July 27, 1918





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





91





Staten Island's Shipbuilders  To  Be  Housed

Government to Build Homes on Land Given by the Compan^^—
The First Appropriation of $400,000 Made

FOR the purpose of selecting sites for the location
of homes for workers employed at the shipbuild-
ing plants on Staten Island, George Van Pelt,
architect, Walter Green, engineer, and William Clunt,
realty expert of the United States Shipping Board's
Housing Commission, inspected several sites suggested
by borough officials, the Staten Island Civic League
and the Staten Island Shipbuilding Company, on the
north shore of Staten Island. The three Federal repre-
sentatives were piloted by Borough President Calvin
D. Van Name and looked over tracts in the Arlington,
Bloomfield, Chelsea, Graniteville, Linoleumville and
Bulls Head sections.

The commission representatives remarked- favorably
upon several of the sites but declined to state definitely
which had been selected, but Borough President Van
Nanie is authority for the statement that the visitors
told him that houses capable of accommodating 30,000
persons, which would include the families of workmen.
would be built, the construction to start at once and
that many of the buildings will be ready for occupancy
before late fall.

The original offer of the Federal government to fur-
nish eighty per cent. of the money necessary to con-
struct the houses if the people of Staten Island would
furnish the remaining twenty per cent. was not met
and it was beli(yed for a time that the housing prob-
lem on Staten Island would fail of solution. But when
the Staten Island Shipbuilding Company, which op-
erates three of the largest yards, offered to donate the
land upon which to build the houses the matter took
on a dift'erent aspect.

When this oft'er was made by the shipbuilding com-
pany an appropriation of $400,000 was made to defray
the cost of the preliminary work and it is understood
that at least $5,000,000 wiIÍ be expended on the project.

The site offered to the Government is at Mariners
Harbor, and is bounded by Richmond Terrace, HoIIand
and Western avenues and the tracks of the Staten
Island Rapid Transit Railway.   While it is thought the





shipbuilding company may be permitted to off'er some
suggestions it will have nothing to do with the im -
provement. Delano & Aldrich, architects, of 126 East
Thirty-eight street, Manhattan, of which firm Mr. Carl
F. Grieshaber of Staten Island is a member, wiU have
entire charge of the actual construction and the financ-
ing. Just what character of buildings will be erected
cannot be decided upon until the site and conditions on
Staten Island are definitely fi.xed. The Staten ísland
Civic League has urged the erection of small houses of
a permanent character.

Anning S. Prall, a member of the Board of Educa--
tion of the City of New York, is chairman of the Civic
League Housing Committee and made several trips to
Washington accompanied by Mr. E. R. Moody, also a
member of the committee, to take up the matter with
the Shipping Board. Mr. Prall said yesterday: "Staten
Island is in for a long era of shipl)uilding and it wiU
undoubtedly be the leading industry of the borough for
many years to come. Aside from that it means the
development of a great labor market for Staten Island
and that in itself will insure a wonderful commercial
development along the north shore of Staten Island
and also along the lines of the Baltiniore & Ohio R. R.

The Staten Island Shipbuilding Company employs
1,811 Staten Island men in its two plants and foundry.
At the Mariners Harbor yard 1,080 are eniployed and
at the Port Richmond yard 731. These employees re-
side in all parts of Staten Island, some of them coming
from TottenviIIe, a distance of twelve miles from their
work.

At the Mariners Harbor yard 352 of the force reside
in Manhattan and the Bronx, and 123 reside in Brook-
lyn. nine residents of the latter borough are employed
at the Port Richmond yard. Two residents of P'ort
Chester are employed at the Port Richmond yard'and
an even dozen from Long Island outside of Brooklyn
are employed in the two yards of the company, and
froni New Jersey 259 men journey daily to and from
the two yards.





Government Moves To Insure Coal Supplies

■{Continticd from page 89)





director for railroads in New York harbor; F. E. Harri-
man, coal adviser, Eastern region; E. M. Rine, general
manager, Lackawanna Railroad, and F. L. Blendinger,
general manager of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

In making the announcement of the appointment of
Mr. Cooke as administrator Dr. Garfield called atten-
tion to the fact that, notwithstanding the regrettable
and unavoidable delay in the appointment of Mr. Wig-
gin's successor, the work of the Fuel Administrator in
New York has been proceeding in regular course, and
New York has been receiving its full allotment of coal.
Under the present distribution plaii each State will re-
ceive a fixed part of the available supply as determined
by Washington, and New York, accordingly, is bound
to receive its full part in any event, whether delivered
110 w or later.

The decision not to divide the State into sections and
to name one man who should have full authority was
made by Dr. Garfield after his visit to New York when
he was in conference with Mr. Cooke and went with
him on the inspection tour of the harljor facilities of
New York.

It is understood Mr. Cooke will resign his traffic
chairmanship, but will remain a member of the organ-
ization of executives and will represent it on the ex-
ports control committee.

He said that on the inspection trip he was satisfied
with the manncr in which the railroads were preparing
to meet the situation. They are enlarging steam heat-
ing plants for thawing out coal, he added.

Mr. Cooke admitted that he had little acquaintance
with his duties as Fuel Administrator.

"I know I will have the co-operation of all the people





of New York," he said. "I pledge them my best eft'orts
in a task which, if I may be pardoned tor saying it, has
been  'wished' on  me.

"I believe we have learned niuch from tnir experi-
ences last year that will.be of service to us to prevent
a repetition of such conditions. I cannot say now
whether any increased transportation facilities over the
barge canaí can be installed for getting the coal into
the city. We must bend all our eft'orts in the direction
of improving the service."                          *

Mr. Cooke declined to predict another series of heat-
less days.

"Don't let's assume tluit such a necessity will arise,"
he said. "We all know that there must be a lot of coal
bunkered here and that the task is especially of im-
portance in view of war shipping. There is a scarcity
of labor in the mines—but don't let's borrow trouble.

"Let us all pray for a mild winter and work together
to prcvent trouljlc."

In accordance with the order issued by tiie Fuel Ad-
ministration during the succeeding weeks, Monday, Tues-
day, Wednesday, and Thursday will be lightless.

The order for four lightless nights a week applies to
this State, New England, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Dela-
ware, Maryland, and thc District of Columbia, other sec-
tions of the country only being compcUed to go without
excess illumination two nights a wcek.

According to statistics preparcd in Washington, each
lightless night saves more than 1,000 tons of coal. The
Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce has
advised the Fuel Adniinistration that about 500,000 tons
of coal are consumed by the country in a year in advertis-
ing by electric signs.