Resolved, That the compensation to be paid to The City of New York by the Dealers' Hygiene Ice Company for the privilege of laying a 10-inch suction pipe under and across the carriageway of Twelfth avenue, in the Borough of Manhattan, for the purpose of conducting salt water from the Hudson river, from the premises on the northeast corner of Forty-ninth street and Twelfth avenue to the westerly side of Twelfth avenue, in the Borough of Manhattan, shall be one hundred and sixty dollars ($160) per annum, and a fee of forty dollars ($40) for opening the avenue, to be paid to the President of the Borough of Manhattan, the opening of the avenue and the relaying of the pavement to be done at the expense of the said Dealers' Hygiene Ice Company, under the direction of the President of the Borough of Manhattan and subject to such conditions as he shall prescribe; provided, also, that the said Dealers' Hygiene Ice Company shall give a satisfactory bond for the faithful performance of all conditions prescribed by the said President of the Borough of Manhattan, and by resolution of the Board of Aldermen, adopted April 15, 1902, and received from the Mayor, without his approval or disapproval, April 29, 1902, said bond to be approved by the Comptroller and filed in his office; and provided, further, that the right be reserved to revoke such permission at any future time, if necessary for the interest of the City.

The report was accepted and the resolution unanimously adopted.

The following communication was received from the Department of Docks and Ferries relative to a cancellation of a lease to John E. Walsh of the bulkhead foot of Degraw street, Borough of Brooklyn:

NEW YORK, March 25, 1902.

Hon. SETH LOW, Mayor, and Commissioner of the Sinking Fund;

SIR-I transmit herewith copy of opinion from the Corporation Counsel, under date of March 10, advising that the course to be pursued by this Department in relation to the lease to John E. Walsh of the bulkhead foot of Degraw street, Borough of Brooklyn, is to cancel said lease and return the rental already paid by him.

In accordance with said opinion, I hereby request the approval of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund to the cancellation of said lease, and that the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund refund the rent paid by said Walsh, which was deposited by this Department with the City Chamberlain to the credit of the Sinking Fund, viz., $30 on December 7, 1901, and $30 on March 3, 1902, making a total of $60.

The facts in relation to this lease are set forth at length in the opinion from the Corporation Counsel. This opinion mentions Mr. Walsh as John F. Walsh. It should e John E. Walsh.

Yours respectfully,

RUSSELL BLEECKER, Secretary.

Hon. MCDOUGALL HAWKES, Commissioner of Docks;

NEW YORK, March 10, 1902

SIR-I am in receipt of your communication of January 27, 1902, relative to claim of Harriet S. Ward, to that portion of the land under water in front of u southerly half of Degraw street, Borough of Brooklyn.

You state that John Lindley called at your office and stated that he represented Harriet S. Ward, to whom a grant of land under water, extending from the centre line of Degraw street, Brooklyn, to the grant to the Union Ferry Company on . south; that the grant maps of the Department do not show any grants issued subs quent to January 1, 1898; that on November 22, 1901, a resolution was adoptel leasing to John F. Walsh the bulkhead at the foot of Degraw street, from December I, 1901, at the rental of $120 per annum, payable quarterly in advance to the Treas urer; that Mr. Lindley, representing Mrs. Ward, will not allow Mr. Walsh to ene into possession of the property, and will institute injunction proceedings in case b attempts to do so, and that the question of the ownership of this bulkhead, together with several other parcels in the Borough of Brooklyn, was early in 1898 subirit: to the then Corporation Counsel for his opinion, but no reply has ever been t ceived.

I am requested to advise you as to what course the Department had better pe sue in regard to the matter.

After an investigation of the matters referred to in your communication, I a ascertained that the grant was issued to Harriet S. Ward on the 30th day of De cember, 1897.

No notice of the application for said grant appears to have been given to the Board of Docks or to the corporate authorities of The City of New York, as vided for in the Greater New York Charter.

I have received from Mr. Lindley, representing Harriet S. Ward, a communic tion stating that Ward's Warehouse, located on Degraw street, was erected in 18and that the bulkhead crib and pier extending to the centre line of Degraw stre was erected by Mr. Ward, at his own expense, and under permission from the c porate authorities of the former City of Brooklyn at about the same time.

Under these circumstances Mr. Lindley claims that his client nas obtaine! title by adverse possession of over thirty-five years and that the grant was taken from the Commissioner of the Land Office as an extra precaution.

Section 83 of the Greater New York Charter of 1897 granted in fee to The C of New York "all and singular the property, estate, rights, title and interest State of New York in and to, of and concerning, such lands and soil covere. water as are embraced within the projected boundary lines of any street inte secting the shore line," etc.

This section, however, did not take effect, in my judgment, until January 1898, and two days prior thereto the State issued the letters patent to Ward land at the foot of Degraw street.

Section 85 of the Charter of 1897 provided that the grant given in section shall not impair or affect any existing valid private rights, or the existing ripar

rights of owners of private property, or the lawful rights of private owners of docks, piers and other structures in said city or any part thereof.

Section 86 of the Charter of 1897 provides that, after the approval of said act, no grants of land under water in The City of New York shall be made except in the manner set forth in said section, that notice of any application for a grant by a riparian proprietor shall be given to the Board of Docks, and that the validity of any grant may be judicially determined in an action brought by and in the name of the City.

No notice of the application of Ward to the Commissioners of the Land Office was given to the Board of Docks, and the grant therefore, in my judgment, was issued in violation of the provisions of section 86 of the Charter of 1897.

The City can, by petition, request the Commissioners of the Land Office to grant a rehearing of the application by Ward, and in case of refusal, bring an action to test the validity of the grant in question.

The City would, however, in my judgment, gain very little from a favorable result in either case.

The Commissioners of the Land Office, upon a rehearing of the application of Ward, might possibly except from the grant the portion thereof in front of the southerly half of Degraw street, but such result would not change the situation of affairs as to the ownership of the bulkhead and pier which have been in existence for over thirty-five years and which are protected by the provisions of section 85 of said Charter. A similar result would be attained in an action to test the validity of the grant in case the City succeeded in such action in setting aside the grant.

Under these circumstances I am of the opinion that the course to be pursued by you in regard to the lease to Mr. Walsh is to cancel the same and return the rental already paid by him.

Such action should be taken by you, however, only after approval thereof by the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund.

In connection therewith the Comptroller presented the following statement and offered the following resolutions:

Hon. EDWARD M. GROUT, Comptroller:

April 2, 1902.

SIR-In the matter of lease to John E. Walsh of bulkhead, foot of Degraw street, Borough of Brooklyn, to be canceled as per advice of Corporation Counsel and amount of rent paid to be refunded.

The records in this office show that two payments, $30 each, have been made, viz.: for quarter beginning December 1, 1901, and March 1, 1902, and that the total amount, $60, has been deposited in the City Treasury to credit of the Sinking Fund for the Redemption of the City Debt, No. I.

Respectfully,

I. S. BARRETT, General Bookkeeper.

Resolved, That, in accordance with the opinion of the Corporation Counsel dated March 10, 1902, the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund hereby approve of the cancellation by the Commissioner of Docks of the lease to John E. Walsh of the bulkhead at the foot of Degraw street, Borough of Brooklyn.

Resolved, That a warrant payable from the Sinking Fund for the Redemption of the City Debt, No. 1, be drawn in favor of John E. Walsh for the sum of sixty dollars ($60), being amount of rent paid for bulkhead foot of Degraw street, Borough of Brooklyn, and refunded pursuant to advice of Corporation Counsel, letter to Department of Docks and Ferries, March 10, 1902.

Which resolutions were unanimously adopted.

The following communication was received from the Department of Docks and Ferries relative to a lease of the pier at the foot of East Thirty-first street, Borough of Manhattan, to James J. Godfrey:

March 31, 1902.

N. TAYLOR PHILLIPS, Esq., Secretary, Commissioners of the Sinking Fund:

SIR-Application has been made to this Department by James J. Godfrey, of No. 445 East Twenty-third street, Borough of Manhattan, for a lease of the pier at the foot of East Thirty-first street, Borough of Manhattan, for a term of ten years.

This pier has been occupied by Messrs. Brown & Brothers for a period of about twenty years. We are informed that they are now dead, and Mr. Godfrey, who makes this application, was their business manager for many years. They paid an annual rental of $2,250 for the pier, and Mr. Godfrey now offers to pay $2,300 per annum.

This is an old pier. The dimensions are: 276 feet in length on the south side, 286 feet in length on the north side, width 60 feet, making in all 16,286 square feet. This pier has cost $17,705.

The first pier north of this, namely, the pier at the foot of East Thirty-second street. was leased at auction to J. H. Starin for $1,650 per annum. The pier north of that, at the foot of East Thirty-third street, is now leased to the Consolidated Ice Company for $1,800 per annum.

No other application has been made to this Department for a lease of this pier. With the approval of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, I propose to make a lease of the pier for five years.

Yours respectfully,

JACKSON WALLACE, Deputy Commissioner.

April 3, 1902.

I am of the opinion that the terms proposed for the renewal of the above lease may be properly approved, unless the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund should deem that the same should be sold at public auction, with the proposed terms as an upset price.

EUG. E. McLEAN, Engineer.