The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-06
N. Y. CENTRAL IS
DOING SOME MORE
LAND::GRABBING
Big Railroad Parading as
Philanthropist
Especial to The Daily Worker

NEW YORK, Feb. A. The New
York Central railroad, which has been
gobbllne up any New York streets II
needs, for the last seventy years, has
prepared another plan by which II can
make more business and money for
itself.
This time the company makes be.
lIeve it is greatly generous in giving
the city a highway for automobiles
and freight on the west side, where
it's locomotives and trains have been
killing and manning people SO often
and brutaIly that the term death
Avenue" has been applied for years
to Eleventh avenue, where the com.
pany does it's atrocious work.
Borough President Miller Of Man
haitian, has helped work out this
scheme with the railroad company
and will help it get further control of
New York streets and valuable con.
cessions it needs.
Something In Exchange"
I'm exchange" is the way Miller
terms It in stating what the Wander.
bilt road wants for giving the city a
highway. All they want are grants
and concessions worth millions and
millions of dollars, and if the scheme
goes thru the company may be able
at last to get rid of the bother it has
had for half century trying to fight
off the attempts of the city to get
back rights and lands, presented to
it by willy politicians and officials
feathering their nests all that time
What the railroad wants "in ex
change" is stated thus:
Grants of lands in connection with
its new terminal yards at Spring
street, grants of lands and easements
IN connection with increased facilitief
in it's Thirtieth street, Sixtieth stree
and Manhattanville yards; overhead
easements for its elevated freigh-
railway and subsurface easements 70
it's duct lines to convey electricity t.
its roads and yards"
Enthusiastic About Values.
President Miller tries to point out
how valuable this plan would be t
the city, but the whole scheme is t.
help the N. Y. Central and business
He says "a blocks Of main traffic al
teries will be restored, 100 grad
crossings eliminated and the conges
ton of automobile traffic enormousl
relieved.
These LOG grade crossings hav
been the chief cause of Death AVG
nue." getting its name and there he
oardly been a corporation counsel j
lew York City who hasn't been for
d to try to get something done abol
hese frightful places, or who hash
cen foiled by the N. Y. Central an
oliticians in trying to obtain SOM
sttlement for all the grabbed street
nd profitable points of vantage tn
DAD has been permitted to steal fror
ime to time, concessions worth mil
ions.
Miller states in. report on the mat
er to the board of estimate, In whicl
70 asks for public hearing on tn,
)lan:
For seventy-seven years the Hud
ON River Railroad company has op
rated a steam surface railroad or
vest side streets. The dangerous
condition ensuing and the deaths re
'ulting from this operation were ap
parent from the start. For thirty
years state legislatures, city officials
commissions, associations and many
others have endeavored to abolish the
tracks on Death Avenue In addition
the presence Of the tracks and their
noisy unsightly operation casts a
blight upon the west side of the city,
and has greatly retarded the develop
ment Of one Of the most accessible
districts in Manhattan, adjoining its
most valuable waterfront"
"PubIlc Be Damnedl" Policy.
William H. Vanderbilt, who was the
first Of that family to develop the
N. Il. Central into one Of the chief
stealing institutions Of the country, is
that member OF this bourgeois set of
capitalists who proclaimed the we'll
known capitalistic doctrine Of "The
public be damned"
The family and the New York Cen
trail has struck to this policy ever
and always. They always find poll
ticians to help them, too.