Housing area, Committee on Slum Clearance, Randall's Island-Washington Market, boundaries: Franklin St., Greenwich St., Park Pl., and West St. Area private property, 534,119 square feet equals 12.3 acres: Land and buildings: $21.89 per square foot. Area streets to be closed: 239,292 square feet. Total net area: 773,411 square feet equals 17.6 acres. Assessed valuation per square foot, total net area: Land, $12.08 per square foot. Land and buildings, $15.12 per square foot. Acquisition cost: (Assessed valuation plus 50 percent). Less possible resale price, 773,411 square feet at $10 per square foot Write-down Net project cost- Federal City $17, 542, 000 7,609, 000 9, 933, 000 15, 000, 000 10, 000, 000 5, 000, 000 Hon. VICTOR ANFUSO, House Committee on Agriculture, New York City. COUNSELOR AT LAW, New York, N. Y., October 28, 1957. DEAR CONGRESSMAN ANFUSO: I am sending you herewith enclosed a statement on behalf of the Produce Truckmen's Association, Inc., of which I am counsel, setting forth our views in connection with the proposed relocation of the Washington Market. I trust that your committee will give this statement its most serious consideration. Respectfully yours, JEROME Y. STURM. STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY PRODUCE TRUCK MEN'S ASSOCIATION, INC. We understand that hearings have recently been conducted by the House Committee on Agriculture in connection with proposed plans for the relocation of the Washington Market. While our views have been set forth in previous hearings, we nevertheless wish to reiterate our position and to set forth the reasons therefor. As you know, this association represents the vast majority of the truckmen who transport fruit and produce from the piers, docks, and railroad yards to various parts of the metropolitan area. Obviously this facility is an integral part of the operation of this industry, and we are of course vitally concerned with whatever plans may be formulated by the Federal Government and other agencies in connection with the distribution of fruit and produce in this area. We have over the past years given a great deal of thought and study to the problems of the Washington Market and we have reached certain basic conclusions which arise from our long experience with the industry. Our position, for reasons which we shall set forth herein, is that the most productive procedure which can be followed for the rehabilitation of the handling of fruit and produce in the city of New York and its environs, is to remodel and refurbish Washington Market at its present location. We have reached this conclusion for the following reasons: 1. The statistics which have been submitted to you demonstrate that the tonnage presently received in the Washington Market (and the tonnage which would be received in the market wherever it may be located) has diminished substantially over the past 10 years. This has resulted principally from the increased purchasing power of the chainstores which receive their merchandise directly from the shipper and bypass the market, and the constant growth of the frozen food industry. In view of the decline in the volume of business which would be handled by any market in whatever location, it is foolhardy to expend substantial sums of public money for a project which is unnecessary. A more feasible plan which could be formulated and put into effect for comparatively modest sums, would be to rehabilitate the present market at the present location. The present tonnage and the projected future tonnage has reached the point where only 50 percent of the present market area is needed for the direct handling of fruit and produce. Under these circumstances at least half of the present Washington Market area could be utilized for parking facilities, refrigeration, over-the-road trucks, public housing developments, etc. The remaining 50 percent of the present area, particularly the locations nearest the waterfront, could be remodeled, modern equipment could be installed, and a more efficient market put into operation at a small fraction of the cost of relocation. 2. The fact is that the pier facilities are so extensive that they could be used to much better effect than at present. If modest expenditures were made for the modernization of existing piers they could handle all or a substantial part of the total merchandise received at these locations. The center of activity then would shift to the piers where it rightly belongs. This rehabilitation also would requre a small fraction of the cost of relocating the market elsewhere. 3. The proposal to establish a market in the Bronx would result in a split market which would seriously impair the utilization of such a center. The cost of transportation to outlying areas in the city, such as Brooklyn, would be prohibitive and it is to be anticipated that the result of such a project would be to establish a market in Brooklyn and perhaps a third market in Manhattan. The most centrally located area is of course the present location of the market since it is nearest to the piers, steamships, and New Jersey railroads. 4. The proposal to relocate the Washington Market in the Bronx would result in a substantial delay in the handling of fruit and produce since cars would reach the market approximately 1 day later than they do at present. This would result in higher railroad rates, unnecessary handling of merchandise, since merchandise would have to be shipped back to Manhattan and Brooklyn from the Bronx. This unnecessary movement of merchandise would of course increase the final selling price to the consumer. 5. The removal of the market from the present area would affect real-estate values and taxes in that area, and in addition it would seriously affect maritime interests since the Washington Market area is adjacent to the steamship company facilities. Foreign imports of fruit and produce constitute a substantial portion of the carload lots which enter our market area and any removal of the market facilities away from their present location would create additional transportation costs for fresh fruit and produce which is received at the steamship unloading piers. 6. The cost of fruit and produce to the consumer would be increased in the event of the relocation of the market inasmuch as necessary facilities which aid the industry have grown up around the Washington Market area. In addition to the piers referred to above, there are also cold storage warehouses, sanitation facilities, etc., which could not easily be moved to locations in the Bronx. Under these circumstances additional transportation costs would be mandatory-all of which could be avoided by the proposal we urge. 7. No one has thus far demonstrated that the operating cost to the receivers, buyers, etc., in a relocated market in the Bronx would not be substantially higher than the present costs in the Washington Market area. It is common knowledge that the present state of the industry is such that additional costs from whatever source, cannot be added to the current overhead of the industry if it is to survive in anything like its present form. We are of the opinion that the most feasible way of reducing operating costs in the industry is not to run to a less desirable location but rather to make whatever improvements are necessary in the best location. This can be done, as we have suggested, without uprooting the industry and without adversely affecting any segments of it. 8. It is significant that the engineering studies heretofore made by MadiganHyland and the plan of the Port of New York Authority did not provide for a relocation of the Washington Market but rather suggested that facilities be constructed at the present situs. While these proposals are much more elaborate than our association believes are necessary in the light of the present and prospective tonnage and current construction costs, nevertheless they do buttress our contention that the best location for the produce market is the present location. For these and other reasons which we are certain have been brought to your attention, we strongly urge that your recommendations provide for the allocation of public funds which will be utilized to remodel the present Washington Market at its present location. This may require condemnation of existing buildings, the widening of streets, the increased use of piers, the modernization of the piers, and any steps which will bring about a more efficient handling of fruit and produce coming into the area. The present state of the industry does not require the expenditure of the staggering sums which have been mentioned as necessary for the construction of a new market in the Bronx. Nor is the industry in a position to support such an establishment in view of the diversions which have taken place in the industry. We believe that the expenditure of a comparatively modest sum will provide the efficient and modern facilities at the present location which are necessary if the cost of the fruit and produce to the consumer is to be maintained and perhaps diminished. Respectfully submitted. PRODUCE TRUCKMEN'S ASSOCIATION, INC., By JOSEPH MILLER, President. (Whereupon, at 12:55 p. m., the above hearing was adjourned.) |