The Old Milk Barn
Once upon a time, there was a village called Radio City. Some called it Radio Row. You could get any type of electronics you needed there, whether you were looking for the latest technological gadget or you were a ham radio operator. Or a professor at a maritime school searching for teaching aids for your radio communications class.
According to a website called leinsdorf.com, which specializes in the history of the World Trade Center:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was created in 1921 to rationalize the rail, ship and terminal operations in the Port of New York, which is divided between New York on one side, and New Jersey on the other. According to the legislation, the Port Authority "shall constitute a body, both corporate and politic, with full power and authority to purchase, construct, lease and/or operate any terminal or transportation facility" within the Port District.
By 1960, the Port Authority operated bridges and tunnels, airports and port facilities, and warehouses. At about the same time that the World Trade Center was being proposed for a site on the East River, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, a small line which ran from Newark to lower Manhattan through a tunnel under the river, was going bankrupt. It needed a lot of investment in infrastructure and the commuters who used the line to get to work in lower Manhattan did not want to pay higher fares.
With millions of dollars in excess revenues pouring into the Port Authority from the tolls on the bridges and tunnels, some people though it would be a good idea for the Port Authority to buy the bankrupt Hudson and Manhattan Railroad properties, put up the money for modernization, and run the improved line. After all, it was the Port Authority's bridges and tunnels that enabled commuters to abandon the railroad and drive into the city.
New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, then in his first term, insisted that the acquisition of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad be linked with construction of the World Trade Center. The Port Authority is a bi-state agency. From Rockefeller's perspective, the takeover of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad would primarily benefit New Jersey commuters. He felt that the World Trade Center would be a benefit to New York (he was wrong), so that linking the two projects was only fair.
The Port Authority did buy the bankrupt railroad. It paid the price it wanted because it threatened to condemn the property if the railroad did not accept its offer. The railroad consisted of right of way, rolling stock, the tunnel under the Hudson River, and some office buildings at the terminal end in Manhattan.
Once the deal was done in 1961, the Governor-elect of New Jersey, Richard Hughes, insisted that the World Trade Center's East River site would not benefit residents of New Jersey. Hughes insisted, and the Port Authority agreed, to move the Trade Center to the West Side and to build it on the site of the newly acquired Hudson and Manhattan properties.
The Port Authority then decided, once the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad had been acquired, to move the World Trade Center site to the West Side site and to build the Twin Towers, a much bigger project than the original proposal. The only problem was that the tenants on the site did not want to move. The area around the Hudson and Manhattan terminal was known as "radio row" the electronics supply industry of New York.
At a time when the piers were becoming obsolete as break bulk shipping was replaced by containerization, the Port Authority of New York tore down the electronics industry to build an office building which never made money. The Port Authority destroyed the biggest manufacturing growth industry of the late 20th century to build an office building which was a monument to the economic base of the city in the 19th century.
Opponents of the World Trade Center, mostly displaced businessmen, but also others, fought against the World Trade Center all the way to the United States Supreme Court, twice. Even after the project was approved, activists, called the Committee for a Reasonable World Trade Center, tried to get the project scaled back, but to no avail.
Never before had such grandiosity and luxury been funded with tax exempt bonds. The office of the Secretary The office of the Secretary of the Port Authority was huge, with a panoramic view of New York Harbor. The pictures of the Secretary of the Port Authority's offices in the World Trade Center included in this article were taken in July, 1977 by the author. He only went into the twin towers twice in his life. July 1977 was the last time, just to take these pictures. Many, many people refused to work in those buildings.
On April 11, 1963, the New York Times reported:
WORLD TRADE CENTER GETS GO-AHEAD; WORK STARTS
The U. S. Supreme Court last week refused to bear an appeal aimed at barring a start on New York City's $270-million World Trade Center. The Port of New York Authority immediately announced that it would order the architects to start work on functional planning and architectural design. Activity halted February 20 when businessmen in the 16-acre area to be condemned brought suit on grounds that the legislation authorizing the project violates constitutional limits on the right of eminent domain (ENR April 11, p. 77).
On August 5, 1963, the engineers officially broke ground on the project, although the building wouldn’t become visible until five years later. My mother, visiting the former Radio City site, so familiar to her and my grandfather in earlier years, found an incredibly huge hole in the ground. Having been a reporter on an architectural newspaper, she knew something incredibly huge was going to be built on this site.
However, the original tenants for the World Trade Center was the government. The governor at the time and the mayor promised that it would be filled with government workers and that the owners wouldn’t lose any money.
That’s how government works. First, it destroys free enterprise. Then it creates a huge hole. Then it fills the hole with taxpayers’ money. Then it covers up the hole and creates a monolith to government on top of it (meaning no disrespect to the 9/11 survivors, victims, and their friends and families).
Once upon a time, there was a restaurant called The Old Milk Barn. The Barn was a popular spot for locals, particularly renowned for its ice cream. On hot summer days, the line to get in was 30 people deep.
Next door was a Chevy dealer. They did a modest business. But then General Motors starting overproducing cars. The Chevy dealer’s lot began to overflow and the owner eyed the Old Milk Barn next door, with its enormous parking lot.
The Chevy dealer campaigned to buy the Old Milk Barn property, making offers and deals the Barn’s owners couldn’t refuse. The community was in an uproar. They didn’t want more cars; they wanted milkshakes and ice cream sundaes. Politics prevailed and the Chevy dealer bought the property. The Old Milk Barn was carefully deconstructed and crated up, just in case milkshakes and ice cream sundaes came back into vogue someday.
Fate and the market were not kind to the Chevy dealer or General Motors. By the time the 2008 election was settled, the Chevy dealer’s doors were shuttered. Today, there is no more Old Milk Barn and there is no more Chevy dealer.
Up the road, though, just past the traffic light and the Pompton Falls, the road department was busy digging holes in the Hamburg Turnpike to lay in new gas lines. They certainly needed replacing. Some dated back to the early 20th century when they carried coal gas, which was amazingly dangerous.
Right along the road, a TARP sign proudly announces its role in bringing this marvel of progressive construction to town. While there’s no question that the pipes need to be replaced, we can’t help wondering why municipal, county, and even state funds couldn’t have financed this project. Why did it have to take putting our country trillions of dollars in debt?
Why did it take putting a popular local restaurant and a reasonably prosperous car dealer out of business to repair our infrastructure? You can’t see the pipelines now that the work is complete and the road is repaved. The only sign that anything was done is the TARP sign. But you sure can see that empty car dealer down the road, and the empty field where once upon a time you could buy the most delicious milkshakes in the world.
According to a website called leinsdorf.com, which specializes in the history of the World Trade Center:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was created in 1921 to rationalize the rail, ship and terminal operations in the Port of New York, which is divided between New York on one side, and New Jersey on the other. According to the legislation, the Port Authority "shall constitute a body, both corporate and politic, with full power and authority to purchase, construct, lease and/or operate any terminal or transportation facility" within the Port District.
By 1960, the Port Authority operated bridges and tunnels, airports and port facilities, and warehouses. At about the same time that the World Trade Center was being proposed for a site on the East River, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, a small line which ran from Newark to lower Manhattan through a tunnel under the river, was going bankrupt. It needed a lot of investment in infrastructure and the commuters who used the line to get to work in lower Manhattan did not want to pay higher fares.
With millions of dollars in excess revenues pouring into the Port Authority from the tolls on the bridges and tunnels, some people though it would be a good idea for the Port Authority to buy the bankrupt Hudson and Manhattan Railroad properties, put up the money for modernization, and run the improved line. After all, it was the Port Authority's bridges and tunnels that enabled commuters to abandon the railroad and drive into the city.
New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, then in his first term, insisted that the acquisition of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad be linked with construction of the World Trade Center. The Port Authority is a bi-state agency. From Rockefeller's perspective, the takeover of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad would primarily benefit New Jersey commuters. He felt that the World Trade Center would be a benefit to New York (he was wrong), so that linking the two projects was only fair.
The Port Authority did buy the bankrupt railroad. It paid the price it wanted because it threatened to condemn the property if the railroad did not accept its offer. The railroad consisted of right of way, rolling stock, the tunnel under the Hudson River, and some office buildings at the terminal end in Manhattan.
Once the deal was done in 1961, the Governor-elect of New Jersey, Richard Hughes, insisted that the World Trade Center's East River site would not benefit residents of New Jersey. Hughes insisted, and the Port Authority agreed, to move the Trade Center to the West Side and to build it on the site of the newly acquired Hudson and Manhattan properties.
The Port Authority then decided, once the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad had been acquired, to move the World Trade Center site to the West Side site and to build the Twin Towers, a much bigger project than the original proposal. The only problem was that the tenants on the site did not want to move. The area around the Hudson and Manhattan terminal was known as "radio row" the electronics supply industry of New York.
At a time when the piers were becoming obsolete as break bulk shipping was replaced by containerization, the Port Authority of New York tore down the electronics industry to build an office building which never made money. The Port Authority destroyed the biggest manufacturing growth industry of the late 20th century to build an office building which was a monument to the economic base of the city in the 19th century.
Opponents of the World Trade Center, mostly displaced businessmen, but also others, fought against the World Trade Center all the way to the United States Supreme Court, twice. Even after the project was approved, activists, called the Committee for a Reasonable World Trade Center, tried to get the project scaled back, but to no avail.
Never before had such grandiosity and luxury been funded with tax exempt bonds. The office of the Secretary The office of the Secretary of the Port Authority was huge, with a panoramic view of New York Harbor. The pictures of the Secretary of the Port Authority's offices in the World Trade Center included in this article were taken in July, 1977 by the author. He only went into the twin towers twice in his life. July 1977 was the last time, just to take these pictures. Many, many people refused to work in those buildings.
On April 11, 1963, the New York Times reported:
WORLD TRADE CENTER GETS GO-AHEAD; WORK STARTS
The U. S. Supreme Court last week refused to bear an appeal aimed at barring a start on New York City's $270-million World Trade Center. The Port of New York Authority immediately announced that it would order the architects to start work on functional planning and architectural design. Activity halted February 20 when businessmen in the 16-acre area to be condemned brought suit on grounds that the legislation authorizing the project violates constitutional limits on the right of eminent domain (ENR April 11, p. 77).
On August 5, 1963, the engineers officially broke ground on the project, although the building wouldn’t become visible until five years later. My mother, visiting the former Radio City site, so familiar to her and my grandfather in earlier years, found an incredibly huge hole in the ground. Having been a reporter on an architectural newspaper, she knew something incredibly huge was going to be built on this site.
However, the original tenants for the World Trade Center was the government. The governor at the time and the mayor promised that it would be filled with government workers and that the owners wouldn’t lose any money.
That’s how government works. First, it destroys free enterprise. Then it creates a huge hole. Then it fills the hole with taxpayers’ money. Then it covers up the hole and creates a monolith to government on top of it (meaning no disrespect to the 9/11 survivors, victims, and their friends and families).
Once upon a time, there was a restaurant called The Old Milk Barn. The Barn was a popular spot for locals, particularly renowned for its ice cream. On hot summer days, the line to get in was 30 people deep.
Next door was a Chevy dealer. They did a modest business. But then General Motors starting overproducing cars. The Chevy dealer’s lot began to overflow and the owner eyed the Old Milk Barn next door, with its enormous parking lot.
The Chevy dealer campaigned to buy the Old Milk Barn property, making offers and deals the Barn’s owners couldn’t refuse. The community was in an uproar. They didn’t want more cars; they wanted milkshakes and ice cream sundaes. Politics prevailed and the Chevy dealer bought the property. The Old Milk Barn was carefully deconstructed and crated up, just in case milkshakes and ice cream sundaes came back into vogue someday.
Fate and the market were not kind to the Chevy dealer or General Motors. By the time the 2008 election was settled, the Chevy dealer’s doors were shuttered. Today, there is no more Old Milk Barn and there is no more Chevy dealer.
Up the road, though, just past the traffic light and the Pompton Falls, the road department was busy digging holes in the Hamburg Turnpike to lay in new gas lines. They certainly needed replacing. Some dated back to the early 20th century when they carried coal gas, which was amazingly dangerous.
Right along the road, a TARP sign proudly announces its role in bringing this marvel of progressive construction to town. While there’s no question that the pipes need to be replaced, we can’t help wondering why municipal, county, and even state funds couldn’t have financed this project. Why did it have to take putting our country trillions of dollars in debt?
Why did it take putting a popular local restaurant and a reasonably prosperous car dealer out of business to repair our infrastructure? You can’t see the pipelines now that the work is complete and the road is repaved. The only sign that anything was done is the TARP sign. But you sure can see that empty car dealer down the road, and the empty field where once upon a time you could buy the most delicious milkshakes in the world.
posted by Belle | 6:09 PM
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