The Routes Not Taken Page 23

  In our opinion the possibilities of using this road not only for extending the Burke Avenue Line if and when that improvement is completed, but in addition for the purpose of giving immediate relief to the people of North East Bronx who have been deprived of transportation, should be revived immediately. It would seem that the property can be obtained without any considerable outlay, and its devotion to the immediate transit needs could very readily be worked out with one of the existing operating systems, and which are part of the unification program.

  There is an aroused public opinion in our community, because [thus] far there has not been any indication on the part of the City that these serious recommendations have been accorded any critical consideration, and there is an earnest demand for action before it is too late.76

  The summer of 1939 was a confusing time for the Northeast Bronx. Money was allocated for Burke Avenue, but no one knew whether work would begin. Ritchie’s Committee recommended a Port Authority takeover of the W&B’s tracks, but they had no money to act. The easiest and cheapest way to provide subway service—incorporating the W&B into the subway system—was discussed, but La Guardia and Delaney seemed to have no interest in acting, despite previous intentions of doing so. The right-of-way could be turned into a highway, with no prospect of action on the Burke Avenue line being taken for years.

  The Transit Commission discussed the subway system’s unification on August 22. Loewenthal, speaking for the Burke Avenue Subway Extension Committee, told the Commission, “We of Eastchester protest loudly at the extension of the W and B lines from the transit unification plans.”77 Transit Commission Chairman Robert Fullen ruled him out of order, but William J. Mulligan, the BOT’s associate counsel, said, “It is not about the Board of Transportation’s neglecting the Westchester and Boston. Negotiations are in progress for the acquisition of the roadbed of the railroad.”78

  This raised eyebrows at Parks Department headquarters. Moses wrote to Delaney asking if the BOT was considering using the W&B’s right-of way.79 The BOT acquired at least some of the W&B’s tracks in 1932 as an alternative to building the 2nd Avenue line’s Boston Road branch; since W&B service ended, the BOT denied any desire to use it. Delaney told Moses what their interests were:

  I had several interviews with Judge Garvin and Mr. Dohr, Receivers, the last one being several months ago, when they said they had a favorable offer to purchase the catenary system and other copper wire, and proposed to ask the Court for permission and sell the equipment, if the City were still of the same mind that the property would not be purchased for railroad operations. I told them there was no change in the attitude of the Board of Transportation, or as far as I knew in the attitude of any other public official regarding the purchase of the railroad and equipment, and I would have no objection to removal of the catenary system. They inquired about the right-of-way, roadbed, rails, bridges and stations north of Allerton or Burke Avenues, and suggested that they should negotiate with the Comptroller. I reminded them that the unpaid taxes amount to $330,000, and that those taxes might be settled by conveying the right-of-way to the City.80

  Delaney told City Comptroller Joseph McGoldrick about his conversation with Garvin and Dohr. McGoldrick began talks while Judge Knox postponed action.

  Delaney wanted things done as quickly and quietly as possible to obtain the W&B for the least cost. Publicity would bring about a reaction in the Bronx, forcing the BOT’s hand. He was also likely concerned that Moses would accelerate his efforts to acquire the W&B for the highway if he knew of the BOT’s intentions.

  “We have not reconsidered the Burke Avenue route, our intention always being to acquire the New York, Westchester and Boston right-of-way if it could be obtained without undue cost,” Delaney told Moses. “To cover our intention, we tentatively projected extension of the route from Burke Avenue northerly alongside of the railroad right-of-way, but we stopped all plans at the point where our railroad would enter the right-of-way. Delaney said McGoldrick would acquire the entire right-of-way.”81 He advised McGoldrick to proceed slowly, fearing that “agitators in the neighboring district”82 would demand the reactivation of the W&B.

  That’s what happened. Council President Morris, and Borough President Lyons and his Queens and Staten Island colleagues, George U. Harvey and Joseph A. Palma, supported the purchase. Roderick Stephens of the Board of Trade also expressed support.

  The Burke Avenue Property Owners and Businessmen’s Association and the American Society of Italian Descendants rallied at the old Burke Mansion on Cruger Avenue on September 12. Five hundred people attended. Council Member Ninfo urged the crowd to work with the proponents of the W&B’s purchase to achieve a common goal; Council Member Deering questioned the city’s sincerity about building the line.83

  Budgetary concerns clouded all planning. War was raging in Europe and Asia. Mayor La Guardia, fearing its impact, capped capital budget items: “In renewing the previous authorization for the extension of rapid transit in the Northeast Bronx, may I suggest that the item be so worded so as to afford the greatest latitude to cover the method ultimately decided upon.”84

  The W&B’s receivers asked Knox for permission to dismantle it on June 30. Kinsley, the Chamber of Commerce, the Allied Civic Associations, and the Board of Trade received a stay until October. Kinsley wrote to La Guardia:

  That date is rapidly approaching, but as yet the residents of the Bronx have received no definite word from any person in authority in the Executive branch of the City Government as to the City’s attitude in the matter, except for the statement made by Chairman Delaney of the BOT in a letter to the Bronx Board of Trade. In that letter he said that he was in favor of the acquisition of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad above Burke Avenue, to tie in with the proposed Burke Avenue extension of the Concourse subway, if and when completed.

  The Burke Avenue subway is now almost one year behind [the] schedule anticipated when appropriation was made for it. From present indications it is doubtful when construction thereof will begin, let alone be completed. In the meantime, the northeast Bronx is without proper, direct transit connections. A community which was as established and developed because of the then existing Westchester and Boston Railway now finds itself practically isolated. Realty values have depreciated. Business has suffered heavy losses. The natural development of the area has stopped. Immediate attention to the transit needs is necessary to prevent even greater injury to that district. The Burke Avenue extension is a vital improvement, but at best its completion is three years away. Even then, it will not serve the City north of its now proposed terminus. On the other hand, the Westchester and Boston property is idle, but can be easily, quickly, and cheaply rehabilitated. It can be obtained, in my opinion, for a very low price. It can only be sold as vacant real estate, most of which is composed of interior lots, many of them far below. Against its cost, taxes of $400,000 can be charged. Pending unification, the city can operate it as an independent line terminating at 180th Street on one end and at [Dyre] Avenue on the other. After unification, it can be connected with the Lexington Avenue line by a short trestle. A short extension of the proposed Burke Avenue line would connect the Westchester and Boston roadbed with the Concourse subway.

  As I believe you are familiar with this part of the transit needs of our Borough, and as time is of the essence, may I ask that you personally investigate the merits of the proposed solution?85

  The City Planning Commission held a hearing on the capital budget on October 2 at City Hall. Over one hundred Bronx organization representatives attended, along with Keegan, Kinsley, and Ninfo. While Burke Avenue’s funding remained in the budget, there was something new: the $3,754,000 could pay for it “or other suitable facilities.”

  Keegan and Kinsley strongly criticized this new wording at a CPC hearing on October 10. “We request that you strike out the phrase ‘or other suitable facilities’ so that the appropriation will be set up without ambiguity and there will be a definite mandate
to the Board of Transportation to go ahead with this work,” said Keegan. “People in the Bronx are tired of paying extra fares to get to their work, only to find the Board of Transportation going ahead with construction in other boroughs where they have so much transit that the streets threaten to collapse because of the tunnels and subways being bored through.”86 “Frankly I do not know what they mean and I must say that it appears to be a most unorthodox method of budget making,” Kinsley said. “If they include buses or trolleys, or an overhead El structure, then they should be eliminated, but if they hold out the possibility that the City [would] acquire part of the New York, Westchester and Boston … then I say that clear indication that intention be given and the door not [be] closed without hearing at length from all concerned.”87

  No decision was reached at the October 6 hearing. Judge Knox adjourned it until November 10 to allow negotiations to continue. The city planned to demolish major parts of the 2nd and 9th Avenue Els, angering Bronx transit advocates, who wanted more service, not less. Burke Avenue line advocates met on October 25 at Evander Childs High School. Council President Morris and Council Members Keegan, Deering, and Ninfo attended.

  When Morris was invited, no one apparently remembered that he supported eliminating Burke Avenue from the capital budget in 1938. Morris inflamed the seven hundred people in attendance by saying it would cost more and take longer to build than they thought—$16 million and five years. The city didn’t have the borrowing capacity. He supported connecting the W&B with the subway system. Morris was showered with catcalls, but spoke for over an hour. Many people walked out; those who remained passed a resolution urging an immediate start to work on Burke Avenue.88

  Reaction to Morris’s speech dramatized divisions. Chester Civic Association President Emile J. Cavanaugh telegrammed him the following: “Thank you for your courageous stand last night at Evander Childs High School in defense of the plan to purchase the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad for immediate transportation to the long suffering people of the Northeast Bronx.”89 Johnston wrote for the Allied Civic Associations: “… The North East Bronx salutes a man with courage to state the facts about the Burke Avenue subway situation to a public that had been led stray.”90

  Paul Trapani, the Burke Avenue Property Owners and Businessmen’s Association’s secretary, wrote to Council President Morris:

  This organization regrets the fact that the meeting sponsored by it on Wednesday, October 25, 1939, ended so abruptly and uproariously.

  Of course, you and we can understand the great shock and disappointment that most of the audience must have experienced as a result of this city would again have to further delay the construction of the Burke Avenue subway extension of the 8th Avenue Concourse line.

  We all feel that what you said was contrary to our expectations and we wish to state further that the City of New York could safely appropriate 3 million dollars per year for a total of 15 million for the estimated cost of starting construction of the Burke Avenue Subway Extension immediately.… We are more resolved than ever to continue and encourage our efforts and pressure to see that we do get what we have so long been promised.91

  Morris answered Trapani: “I wish that I could have come up to your meeting with a brighter message but I don’t believe in trying to fool people by political speeches. As I said at the time, it would have been easier for me to promote the project for that section of the Bronx than discourage it.”92

  Cavanaugh criticized Ninfo and Keegan for attacking the insertion of “or other suitable facility” in the budget line: “This association condemns your action relating to your attack on the phrase ‘or other suitable facility’ attached to Project T-12 relative to the Concourse line extension. You are hereby looked upon as an enemy of immediate transportation for the people of the Northeast Bronx and we in meeting feel that you are not worthy of support for re-election.”93

  The Allied Civic Associations met at Breinlinger’s Hall on November 1. According to Holton:

  The Northeast Bronx is fighting mad. More than 50,000 people in that area have been without transportation of any kind except poor bus service for more than 22 months.… Now that they have been practically assured that the City is ready to buy the Westchester and Boston, and institute rapid transit to the City Line, they do not propose to take any chances on having the program upset at this time.

  They know perfectly well that every possible move is being made to prevent the City acting on the Westchester and Boston until after the Burke Avenue line is built.

  They know that the Burke Avenue Subway extension is at least five years away and when it is built it will only serve a small part of their area unless it is extended to the City Line, which is not now planned.… Rapid transit can be installed almost immediately on the Westchester and Boston under unification and that they can have downtown service before the Burke Avenue line is built, if the City is permitted to act.94

  Johnston requested police protection before the Allied Civic Association’s meeting (noting the reaction to Morris’s speech),95 called Keegan’s accusations “malicious and slanderous,”96 and tore up a check from W&B bondholders he said was for the Association’s newsletter, the North Bronx Civic Voice.97 He later claimed that all four tires on his car were deflated while he was speaking at the meeting, and theorized that he was the victim of political reprisals for advocating for the W&B purchase.98

  A. J. Woodworth, the Allied Civic Associations’ vice president, spoke about the Burke Avenue line:

  The Allied Civic Associations have always led the fight for the Burke Avenue Subway, are now and always will be in favor of that extension.

  We have never been in favor of holding up the Burke Avenue Subway, which will serve the Hillside development, of which Charles E. Keegan was manager, but have favored the extension via the tracks of the Westchester and Boston to Dyre Avenue.

  Now that the Westchester and Boston is closed, about to be dismantled and can be bought for a fraction of its cost, the Allied Civic Associations are backing the administration in its efforts to make possible the financing of the purchase of the railroad.

  This step is essential if the Northeast Bronx is to have immediate transit relief, as it is perfectly plain to anyone who cares to investigate that there is no change in the margin under the debt limit for the start of construction of the expensive Burke Avenue Subway for a number of years.99

  Keegan and Ninfo were invited; both stayed away. Keegan responded to the charges. He supported the W&B’s purchase, but had other priorities: “I am for the immediate construction of the Burke Avenue extension and if funds are available for the acquisition of that portion of the Boston and Westchester that can be used to serve our transit needs.”100

  Judge Knox held the next hearing on the plan to dismantle the W&B on November 10. He would give the order to go ahead on January 5, 1940, if a plan wasn’t settled.

  The Burke Avenue Property Owners and Businessmen’s Association continued their fight. Paul Trapani wrote to La Guardia and Morris:

  The plans for the construction of the City Independent Subway System for the Bronx included an extension along Burke Avenue to Kingsland Avenue. The Board of Transportation has already completed work plans and is ready to start work to-morrow.

  As you know, the Burke Avenue Subway Extension is now in the capital outlay budget for 1940, but, following the sum allotted for this subway is a clause reading “or other suitable facilities.” This clause has been inserted through the efforts of a small group of paid publicity agents and Bond Holders of the N.Y. Boston and Westchester Line as an attempt to get the City to buy this railroad and discourage the people of the Northeast Bronx in their fight for the subway extension.… The people of the North East Bronx have been promised this subway for the past 12 years, but all the promises so far have been mere promises. We insist that the City keep its pledge.101

  A preliminary agreement was reached on November 17. The city would pay up to $2.5 million for the line, ab
sorbing $1.3 million in claims. John Delaney admitted that pressure was felt: “This is not a business deal. The City is being forced into it by public pressure.”102

  Response to the deal varied. The Allied Civic Associations and the Eastchester Civic and Taxpayers Association were happy; Trapani telegrammed Council President Morris:

  We of the Burke Avenue Property Owners and Business Men’s Association request an immediate hearing before Hon. Fiorello H. La Guardia, the Mayor of the City of N.Y. so that we can prevent conclusive proof before him that the advocates of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad have misrepresented certain pertinent facts and further to offer him facts and evidence that the immediate construction of the Burke Avenue subway extension will benefit of at least 80% of the residents of the Northeast Bronx and further to explain the sinister motives behind those civic workers who in the past have striven to obtain the immediate construction of the subway along Burke Avenue, but are working for the diversion of funds who should rightfully be used for the immediate construction of the Burke Avenue subway extension.103

  La Guardia told Kinsley in November that while he thought the price the city was paying for the right-of-way was “a little high,” the purchase would take place and there was little chance Burke Avenue would be built as a result.104

  The Board of Estimate held a budget hearing on November 23. Kinsley spoke for the purchase; Keegan and P. A. Maele of the Burke Avenue Property Owners and Business Men’s Association spoke for the Concourse Extension.

  “Or other suitable facilities” remained in Burke Avenue’s budget line. Lyons was determined to get it deleted and the line built. He reminded his colleagues of Delaney’s previous statement that the BOT had no intention of using the right-of-way, feeling that it “indicates plainly that the Board of Transportation and the Board of Estimate were fully cognizant of the possible use of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad at the time that the Burke Avenue route was adopted but that the taxpayers at that time were definitely assured that it would have no bearing on the Burke Avenue extension. Therefore, it is my firm belief that any change from the assurances given the taxpayers at the public hearing would be a breach of faith by the Board of Estimate.” He continued, “… I, therefore, move to strike out from the Capital Budget the phrase ‘or other suitable facility’ and to add the line: ‘… for the acquisition of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad with an allocation of $2,500,000.’ ”