New Rights Granted

New York, 1895

THE ELECTRIC RAILWAY WILL RUN CARS TO JAMAICA IN JUNE.

Additional Highways Over Which the Trolley Will Pass — A Cobblestone Pavement May be Laid and Bridges May be Built.

The highway commissioners held a meeting at the Town Hall on Saturday afternoon for the purpose of hearing parties for and against giving a franchise to the Long Island electric railway company to build and operate an electric surface railroad on Cherry avenue, Rosedale avenue, and over private property in the town of Jamaica. Commissioner Wolff presided.

President Hart, for the company, and Village Trustee William F. Wyckoff, who has become Counsel to the company, were present.

President Hart said the changes asked for in the franchise were rendered necessary for the company to run their cars as they intended to do, to Far Rockaway, it being impossible to use the Rockaway road, as the water at times rises over the road bed. The private property, which the company wished to acquire, they would pay for. The temporary bridge over the tracks of the New York and Rockaway Beach railroad at the Ocean avenue crossing, Ozone Park, was needed to facilitate the transit of cars. It was the intention of the company to have their cars running to Jamaica by the first of June.

Commissioner Decker said that at the last meeting of the board, several petitions were presented asking the board to permit the railroad company to use cobble stones instead of granite blocks in the highway. Everybody to whom he had spoken wanted the railroad.

Henry Johnson, of Liberty avenue, who presented one of the petitions, said every body wanted the road built, and all were anxious to sign the petition.

There being no opposition to the application, the following resolution, prepared by Counselor Wyckoff, and offered by Commissioner Decker, was unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That section one of the agreement entered into by the board of highway commissioners of the town of Jamaica and the Long Island electric railway company, dated May 25, 1894, be amended by striking out the words "block pavement" and providing instead that the pavement shall be of cobble stone.

Resolved, That where it is necessary to cross the tracks of steam railroads, and permission cannot be readily obtained from said railroads, that the street railway have permission to cross by bridging, provided that said bridges be so arranged that there is no obstruction to ordinary travel on the highways, the same to be done under the direction of the commissioners of highways.

Resolved, That permission be given the Long Island electric railway company to build, operate and maintain a surface street railroad, operated by electricity, on Cherry avenue, Foster's Meadow, from New York avenue to and through private property (the right of way over which the company is to acquire) to Rosedale or Ocean avenues, and thence to the line of the town of Hempstead.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 1, 1895, p. 1.