Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-10-15
MoMENTous DECISION FOR H ALDERMEN

I'm taking up the subject of waterfront development which is
% be considered at a meeting of the Board of Aldermen tonight,
bEhe session being called at 7 O'Clock in order to hear j. Spencer
Smith, president Of the State Board of Commerce and Navi-
cation. the Evening News would like to call the attention of the
/ aldermen to chapter 176 of the laws of 1920. 1t IS only necessary
i to quote the title of this law to show the aldermen what they
can do for Perth Amboy if they are big enough to tackle a really
big problem, built for the future of the city, and assure its contln-
used prosperity. The title of the law referred to is as follows:
"An act authorizing cities fronting upon navigable wa
e4 in this state to establish municipal docks, warehouses, fer
A%, terminals and shipping and industrial facilities, and to
PIRATE or lease the same in whole OR In part, and authorizing
Fl Ich cities to acquire the lands and other property and to con-
.truct tbe buildings, wharyes and other Improvements and to
provide the equipment necessary for such purposes, and to
authorize such cities to raise money for all purposes of this act
without regard to debt limits heretofore established"
The Evening News puts emphasis on this last clause because
It is realized that the debt limit is always staring the aldermen in
the face. and many things that are desirable in the way Of munich
pal improvements are impossible because the money is not avail
able. But this does not apply to the development OF the water
front. The legislature doubtless reasoned that in developing the
waterfront and increasing the harbor facilities a municipality was
adding to its assets; was doing something that would produce rev.
E-exrac; and bring prosperity to the state generally. 1t was
felt, therefore, that there should be nothing to stop a municipality
going as far as it likes in this direction.
This is the reason why Camden, Newark, Trenton and other
cities can spend millions of dollars building municipal piers and
otherwise establishing a real port. With all that nature has done
hior. Perth Amboy, and considering the city's matchless location
l within eighteen miles of Sandy Hook accessible without going
near the congested harbor of New York proper, yet being actually
a part Of the port of New York, this city can easily afford to
be extremely lberal-even lavish-in its expenditures on its wa
terfront.
Its seems to many a tremendous thing to spend a million dol
lars on a single project here, and when the Evening News advo-
Gated such an expenditure on the waterfront a few years ago the
idea was ridculed. Since then, however, Perth Amboy has become
a million dollar city in more ways than one. The reservoir cost
over a million dollars alone. Then we have the grade crossing elm
nation which will run into several million dollars; the new state
highway bridge to be built here will cost over three millions.
These are big projects and they are going on all about us. The city
must bestir itself to keep abreast with the time. Its public men
must be men of vision men who are not frightened to death at the
mention Of large sums that are required to do big things.
1t may look like piing on an awful debt to spend a million
dollars on the waterfront, but when it is realized that it will prob
ably mean the doubling of Perth Amboy's population, bring new
industries to the city, and make this one of the leading ports on
the Atlantic coast-the increase in ratables, not to mention the
revenue to be derived from the leasing of the warehouses and
docks, being more than enough to take care of the debt-the ad-
vantages of such a development is apparent to every man who has
the future welfare of the city at heart.
And now is the time to take this step. Waterfront develop
ment on a large scale would be useless without a channel of suf-
fcient depth. The federal government stands ready to give rs
this channel provided the city shows that it is interested enough
to develop its own waterfront. One of the excuses for not develop
ing the waterfront has been that the money would be wasted as
long as the large vessels could not come in here. This excuse no
longer holds. The government is ready to give us the channel. It
is now squarely up to the city, and the decision must be made at
once.
Will it be forward or backward for Perth Amboy?
MME4