Highway under the Hudson by Jackson Robert W.;

Author:Jackson, Robert W.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 2011-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

IN JANUARY 1922, New York Assemblyman Russell B. Livermore of Yonkers introduced a bill to reorganize the New York State Bridge and Tunnel Commission, allegedly because its members had held up progress on the tunnel. He soon admitted, however, that some of his information concerning the need for the bill came from his father, a prominent New York lawyer who, Livermore said, was a “warm personal friend of Mr. Adams” and had acted as the latter’s attorney in years gone by. “They’ve talked the matter over,” Livermore admitted, “and I’ve probably received some of my information that way.” After Adams was revealed as the man behind the bill, Livermore was encouraged to let it die, which he did. Adams’s attempt to get his enemies tossed off the New York commission had failed.1

At the New Jersey State Capitol in Trenton, Adams was the focus of the investigation rather than the instigator. Republican General Assembly Majority Leader William W. Evans introduced a bill to replace the Democratic members of the New Jersey commission with Republicans. This would mean that Adams, Boyle, Shay, Stevens, and Gallagher would be tossed out. One Republican “high in authority,” according to the Jersey Journal, stated, “We are specially determined to get at T. Albeus Adams, the president of the New Jersey Tunnel Board. We regard him as the main cause of the tunnel trouble.”2

Hague, wishing to protect his good friend Boyle, and Adams, if he could, declared war on the Republicans. He refused to allow the Jersey City Board of Commissioners to approve the ordinances for closing the streets needed for the entrance and exit plazas. These ordinances had to be passed before the Erie Railroad agreement could be executed, thus allowing contractors to begin work in the railroad’s yard. If the city did not voluntarily vacate and turn over the streets, the Erie Railroad would renege on its commitments, and the only way the land and easements could be obtained would be by condemnation. It was known that the Erie Railroad would attack the constitutionality of the condemnation act in court, and the process could drag on for years. Hague said, “Maybe they think they can bluff me. I wish them luck. If they have any idea they can put this thing over on us they have another guess coming. If they throw this commission out then we’ll throw the whole tunnel plan into the discard.”3

Adams repeated Hague’s threat on February 23, 1922, when he submitted a revised annual report of the New Jersey commission to the legislature, covering changes since the official report had been printed on January 16. Along with the report, he sent a letter stating that if the bill was not withdrawn, the necessary Jersey City ordinances would not be passed. “If the ordinances are not passed, it means that the rights and privileges required on the Erie property will have to be secured by condemnation,” Adams wrote. In that event, the Erie would start a long court fight, “and in the

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