pated that 86,350,000 additional will be required to complete the work. The most marked effect of this improvement will be to enable ships with a draught of 40 ft. to unload and take on cargoes at the piers instead of from lighters, and ultimately to follow the shorter and safer inside route through Long Island Sound in approach- ing or leaving N.Y. harbour. In 1914 the dredging and construc- tion work incidental to the widening of the Ambrose Channel was completed. This waterway extends in a general N.W. direction from deep-water through the Lower Bay. It provides a channel about 7 m. in length, 2,000 ft. in width, with a depth of 40 ft. at mean low-water, and is the ordinary route taken by large vessels whose destination is N.Y. harbour. The Erie Canal has been improved and reconstructed at a cost to 1921 of over $154,500,000. It is popularly known together with various extensions and improve- ments as the N.Y. State Barge Canal. A greatly increased traffic is expected from it and elaborate terminal plans for N.Y. harbour were under way in 1921.
Notable port development projects carried out by the City of New York since 1909 include the following: North river Improvement of water-front between 42nd St. and 59th St., involving the construction of four passenger steamship piers each 1,000 ft. long and with a dock area of 797,904 sq. ft. Only one of the piers had been built by 1921. East river Three new city piers located at the foot of 2gth, 3Oth and 35th Sts. respectively, South Brooklyn, were completed during 1916. These piers add 9,380 ft. of wharfage space and 568,500 sq. ft. of dock space to the city's dock properties. They form part of a logical plan of port organization which assigns to the Brooklyn water-front the heavier cargo business. Upper Bay In 1918 the city initiated a project involving the develop- ment of the water-front of Staten Is., near Stapleton, by the con- struction of 12 large piers. This location afforded opportunity for the construction of piers over 1,000 ft. in length if desired with a natural depth of more than 40 ft. at the pier-head line. Also for the first time the city had the chance to effect track railhead connexions between its piers and all but two of the railways entering the port of New York, and to construct terminal warehouse and industrial plants in connexion therewith. The question at first arose as to whether the steamship companies would lease piers so far from the centre of commercial activity on Manhattan Island. Then the city laiJ down the policy that the moneys necessary to carry out the proposed improvement would only be appropriated when the dock commissioner secured leases from responsible lessees for the proposed piers at a rental equal to 7j% of the total cost of acquir- ing the land and lands under water and of making the improve- ment. In July 1919 II duly executed leases, each accompanied by a bond, for a term of 10 years with two renewals of 10 years each were presented to and approved by the commissioners of the sink- ing fund, it being determined at the same time to build a twelfth pier and maintain the same for public wharfage.
These piers will be built in accordance with the particular require- ments of the respective lessees. They will range in length from i ,000 to I,i6oft.; eight are to be 125 ft. in width and covered by single- story steel freight-sheds with railway tracks down the middle of the pier; two will be 130 ft. in width and covered by two-story steel freight-sheds with railway tracks; two will be 209 ft. in width includ- ing side platforms equipped with railway tracks and a complete mechanical installation such as cranes, monorail cars, etc., together with elevators for transfer of motor-trucks to the second deck. On the upland in rear of the piers will be laid out comprehensive terminal facilities with ample tracks for storing an adequate number of freight-cars. It is estimated that this State-n I. improvement will cost upward of $25,000,000, of which $18,000,000 will be for pier and shed construction; it will provide more steamship wharfage than any other one improvement undertaken by the city. When this is finished, Richmond will have more wharfage facilities for overseas steamships than are in use at present for similar purposes on the entire island of Manhattan.
One of the main causes that have militated against a compre- hensive development of the port of New York is the division that exists with respect to the water-front included within the limit of New York State and that within the adjoining state of New Jersey. The situation is further complicated by the fact that of all the rail- ways entering the port only three have direct rail connexion with New York City: the New York Central in Manhattan, the New York, New Haven and Hartford in Manhattan and Queens, and the Baltimore and Ohio in the borough of Richmond. All other rail- ways have their freight terminals on the New Jersey shore. The need for remedying this condition has long been recognized and in 1917, pursuant to concurrent legislation by the two states, the governor of each appointed a commission of three members to recommend jointly a policy to be pursued by the state of New York, the state of New Jersey and the United States, in the devel- opment of the port. The legal problem was unique on account of the dual state sovereignty involved. This necessitated the adoption by both states of a treaty as a prerequisite to undertaking any comprehensive plan of development. The recommendation of the joint commission was embodied in a statute introduced in the Legis- latures of the two states. The statute was passed by the N.J. Legislature in 1920 and by the N.Y. Legislature in April 1921. Communications. Two important enterprises in providing addi-
tional direct lines of communication with New York City are the N.Y. connecting railroad across the East river and the proposed vehicular tunnel under the North river. The N.Y. connecting railroad provides direct rail connexion with the New York, New Haven and Hartford line for the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The main features include a reinforced concrete arch viaduct extend- ing from the connexion with the New York, New Haven and Hart- ford railroad in the Bronx to a point on Wards I., in the East river, a steel arch spanning that section of the East river known as Hell Gate, and connecting with a similar reinforced concrete via- duct in the Astoria section of Queensboro'. Surface construction provides direct passenger rail connexion with the Sunnyside Yard of the Long I. railroad and thence access to the Pennsylvania rail- road terminal in Manhattan, while another branch for freight only extends to the Bay Ridge section on the water-front of South Brooklyn. The entire length of the connecting railway is 12 miles. The total amount expended was approximately $30,000,000. The bridge itself, the largest steel arch in the world, cost $18,000,000. Its massive granite piers rise to a height of 240 ft. and are 2,000 ft. apart. The steel arches which support the deck of the bridge rise 300 ft. above the water and the clearance for vessels at mean high- water is 140 feet. The bridge carries four tracks, two of which are used for passenger service as well as for freight.
The vehicular tunnel under the North river which when com- pleted will connect Manhattan I. with Jersey City, is designed to provide a means of handling the traffic now forced to use ferries. Its construction was undertaken under the joint jurisdiction of the N.Y. Interstate Bridge ana Terminal Commission and the N.J. Interstate Bridge Commission in accordance with the terms of a contract entered into by the two states Dec. 30 1919. The tunnel section includes twin tubes of cast iron 29 ft. in external diameter. The mean length of the cast-iron ring is 7,345 ft. while the distance between grade points is 9,300 ft. Each tube will have a 20 ft. roadway with an overhead clearance of 13 ft. 6 in. The N. tube is to be used for west-bound traffic, the S. tube for east-bound. The estimated yearly traffic in 1924, the date when it is anticipated the tunnel will be put in service, is approximately 5,610,000 vehicles. This is about equal to the traffic over the Williamsburg bridge across the East river during 1920. In 1934 it is estimated that the traffic demand will reach 12,900,000 vehicles annually. The anticipated total cost of the improvement is $28,669,000. It is estimated that the average charge for motor vehicles using the tunnel for the first 20 years will be 45 cents and for horse-drawn vehicles 20 cents. The revenues from the use of the tunnel on the above basis during that period would amortize the cost in II years and accumulate a surplus of $67,330,000, half to go to each state.
Streets and Buildings. The construction of the new traction system involved some changes in the streets, the extension of Seventh Ave. being an example. The principal shopping district has shifted rapidly northwards, deserting in succession the i4th St. and 23rd St. sections. Its boundaries, broadly speaking, in 1921 were 3ist St., Broadway, 59th St. and Madison Ave., and it was steadily continuing northward. The principal shopping streets were Broadway, 34th St., 42nd St. and $th Avenue. Park Ave., N. from the Grand Central Station, was rapidly superseding Riverside Drive as the well-to-do apartment district, and there was a distinct movement of the finer residential section to tke eastward, reaching in one instance as far as Ave. A.
Between 1909 and 1921 there was considerable addition to the number of the tall buildings, which made the sky-line of the city an impressive spectacle. The Woolworth Building (792 ft.) is the highest structure in the world excepting the Eiffel Tower. It is a remarkable example of the adaptation of the Gothic style to the " sky-scraper," is faced with cream-coloured, glazed terra-cotta and is crowned by a huge lantern, brilliant at night, under which is an observation gallery, from which on a clear day a so-m. view may be obtained. Other notable new buildings are: The Bankers' Trust (539 ft.); Equitable (485 ft.); Adams Express (424 ft.) ; Whitehall (424 ft.) ; American Express (415 ft.) ; American Telephone and Telegraph (403 ft.); 112 Park Ave. (390 ft.); Liberty Tower or Hanover National Bank (385 ft.); American Bank Note (374 ft.); 201 Broadway (362 ft.); 60 Wall Street (346 ft.) ; Candler (341 ft.) ; AUied Printing Trades (340 ft.) ; 37 Wall Street (346 ft.); 80 Maiden Lane (315 ft.); Columbia Trust Co. (306 ft); Sun (306 ft.); and Cunard (335 ft.). The newer hotels include the Pennsylvania, with its 2,200 rooms, the largest hotel in the world; the Commodore, with 2,000 rooms; the McAlpin, Biltmore, Chatham, Vanderbilt, Ritz-Carlton and Claridge. The Knickerbocker, Holland House and Manhattan, formerly three of the best-known hotels, have been converted into office buildings, as has Sherry's restaurant.
