guiding the s25,000,000 city piers at
Stapleton, on the through lines of traffic
of eight trunk lines, and all on demon
strated basis of self-support coupled with
great saving of time and money for ship
pers and the community at large
This Port Authority. which owes its
existence to legislative mandate, adopted
over the vigorous protest of the city, ap-
parently seeks to seize control of the
valuable water frontage and terminal fa-
cilities of this city. It's existence again
demonstrates the danger OF having AL
bany create boards, commissions and
bodies not responsible to the people.
The duly elected officials of the city
know best what is for the interest OF the
people of this city, and the sooner they are
permitted to administer their ofYices un-
trammelled by legislative interference or
the creatures OF the Legislature tho more
efficiently and economically will city
business be conducted"