People v. Prillen

73 A.D. 207, 76 N.Y.S. 821

This text of 73 A.D. 207 (People v. Prillen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Prillen, 73 A.D. 207, 76 N.Y.S. 821 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1902).

Opinion

Ingraham, J.:

It appeared from the evidence that the defendant was employed by a corporation, a contractor acting under a contract with the United States government in removing a ledge of rocks in the East river. In the performance of this contract the contractor had two scows that were anchored over the ledge of rocks, and upon each of these scows there was a- boiler used to supply steam to the [208]*208steam drills. These boilers were in charge of a licensed engineer and the defendant was a fireman who had charge of the boilers in the absence of the engineer. The defendant had no certificate from the police department of the city of Hew York as required by section 343 of the charter (Laws of 1897, chap. 378 as amd. by Laws of 1901, chap. 466). At the time of the defendant’s arrest he was in charge of the boiler upon one of the scows, in the absence of the engineer, there being no other fireman present. He ' attended to the fire, kept up the steam, and was generally engaged' in operating this particular steam boiler which was then in use to generate steam for the work. Section 343 of the charter of the city of Hew York provides that “ it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to operate or use any steam boiler to generate steam except for railway locomotive engines, and for heating purposes in private dwellings, and boilers carrying not over ten pounds of steam :and not over ten horse-power, or to act as engineer for such purposes in The City of Hew York without having a certificate of qualification therefor,” and a violation of this section of the charter is made a misdemeanor. (See § 345.) The vessel upon which the boiler in question was located had no motive power and was not used for the purpose of navigation. It was used in the performance of the contract with the government by the defendant’s -employers in removing this ledge of rock in the East river. Heither the engineer in charge of the work nor the defendant had a license from the United States government, nor is a United States license required to run a stationary plant anchored in a navigable stream. Ho question is, therefore, presented as to the right of the city of Hew York to require a license from persons operating boilers upon vessels engaged in navigation when the engineers and firemen so engaged are licensed under the laws of the United States. We have here a stationary boiler used for a purpose entirely distinct from navigation and over which the government of the United States has asserted no control. I can see no •difference between this case and a case where the boiler was placed upon the shore and steam carried to the work by pipes. The contractors while engaged in this work were subject to the police regulations provided by the State for the protection of the community. If this boiler had been, as before suggested, upon the upland and [209]*209the steam had been carried to the drills by pipes, I suppose there would be no dispute but that the police regulations for the use of such boilers would be binding upon the contractors, and I can see no distinction between such a case and the case where the boilers themselves were upon scows floating upon the water and anchored over the reef to be removed. The defendant, however, claims that under the charter the waters of the East river are not included within the city of Mew York. Prior to the enactment of the new charter it is conceded that the East river at the locality in question was a part of the city and county of Mew York. By section 1 of the Consolidation Act (Laws of 1882, chap. 410), it is provided that “the city and county of Mew York shall contain * * * all the land under water within the following bounds,” and there was included all the land from the low-water mark on Long Island to the west bounds of the State which would be to the low-water mark on the west side of the Hudson river. Thus, the city and county of Mew York includes the whole of the rivers and harbors to actual low-water mark on the opposite shores. (Stryker v. Mayor, 19 Johns. 179 ; Atlantic Dock Co. v. City of Brooklyn, 3 Keyes, 444; Orr v. City of Brooklyn, 36 N. Y. 661.) By section 1 of the charter it is provided that “ all the municipal and public corporations, and parts of municipal and public corporations, including cities, villages, towns and school districts, but not including counties, within the following territory, * * * are hereby annexed to, united and consolidated with the municipal corporation known as the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of Mew York to be hereafter called ‘The City of Mew York’ and the boundaries, jurisdictions and powers of the said city of Mew York herein constituted, are for all purposes of local administration and government hereby declared to be co-extensive with the territory above described.” Here all the municipal corporations within the specified territory were “ annexed to, united and consolidated with ” the municipal corporation theretofore known as the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of Mew York and was to constitute the new city of Mew York. When these outlying territories were thus consolidated Avith the existing city and the consolidated district organized into a new city, it would follow that [210]*210the new city thus created included the municipality formerly known as the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York with the localities thereto added. Adopting the construction of this section urged by the defendant, the new city of New York would not include any portion of Manhattan island or any portion of the territory which formerly constituted the municipal corporation known as the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York. Séction 2 of the charter divides the city of New York into five boroughs, and the land under water in the East, Harlem and Hudson rivers does not seem to have been included in either of these boroughs; but as this division into boroughs was for purely administrative purposes, and as from the necessity of the situation the land under water in these rivers would not be subject to the administrative control for which the boroughs were provided, it might well be that it was not considered proper to include the rivers, or the New York harbors within the boundaries of either of the boroughs, leaving the control of such waters and the land under water to the authorities of the whole city. There is nothing, however, in this section which bounds the different boroughs to override the express provision of .the 1st section which consolidated several municipal and public corporations into one corporation constituted foi' all “ purposes of local administration and government hereby declared to be co-extensive with the territory above described,” which included the territory which had prior to the adoption of the act been included within the boundaries of the municipal corporation known as the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and this conclusion is confirmed by subsequent sections of the charter.

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Related

Orr v. . the City of Brooklyn
36 N.Y. 661 (New York Court of Appeals, 1867)
Stryker v. Mayor
19 Johns. 179 (New York Supreme Court, 1821)
Atlantic Dock Co. v. City of Brooklyn
3 Keyes 444 (New York Court of Appeals, 1867)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
73 A.D. 207, 76 N.Y.S. 821, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-prillen-nyappdiv-1902.