Misplaced Pages

Grand Junction Waterworks Company

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

A public utility company (usually just utility ) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to statewide government monopolies .

#956043

111-650: The Grand Junction Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England . The company was formed as an offshoot of the Grand Junction Canal Company in 1811 and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1904. The company was created in 1811 to take advantage of a clause in the Grand Junction Canal Company's Act which allowed them to supply water brought by

222-574: A trust fund for one of his nieces. Bush was succeeded by A.P. Timmerman as chairman of Bush Terminal Company, and by J.L. Hanigan as president of the company. A statue to him was dedicated in 1950 at Bush Terminal's administration building. By that year, the Bush Terminal Company only employed about 700 people, though about 40,000 people either were directly supported by jobs at Bush Terminal or lived nearby. The company had 300 manufacturing tenants spread across 120 buildings. In 1951,

333-450: A " quixotic " business venture. The Bush Company purchased an additional plot of land from the Hunt family in 1901, spanning between 41st and 50th Streets. At the time, the company already operated properties at the western ends of 41st and 42nd Streets, facing the waterfront. The Bush Company terminal business became the Bush Terminal Company in 1902 when Irving T. Bush bought the land from

444-575: A 1920 article in the Bush Company's magazine mentioned that the complex had 122 warehouses. The warehouses were used to store both raw and manufactured goods from Manhattan, in addition to materials offloaded from incoming ships and merchandise headed for distribution. The Bush Terminal Company also maintained a fleet of four steam lighters and seven tugboats that carried goods between the terminal and piers in Manhattan. By 1920, distribution

555-524: A club for buyers visiting New York. The Bush Terminal Company attempted a similar melding of commercial displays and social space at Bush House in London , built in three phases during the 1920s, but the concept was not fully carried through at that project. Despite the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the Bush Terminal Company was initially unaffected. In early 1930, Irving Bush created

666-724: A collection of 11 former warehouses operated by the NYCEDC as part of the Bush Terminal manufacturing complex. These structures were developed by the South Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation starting in 1989. The campus comprises 36 acres (15 ha) of land and 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m ) of renovated floor space. The entire complex was originally called Bush Terminal and formerly stretched further north to 28th Street. The section north of 32nd Street, comprising

777-516: A common courtyard with wings. The structure had a frontage of 460 feet on the west side of Second Avenue. Its wings ran westward from Second Avenue along 39th Street and 40th Street. It extended 335 feet each to a private street located off the bulkheads. The court measured 210 feet by 55 feet. The property on which the edifice was erected was purchased in part from the New York Dock Company for $ 30 million. The building's completion

888-505: A court order from Inch. Legal disputes between Bush and the trustees continued, including a libel suit filed by the trustees against Bush that later had to be re-litigated. Operations at the terminal itself continued relatively unaltered through the 1930s. However, vacancy rates reached as high as 35% during the Depression. The United States Postal Service decided to relocate the area's post office out of Bush Terminal in 1934 because

999-568: A decrease in the efficiency of monopolistic companies. To protect the interests of consumers from unjustified overpricing and substandard service, there are special regulatory bodies whose powers are regulated by the Law "On Natural Monopolies" and other regulatory acts. Main functions: Interaction at different levels: It is important to note that the powers to regulate the activities of natural monopolies are distributed between federal and local authorities.  Effective coordination of their actions

1110-423: A fifth and sixth factory building were announced in mid-1909, with the same dimensions as the existing factory structures. Early tenants included those in the printing and paper industries, and many of these tenants would remain through the 1950s. In 1912, Irving Bush proposed that the city buy the Bush Terminal Company's piers, since the city had desired to purchase the company's waterfront land. Later that year,

1221-631: A fleet of tugboats specifically for car floats, each with three crews. Each tug pulled three or four car-float barges, which each measured 277 by 41 feet (84 by 12 m) and could hold up to 17 freight cars at a time. By 1957, two tugboats were still operating, both of which dated to 1905 and 1906. In its most active years, the Bush Terminal/Industry City complex contained seven covered piers, which each extended over 1,200 feet (370 m) into New York Harbor. Each pier measured 1,400 by 150 feet (427 by 46 m), and contained

SECTION 10

#1732781023957

1332-526: A governmental body may attempt to improve its image or attract investment. Traditionally, public services have been provided by public legal entities, which operate much like corporations, but differ in that profit is not necessary for a functional business. A significant factor in government ownership has been to reduce the risk that an activity, if left to private initiative, may be considered not sufficiently profitable and neglected. Many utilities are essential for human life, national defense, or commerce, and

1443-571: A man standing 1,000 feet (300 m) away; 274 injuries; and "major destruction" in a 1,000-foot (300 m) radius, including broken windows in buildings up to 1 mile (1.6 km) away. People reported hearing the explosion as far as 35 miles (56 km) away. However, none of the firefighters on land or water were injured because the shrapnel went over their heads. The follow-up report suggested several changes in policy to prevent similar future accidents, such as fire-risk training for all dock workers, and special markings for explosives. Damage from

1554-655: A new subsidiary, the Bush Services Corporation, which would allow small manufacturers in Bush Terminal to sell directly to manufacturers, thus eliminating the need for wholesalers as middlemen. Later that year, a direct seaplane route was established between Bush Terminal and Philadelphia . In 1931, in advance of a projected increase in business, the Bush Terminal Company planned to purchase $ 500,000 million worth of equipment, including eight electric train locomotives. To help potential tenants and customers find Bush Terminal more easily, wayfinding signs for

1665-608: A petition in Brooklyn federal court to reorganize the Bush Terminal Company, since the company was bankrupt. The reorganization was granted by Brooklyn federal judge Robert Alexander Inch . The company exited receivership on May 1, 1936. However, equity proceedings against the Bush Terminal Company were still pending, and in April 1937, the Bush Terminal Buildings Company filed for reorganization under

1776-430: A point near Chelsea Hospital The Grand Junction Waterworks Company built a pumping station near Kew Bridge at Brentford in 1838 to house its new steam pump and two similar pumps purchased from Boulton, Watt and Company in 1820. The water was taken from the middle of the river and pumped into filtering reservoirs and to a 200 ft high water tower to provide gravity feed to the area. A six and seven mile main took

1887-405: A police force and fire department. World War I had halted expansion projects at Bush Terminal, and construction on these projects did not resume until 1926. In March 1927, the Bush Terminal Company completed 600,000 square feet (56,000 m ) of new industrial space at Bush Terminal, bringing the amount of factory loft space to 5,600,000 square feet (520,000 m ). By that time, the company

1998-532: A power and utilities industry outlook report by Deloitte identified a number of trends for the utilities industry: Issues faced by public utilities include: Alternative pricing methods include: Utility stocks are considered stable investments because they typically provide regular dividends to shareholders and have more stable demand. Even in periods of economic downturns characterized by low interest rates , such stocks are attractive because dividend yields are usually greater than those of other stocks, so

2109-558: A private monopoly, and because the Board of Estimate's special committee had ignored his original proposals. By 1917, Bush Terminal had 26,500,000 cubic feet (750,000 m ) of storage spread across 102 warehouses. The Bush Terminal Company had built 16 factory loft buildings with a combined floor area of 4,500,000 square feet (420,000 m ). On December 31, 1917, the United States Navy announced that it would take over

2220-572: A public utilities commission, or an institution that represents the government. There are many different types of public utilities. Some, especially large companies , offer multiple products, such as electricity and natural gas. Other companies specialize in one specific product, such as water. Modern public utilities may also be partially (or completely) sourced from clean and renewable energy in order to produce sustainable electricity. Of these, wind turbines and solar panels are those used most frequently. Whether broadband internet access should be

2331-491: A public utility is a question that was being discussed with the rise of internet usage. This is a question that was being asked due to the telephone service being considered a public utility. Since arguably broadband internet access has taken over telephone service, perhaps it should be a public utility. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States in 2015 made their stance on this issue clear. Due to

SECTION 20

#1732781023957

2442-574: A rail yard. The rail yard could hold about 1,000 freight cars and was six blocks long. The terminal also owned two miles (3.2 km) of double-tracked electric railroad that ran on the streets along Brooklyn's waterfront. The tracks ran along Second Avenue from 28th to 41st Streets and along First Avenue from 41st to 64th Streets, with spurs into every factory building and into the Brooklyn Army Terminal at 58th Street. Eventually, Bush Terminal could handle 50,000 freight railcars at

2553-495: A railroad track for loading freight onto ships. Next to each pier were slips that measured 270 feet (82 m) wide by 40 feet (12 m) deep, large enough to accommodate container ships at the time. Twenty-five steamship lines used these piers, and by 1910, Bush Terminal handled 10 percent of all steamships arriving in New York. Once freight was offloaded from vessels or ready for shipment, it could be stored within one of

2664-458: A result, 64 manufacturers employing 4,500 people were ordered to vacate their spaces by the end of 1918. The eviction notice covered 276 total tenants in buildings 3, 4, 5, and 6. Although Bush reluctantly complied with the takeover, the Merchants' Association protested because the takeover would eliminate the jobs of a large workforce. Many companies at Bush Terminal also pushed back against

2775-549: A slow return of capital ; last, technical difficulties can occur in the management of plurality of networks, example in the city subsoil . Public pressure for renewable energy as a replacement for legacy fossil fuel power has steadily increased since the 1980s. As the technology needed to source the necessary amount of energy from renewable sources is still under study, public energy policy has been focused on short term alternatives such as natural gas (which still produces substantial carbon dioxide ) or nuclear power . In 2021

2886-520: A system with an administrative nature of relations, where the authorities have the authority to issue mandatory instructions for these companies. Proponents of such a system emphasize that it allows the authorities to directly influence the commercial activities of public utilities, ensuring their compliance with state interests. This can be expressed in: However, such a system has its drawbacks. Excessive government intervention can lead to: Resource efficiency: Despite these limitations, utilities within

2997-530: A three-year agreement with the aim of working together to modernize the country's infrastructure. As part of this agreement, the EBRD will allocate funds for the implementation of a number of important projects aimed at: In addition to these two key areas, the EBRD will continue to support other initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of citizens of Kazakhstan. In the United Kingdom and Ireland ,

3108-714: A time. The tracks connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad 's New York Connecting Railroad at 65th Street, south of the Brooklyn Army Terminal. There was also a direct connection to the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company 's trackage at 39th Street, which is now operated by the South Brooklyn Railway . Around 1913, there were plans to extend the railroad northward along the Brooklyn waterfront via

3219-594: Is a historic intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex on the Upper New York Bay waterfront in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn , New York City . The northern portion, commonly called "Industry City" on its own, hosts commercial light manufacturing tenants across 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m ) of space between 32nd and 41st Streets, and is operated by a private consortium. The southern portion, known as "Bush Terminal",

3330-596: Is located between 40th and 51st Streets and is operated by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) as a garment manufacturing complex. Founded by Bush Terminal Company head Irving T. Bush in the early 20th century, Bush Terminal was the first facility of its kind in New York City and the largest multi-tenant industrial property in the United States. The warehouses were built between 1892 and 1910,

3441-463: Is necessary to ensure coordinated work and achieve common goals. As a result, the activities of the regulatory authorities of natural monopolies are aimed at ensuring a balance between the interests of consumers, utility companies and the state. 2017 was marked by a new round of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The parties signed

Grand Junction Waterworks Company - Misplaced Pages Continue

3552-555: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1940 mentioned that tenants took up anywhere between 5,000 to 130,000 square feet (460 to 12,080 m ) of space. During the 1910s, advertisements for Bush Terminal were posted in newspapers such as the Brooklyn Daily Eagle , claiming that companies could have private railroad tracks, a "free waterfront," and "a million-dollar factory at your present rental or less", and that

3663-642: The Eastern Interconnection , the Texas Interconnection , which is a single ISO, and the Western Interconnection . U.S. utilities historically operated with a high degree of financial leverage and low interest coverage ratios compared to industrial companies. Investors accepted these credit characteristics because of the regulation of the industry and the belief that there was minimal bankruptcy risk because of

3774-460: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) notes that additional investments are needed to improve the efficiency and reliability of these systems. The analysis conducted by the EBRD revealed a number of problems faced by heating, water supply and sewerage systems in Kazakhstan. The report also provides examples of cities where networks are being upgraded with the support of

3885-504: The New York City Board of Estimate received a proposal for the city to establish a freight terminal on the Brooklyn waterfront between 36th and 43rd Streets, and purchase that stretch of land from the Bush Terminal Company, as well as the Bush Terminal railroad and the entirety of Bush Terminal at the time. Under the plan, the existing Bush Terminal, the railroad, and the new city-owned terminal would continue to be operated by

3996-461: The North River , Manhattan. A 1929 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle mentioned that during World War I, Bush Terminal handled about 70% of the ammunition, clothing, and food that went to American soldiers abroad. The federal government quietly returned Bush Terminal to private ownership after the war. It paid out claims to the Bush Terminal Company for the use of the terminal space, though

4107-770: The Water Industry Commission for Scotland and the Utility Regulator in the United Kingdom, and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and the Commission for Communications Regulation in the Republic of Ireland. Disabled community transport services may occasionally be included within the definition. They were mostly privatised in the UK during the 1980s. The first public utility in

4218-716: The "Marginal Elevated Railway". The railroad would have used an elevated viaduct, similar to the High Line in Manhattan, between Bush Terminal and the piers at Fulton Ferry Landing (now Brooklyn Bridge Park ) in Brooklyn Heights . However, this marginal railroad was never built. In addition, the Bush Terminal Company ran a car float operation in which freight cars were loaded aboard car-float barges with railroad tracks, which traveled across New York Harbor to and from car float piers in New Jersey. The company had

4329-616: The 1970s, the facility's buildings had 263,740 window panes in their walls and 138 miles (222 km) of fire sprinklers running within them. Industry City includes the Bush Terminal Company Building (now Buildings 19 and 20 ), a loft structure located on Second Avenue between 39th and 40th Streets. Construction on the building started around 1911, It was eight stories tall with three distinct buildings connected in U-shaped manner. The primary structure possessed

4440-427: The 1970s, the ports in Bush Terminal had been filled. The complex was rebranded as Industry City during the post-war years, though the Bush Terminal name remained in popular use. In the 1970s and 1980s, sections of Bush Terminal were demolished or converted for other uses, including a shopping mall, a federal prison, a privately operated manufacturing and commercial complex, and a garment manufacturing district operated by

4551-643: The Bronx , which was close to rail connections. However, the proposal to build a market at Bush Terminal was controversial among merchants because it would take profits away from the Brooklyn Terminal and Bronx Terminal Markets, as well as from the Washington Terminal Market in Manhattan, and it was ultimately not built. Irving T. Bush died in 1948. In his will, he stipulated that all Bush Terminal profits that went to him would go to

Grand Junction Waterworks Company - Misplaced Pages Continue

4662-675: The Brooklyn Army Terminal and Bush Terminal. Sunset Park began to suffer economic decline during the Great Depression, which worsened with the demolition of the Fifth Avenue Elevated . Bush Terminal and the Sunset Park waterfront were disconnected from the rest of the neighborhood by the 1941 construction and subsequent widening of the Gowanus Expressway ( Interstate 278 ) above Third Avenue. After

4773-586: The Bush Company—organized six warehouses and one pier on the waterfront of South Brooklyn as a freight-handling terminal. There had only been one warehouse on the Bush Terminal site in 1890. Before that, the land contained an oil refinery belonging to the Bush & Denslow company of Rufus T. Bush , Irving T. Bush's father. Standard Oil bought this refinery in the 1880s and dismantled it, but after Rufus T. Bush's death in 1890, Irving T. Bush later bought

4884-402: The Bush Terminal Company's real-estate, shipping, and industrial divisions were merged with the real-estate company Webb and Knapp , though the Bush Terminal Buildings Company remained separate. As part of the merger, $ 5 million in improvements was proposed for Bush Terminal, and the management of the Bush Terminal Company was allowed to continue operating as normal. It was around this time that

4995-565: The Bush Terminal Company. That September, a special committee for the Board of Estimate approved the plan. However, the New York Merchants Association opposed the city's proposal to purchase Bush Terminal, because the Bush Terminal Company would then have a monopoly on the railroads along the Brooklyn waterfront. The city's commissioner of docks , Calvin Tomkins , also opposed the proposal because of concerns over

5106-550: The EBRD. These projects demonstrate how the introduction of modern technologies can improve the efficiency, reliability and environmental friendliness of heating, water supply and sewerage systems. Upgrading infrastructure is not just a matter of convenience. It is of vital importance for public health, environmental protection and ensuring the sustainable development of the economy of Kazakhstan. In most cases, public utilities in Kazakhstan are state-owned, which means that their activities are directly regulated by akimats. This creates

5217-573: The NYCEDC is also being renovated into the "Made in NY" campus, a film, TV, and fashion manufacturing complex that was set to open in 2020, but was delayed. The privately owned Industry City complex includes 16 structures and 35 acres (14 ha) of land on the Brooklyn waterfront, adjacent to New York Harbor . It is subdivided into eight former factory buildings between Second Avenue, 33rd Street, Third Avenue , and 37th Street, numbered 8 to 1 from north to south. Two more buildings, numbered 19 and 20, occupy

5328-401: The NYCEDC. Today, the Bush Terminal site comprises roughly 71 acres (29 ha), including 16 former factory buildings and 11 warehouses built in the early 20th century. Renovations and expansions began in the 2010s. A major expansion of Industry City, which would add 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m ) of space to the complex, was announced in 2017. The section of Bush Terminal operated by

5439-478: The Navy could use it. The U.S. Navy wanted to outright purchase Bush Terminal, and it was soon in negotiations with the Bush Terminal Company over the terminal's valuation. In June 1918, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and eventual President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote to Irving Bush to tell him that the navy would also be commandeering four of Bush Terminal's twelve manufacturing buildings. As

5550-568: The Standard Oil Co. The same year, the Bush Terminal Company started grading land on the former Hunt estate. It was ultimately planning to construct 18 factory loft buildings and 73 warehouses, as well as seven piers. The first pier opened in May 1903. Significant progress had been made by 1905: five of the piers were complete, and the Bush Terminal Company owned ten of the twelve blocks of waterfront between 39th and 51st Streets, as well as

5661-554: The Thames that thereby acquired its present name, Grand Junction Isle . Utility company Public utilities are meant to supply goods and services that are considered essential; water , gas , electricity , telephone , waste disposal , and other communication systems represent much of the public utility market. The transmission lines used in the transportation of electricity , or natural gas pipelines , have natural monopoly characteristics. A monopoly can occur when it finds

SECTION 50

#1732781023957

5772-521: The U.S. holds that rates paid by a utility's customers should be set at a level which assures that the utility can provide reliable service at reasonable cost. Over the years, various changes have dramatically re-shaped the mission and focus of many public utility commissions. Their focus has typically shifted from the up-front regulation of rates and services to the oversight of competitive marketplaces and enforcement of regulatory compliance. Industry City Industry City (also Bush Terminal )

5883-524: The United States was a grist mill erected on Mother Brook in Dedham, Massachusetts , in 1640. In the U.S., public utilities provide services at the consumer level, be it residential, commercial, or industrial consumer. Utilities, merchant power producers and very large consumers buy and sell bulk electricity at the wholesale level through a network of regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators (ISO) within one of three grids,

5994-574: The best way to minimize its costs through economies of scale to the point where other companies cannot compete with it. For example, if many companies are already offering electricity, the additional installation of a power plant will only disadvantage the consumer as prices could be increased. If the infrastructure already exists in a given area, minimal benefit is gained through competing. In other words, these industries are characterized by economies of scale in production. Though it can be mentioned that these natural monopolies are handled or watched by

6105-411: The blaze; twenty-six minutes later, the fire reached 37,000 pounds (17,000 kg) of Cordeau Detonant Fuse , setting off an explosion. Earlier in the day, the burlap bags holding an additional 11,415 pounds (5,178 kg) of rubber scrap had broken, and investigators believed that pieces of the highly inflammable scrap had been strewn across the dock. The blast resulted in 10 deaths, including that of

6216-401: The block bounded by First Avenue, Second Avenue, 39th Street, and 41st Street. The structures contain a combined 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m ) of floor space. All of the buildings were part of the Bush Terminal Company's "Industrial Colony", built in the late 1900s and early 1910s. Directly south of Industry City, between First Avenue, 40th Street, Second Avenue, and 51st Street, is

6327-583: The canal from the River Colne and River Brent , and from a reservoir (now Ruislip Lido ) in north-west Middlesex supplied by land drainage. It was thought that these waters would be better than those of the Thames , but in fact they were found to be of poor quality and insufficient to meet demand. After trying to resolve these problems the company resorted to taking its supply from the River Thames at

6438-537: The city's largest shipping companies—moved out of the terminal in 1957, having occupied Bush Terminal since 1902. In 1957, the city announced that a marine terminal for the Mitsui Steamship Company would be built near Industry City between 36th and 39th Streets. In conjunction with the construction of the Mitsui terminal, the pier at 35th Street, which had been wrecked in the Bush Terminal explosion

6549-936: The commercial activities related to associated electric, natural gas , telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and/or passenger transportation companies. For example, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas regulate the utility companies in California and Texas, respectively, on behalf of their citizens and ratepayers (customers). These public utility commissions (PUCs) are typically composed of commissioners, who are appointed by their respective governors, and dedicated staff that implement and enforce rules and regulations, approve or deny rate increases, and monitor/report on relevant activities. Ratemaking practice in

6660-498: The company must offer higher yields to attract bond investors , driving up the utility's interest expenses. If the company's debt load and interest expense becomes too large, its credit rating will deteriorate, further increasing the cost of capital and potentially limiting access to the capital markets. Public utilities in Kazakhstan include heating, water supply, sewerage, electricity and communications systems. A report by

6771-519: The complex covered over 200 acres (81 ha) of land. Other advertisements depicted companies moving to Bush Terminal in large numbers, "boosting" Brooklyn. Bush Terminal employed 35,000 by 1928, and even had a private court system for self-policing. There were four tribunals ; one each for marine employees, railroad workers, trucking employees, and mechanical employees. These handled both civil cases , such as those for job demotions seen as unfair, and criminal cases , such as those for fraud. There

SECTION 60

#1732781023957

6882-704: The cost of adding another customer is small, and duplication of facilities would be wasteful. As a result, utilities were either government monopolies, or if investor-owned, regulated by a public utilities commission . In the electric utility industry, the monopoly approach began to change in the 1990s. In 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its Order No. 888 , which mandated that electric utilities open access to their transmission systems to enhance competition and "functionally unbundle" their transmission service from their other operations. The order also promoted

6993-452: The end of World War I, Bush Terminal was an integral part of the economy of what is now Sunset Park . The terminal's fortunes rose with those of the borough of Brooklyn, which had over 2.5 million residents by 1930. Bush Terminal employed thousands directly and many thousands more worked for firms within Bush Terminal. By 1928, Bush Terminal had 35,000 workers, and it was so large that the terminal employed its own court system, as well as

7104-418: The entire city. Cooperative utilities are owned by the customers they serve. They are usually found in rural areas. Publicly owned utilities are non-profit. Private utilities, also called investor-owned utilities , are owned by investors , and operate for profit, often referred to as a rate of return . A public utilities commission is a governmental agency in a particular jurisdiction that regulates

7215-584: The epidemiologist John Snow on an outbreak of cholera pinpointed a workhouse in Soho which escaped the contagion because it was supplied by Grand Junction rather than the other local supply. The Metropolis Water Act 1852 was enacted "to make provision for securing the supply to the Metropolis of pure and wholesome water". Under the Act, it became unlawful for any water company to extract water for domestic use from

7326-416: The essential services they provide. In recent decades several high-profile utility company bankruptcies have challenged this perception. Public utilities were historically regarded as natural monopolies because the infrastructure required to produce and deliver a product such as electricity or water is very expensive to build and maintain. Once assets such as power plants or transmission lines are in place,

7437-419: The eviction order, citing the amenities at the terminal. The Bush Terminal Company recorded material losses the next year. The U.S. Navy tied its rail lines into those of the Bush Terminal. Irving Bush helped to design Bush Terminal's southern neighbor, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, which was completed in 1919. Because of the railroad connection between Bush Terminal and the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and then to

7548-599: The explosion is still apparent at Industry City; iron on the fire escapes is mangled, and several windows contain embedded shrapnel. From the early 1950s through the 1960s, the Topps company, which primarily made chewing gum and baseball cards , manufactured baseball cards at Industry City. Topps moved production to Pennsylvania in 1965, though its offices remained in Bush Terminal until 1994, when it moved to Manhattan. A major tenant—the Norton Lilly & Company , among

7659-522: The federal government, which used 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m ) of storage space at the terminal. In mid-1941, the U.S. Army moved some civilian workers into more than 500,000 square feet (46,000 m ) at Bush Terminal, spread across three buildings along First Avenue, because there was no more space at Brooklyn Army Terminal. Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1944 presidential campaign tour around New York City, which occurred in October 1944, started at

7770-461: The former Naval Fleet Supply Base, is no longer part of Bush Terminal. One of the buildings between 29th and 31st Street, called Federal Building No. 2, are a privately owned shopping complex called Liberty View Industrial Plaza. It was bought by Salman Properties in 2011, and before that, it had been vacant since 2000. The site of the other structure, Federal Building No. 1, is occupied by Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn), which

7881-522: The framework of this system can demonstrate high efficiency in the use of labor resources and management costs. Residents of Kazakhstan receive water, sewerage and heating from companies recognized by the state as natural monopolies. This means that there is no competition in these areas, and tariffs are set by a special state body – the Committee for Regulation of Natural Monopolies, Competition and Consumer Protection (CRNM and CP). In order to ensure

7992-592: The hay until the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad agreed to accept the offer and negotiate directly with the new terminal, after which other railways followed. To demonstrate that ocean vessels could dock at the piers, Irving T. Bush leased ships and entered the banana business, and in doing so, made a profit. Likewise, to induce businesses to store goods at his terminal's warehouses , he warehoused coffee and cotton himself. Once Bush Terminal succeeded and expanded, sources credited Bush's "keen foresight" for undertaking such

8103-445: The infrastructure, e.g. power plants, telephone lines and water treatment facilities. However, over the past several decades, traditional public utilities' monopoly position has eroded. For instance, wholesale electricity generation markets, electric transmission networks, electricity retailing and customer choice, telecommunications , some types of public transit and postal services have become competitive in some countries and

8214-532: The intersection with Pearl and Bridge Streets. The relatively small yet notable five-story office building was located on the site of Manhattan's first church, built in 1633, and one book described the structure as having a "Gothic design with a strong flavor of Dutch." The company also funded construction of Bush Tower , a 30-story skyscraper near Times Square in Manhattan , where tenants of Bush Terminal were offered display space to showcase their goods, above

8325-500: The land back using his father's inheritance. In 1891, the Bush Company completed a one-story office building at the intersection of First Avenue and 42nd Street. Irving Bush built six warehouses on the site between 1895 and 1897, but soon observed their inefficiency: "The ships were on one shore, the railroads on another, and the factories were scattered about the city on any old street without any relation to either kind of transportation. I thought: 'Why not bring them to one place, and tie

8436-446: The largest olive-oil producers in the U.S., according to The New York Times . On December 3, 1956, Industry City was the site of what might have been the largest explosion in New York City history. Dockworkers were using an oxyacetylene torch to perform routine maintenance work when, at about 3:15 p.m. that day, sparks ignited 26,365 pounds (11,959 kg) of ground foam rubber scrap. Employees abandoned initial efforts to control

8547-484: The last of the funds was not allocated until 1943, twenty-five years after takeover. In October 1919, the Bush Terminal Company announced the creation of a department for sporting-goods manufacturers at Bush Terminal. The company was designated with selling off excess cloth from the Army and Navy, which were considered war surplus. The twelve factory loft buildings that had been built by 1918 housed about 300 companies. By

8658-793: The mainland U.S. via the New York Connecting Railroad, the U.S. Navy wanted to operate the Bush Terminal for the duration of the war, paying a fee for the takeover. The piers of the terminal became part of the United States Army's New York Port of Embarkation . At the war's end the New York Port of Embarkation included eight piers in Brooklyn, including six Bush Terminal piers and two Army Supply Base piers; 120 Bush Terminal warehouses; twelve piers and seven warehouses in Hoboken, New Jersey ; and three piers in

8769-399: The most modern amenities available in the 1900s and 1910s, such as fireproof metal facades and a fire sprinkler system. The floors of the loft buildings could carry loads of up to 200 pounds per square foot (980 kg/m ). The loft buildings had a combined 150 freight elevators. They were mostly U-shaped to facilitate loading at the rail sidings between the two wings of each building. By

8880-471: The piers and warehouses of the Bush Terminal Company. Major General George Goethals , acting Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army , praised Bush Terminal as being among the best shipping facilities in the United States. The Navy proposed to build 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m ) of storage space and four piers adjoining Bush Terminal. The United States Army also occupied warehouses within part of Bush Terminal, but it proposed to vacate that space so

8991-455: The plot bounded by Second Avenue, Third Avenue, 37th Street, and 28th Street. A sixth pier was completed within two years. By this time, the shipping industry in Manhattan was becoming congested. By early 1909, three of the factory structures had been completed, and a fourth was under construction. Each building was six stories tall, measured 600 by 75 feet (183 by 23 m), and had 270,000 square feet (25,000 m ) of floor area. The complex

9102-493: The president of the Bush Terminal Buildings Company, R.A.P. Walker, started advertising the terminal's buildings in newspapers as "Industry City". The Industry City name was a reference to Bush Terminal becoming one of the first industrial parks in the United States following World War II. After the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel opened, the area around Industry City became so congested with traffic that, in 1953,

9213-456: The railroad from 1896 to 1915, and the factory lofts between 1905 and 1925. During World War I , Bush Terminal was used as a United States Navy base, and returned to private ownership after the war. At its peak, Bush Terminal covered 200 acres (81 hectares), bounded by Gowanus Bay to the west and north, Third Avenue to the east, 27th Street to the north, and 50th Street to the south. The surrounding area declined after World War II , and by

9324-844: The rent was too high. At some point, the Drug Enforcement Administration ; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ; the Internal Revenue Service , and the United States Coast Guard also occupied space in Bush Terminal. In 1938, after lithographers signed leases for nine buildings in Bush Terminal, the Bush Terminal Company announced that the leased buildings would receive extensive renovations. The federal government, whose Works Progress Administration stored supplies such as clothing in warehouses at Bush Terminal,

9435-502: The risk of public harm with mismanagement is considerably greater than with other goods. The principle of universality of utilities maintains that these services are best owned by, and operating for, the public. The government and the society itself would like to see these services being economically accessible to all or most of the population. Furthermore, other economic reasons based the idea: public services need huge investments in infrastructures , crucial for competitiveness but with

9546-417: The role of an independent system operator to manage power flow on the electric grid. Later, FERC Order No. 889 established an electronic information system called OASIS (open access same-time information system) which would give new users of transmission lines access to the same information available to the owner of the network. The result of these and other regulatory rulings was the eventual restructuring of

9657-400: The ship, the railroad, the warehouse, and the factory together with ties of railroad tracks? ' " The terminal in its early days was derided as "Bush's Folly". Railroad officials would not ship directly to Brooklyn unless the customers first had orders of freight, as it required the extra cost of loading freight cars on car floats for the trip across New York Harbor to the ferry slips at

9768-411: The smooth operation of public utilities, the state also controls the investment programs of monopolistic companies. This is handled by the Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services. Such a system allows you to regulate prices for utilities and direct investments to infrastructure development. However, this system also has its disadvantages. For example, the lack of competition can lead to

9879-682: The state, private firms, and charities ran the traditional public utilities. For instance, the Sanitary Districts were established in England and Wales in 1875 and in Ireland in 1878. The term can refer to the set of services provided by various organizations that are used in everyday life by the public, such as: electricity generation , electricity retailing , electricity supplies, natural gas supplies, water supplies, sewage works , sewage systems and broadband internet services. They are regulated by Ofgem , Ofwat , Ofcom ,

9990-539: The surrounding area a direct link to Manhattan, which was seen as a benefit to the area's economy. In 1946, the administration of Mayor William O'Dwyer proposed building a food-produce market at Bush Terminal. The existing Brooklyn Terminal Market in Canarsie, Brooklyn , was too far away from convenient railroad connections, and the Bush Terminal market would compete with the Bronx Terminal Market in

10101-523: The telephone service having been considered a public utility, the FCC made broadband internet access a public utility in the United States. Public utilities have historically been considered to be a natural monopoly . This school of thought holds that the most cost-efficient way of doing business is through a single firm because these are capital-intensive businesses with unusually large economies of scale and high fixed costs associated with building and operating

10212-528: The terminal were installed in the 36th Street subway station. A park at the site of an abandoned dumping ground was announced in 1934, and the Bush Terminal Company bought a fleet of new trucks for Bush Terminal the same year. In mid-March 1933, seven members of the Bush Terminal Company's board suddenly quit, citing past mismanagement. The Bush Terminal Company went into receivership two weeks afterward, on April 1, 1933, due to an inability to repay its outstanding bonds . A new 11-person board of directors

10323-412: The terminal. Railroad officials also feared that the harbor might freeze during the winter, making a car float unsustainable. Irving T. Bush resorted to sending an agent to Michigan with instructions to buy 100 carloads of hay, then to attempt to have the hay sent in its original railcar to Bush's terminal in Brooklyn. Railroad companies in the eastern U.S. declined their western agents' request to send

10434-499: The tidal reaches of the Thames after 31 August 1855, and from 31 December 1855 all such water was required to be "effectually filtered". Accordingly, new waterworks had to be constructed further up river and the Grand Junction Waterworks Company was one of three companies that opened new facilities at Hampton between Molesey and Sunbury Locks in the 1850s. The company took its water from an island in

10545-518: The traditional monopoly-regulated regime to one in which all bulk power sellers could compete. A further step in industry restructuring, "customer choice", followed in some 19 states, giving retail electric customers the option to be served by non-utility retail power marketers. Public utilities can be privately owned or publicly owned . Publicly owned utilities include cooperative and municipal utilities. Municipal utilities may actually include territories outside of city limits or may not even serve

10656-557: The trend towards liberalization , deregulation and privatization of public utilities is growing. However, the infrastructure used to distribute most utility products and services has remained largely monopolistic. Key players in the public utility sector include: Public utilities must pursue the following objective given the social responsibility their services attribute to them: The management of public utilities continues to be important for local and general governments . By creating, expanding, and improving upon public utilities,

10767-443: The utility sector is often part of a long-term buy-and-hold strategy. Utilities require expensive critical infrastructure which needs regular maintenance and replacement. Consequently, the industry is capital intensive , requiring regular access to the capital markets for external financing. A utility's capital structure may have a significant debt component, which exposes the company to interest rate risk . Should rates rise,

10878-729: The vice president of the Bush Terminal Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association proposed traffic improvements in the area. By Industry City's 50th anniversary in 1955, it employed 25,000 workers working for over 100 companies, and 25 tenants occupied 41% of the 6 million square feet at the complex. More than three-quarters of the tenants, 78%, had been at Bush Terminal for more than ten years, and 10% had occupied space there for more than 40 years. Major tenants included A&P, which roasted much of its coffee at industry City; Beech-Nut , which made candy and chewing gum; Virginia Dare, which made wine and flavoring extract; and two of

10989-475: The war, " white flight ", the maritime industry's move to New Jersey, and the 1966 deactivation of the Brooklyn Army Terminal also hurt the neighborhood until it was reopened as an industrial park in the 1980s. However, Bush Terminal still remained active around this time, although it was smaller compared to before World War II. The opening of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel in 1950 gave Bush Terminal and

11100-477: The warehouses at Bush Terminal. Estimates varied as to the number of warehouses at Bush Terminal. According to The New York Times , the complex had 118 warehouses by 1918, ranging in height from one to eight stories, which could store a combined 25,000,000 cubic feet (710,000 m ) of goods. However, The Wall Street Journal described the terminal later that year as having 121 warehouses with 38,000,000 cubic feet (1,100,000 m ) of total storage space, and

11211-753: The water to a reservoir on Campden Hill near Notting Hill capable of containing 6 million gallons. The Kew Bridge facilities now house the London Museum of Water & Steam . In the 1850s, the quality of drinking water was of public concern. Charles Dickens took an interest in the topic and, in carrying out research, he visited the Kew Bridge Pumping Station in March 1850. He recorded details of his visit in his campaigning journal Household Words , in an article published in April 1850 entitled "The Troubled Water Question". The report of

11322-474: Was also a "supreme court" that handled disputes between departments, and employees were allowed to appeal cases directly to Irving Bush. The terminal also had a "Pivot Club", which was composed of longshoremen who met twice a week to draft legislation. Bush Terminal had two coal-and-oil power plants for steam and light. There was a hall for longshoremen, a bank, restaurants, and a trolley system to provide transportation for workers. An administration building

11433-638: Was another large tenant. Other large tenants included the Monarch Wine Company, which leased three buildings at Bush Terminal in 1939, and spice companies such as the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (now A&P), whose Bush Terminal tea-packing plant was once the world's largest. By 1941, ninety percent of the rentable space at Bush Terminal had been leased, and 69 of 70 one-story buildings had been rented. During World War II , some buildings in Bush Terminal were again used by

11544-416: Was appointed for the duration of receivership. The receivers started cutting costs, and by May, had eliminated $ 100,000 in expenses. In May 1935, the receivers removed Bush as the president of the Bush Terminal Company and subsidiaries. Shortly afterward, Bush unsuccessfully sued in Brooklyn federal court to have the receivers removed based on an accusation of incompetence. That November, stockholders filed

11655-544: Was built in the 1990s. Federal Building No. 1 was demolished in 1993 to make way for MDC Brooklyn. The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal , also owned by the NYCEDC, occupies the waterfront to the north and west, from 39th to 29th Streets. By 1918, the Bush Terminal Company owned 3,100 feet (940 m) of waterfront in Brooklyn, and the terminal covered 20 waterfront blocks. The complex ultimately encompassed 16 factory buildings between 28th and 37th Streets, and between 39th and 41st Streets. The buildings were outfitted with

11766-453: Was constructed circa 1895–1902, There was a police force and fire department, as well as a mailbox for airmail . A chamber of commerce for Bush Terminal, created in June 1916, successfully advocated for improvements to the area, such as infrastructure and quality of life cleanup. Other amenities provided at Bush Terminal included social clubs, schools, and community centers. Industry City

11877-482: Was constructing two additional loft buildings, which would increase the factory loft space by 10%, as well as power plant at Bush Terminal. A branch of National City Bank (now Citibank ) inside the terminal was opened the same year, as did a playground near the terminal. Early in the 20th century, the Bush Terminal Company commissioned architects Kirby, Petit & Green to design its headquarters building in Manhattan's Financial District at 100 Broad Street , near

11988-494: Was controlled from an 8-story steel-and-concrete service building at 39th Street west of Second Avenue. The building had two levels of railroad tracks, one for incoming freight and one for outgoing freight, and each level could accommodate six freight cars. When the complex was known as Bush Terminal, it offered economies of scale for its tenants, so that even the smallest interests could use facilities normally only available to large, well-capitalized firms. An article published in

12099-419: Was convenient enough for industries that the first two buildings had been fully rented before they had even been completed. The Bush Terminal Company also arranged to lease a tenement structure at Third Avenue and 29th Street to house workers employed at Bush Terminal. It was expected that by the time fifteen to twenty of the factories were completed, Bush Terminal would employ 10,000 to 15,000 workers. Plans for

12210-747: Was originally known as Bush Terminal, which was named after Irving T. Bush. His family name came from Jan Bosch, who was born in the Netherlands and immigrated to New Amsterdam (now New York) in 1662; it is unrelated to the Bush political family . Bush Terminal was unique from other rail-marine terminals in New York due to its distance from Manhattan, the magnitude of its warehousing and manufacturing operations, and its fully integrated nature. Wholesalers in Manhattan faced expensive time, transportation, and labor costs when importing and then re-sending goods. In 1895, Irving T. Bush—working under his family's company,

12321-561: Was part of a plan long contemplated by the Bush Terminal Company's president, Irving T. Bush . Its construction coincided with an improvement in the industrial region between First and Second Avenues. The Bush Terminal Company erected structures like this on both sides of Second Avenue. The Bush Terminal Railroad Company owned about twenty miles (32 km) of track within the terminal by 1917, which had grown to 43 miles (69 km) of track by 1950. The terminal's railroad greatly reduced shippers' cost to haul freight from their facilities to

#956043