Editing Queensboro Bridge (section)

=== Planning ===
Prior to the construction of the Queensboro Bridge, two ferries connected modern-day Manhattan and Queens, neither of which were near the modern-day bridge. One such ferry connected Borden Avenue in [[Hunters Point, Queens]], to [[34th Street (Manhattan)|34th Street]] in [[Kips Bay, Manhattan]], while the other ferry connected [[Astoria Boulevard]] in [[Astoria, Queens]], with 92nd Street on Manhattan's [[Upper East Side]].<ref name="n133321693">{{Cite news |last=Dallas |first=Gus |date=September 27, 1981 |title=Bridge Spans Time, Sentiment |pages=254 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-bridge-spans-time-sentiment/133321693/ |access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-date=October 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019200353/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-bridge-spans-time-sentiment/133321693/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] first proposed a masonry bridge between Manhattan and Queens in 1804.<ref name="STRUCTURE magazine 2015 d973">{{cite web |last=Griggs |first=Frank Jr |date=October 11, 2015 |title=Queensboro Cantilever Bridge |url=https://www.structuremag.org/?p=9206 |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=Structure |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014710/https://www.structuremag.org/?p=9206 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Family Magazine'' published an article in 1833, suggesting a bridge between Manhattan and Queens over [[Roosevelt Island]] (which then was known as Blackwell's Island).<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 1, 1903 |title=An Old Plan for a Bridge at Blackwell's Island |pages=20 |work=The Standard Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-an-old-plan-for-a-bri/134960673/ |access-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110202608/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-an-old-plan-for-a-bri/134960673/ |url-status=live }}</ref> An architect named R. Graves proposed a three-span [[suspension bridge]] linking Manhattan to [[Long Island City]]. Queens, in the late 1830s.<ref name="Society Society 2008 p. 13">{{Harvnb|ps=.|Greater Astoria Historical Society|Roosevelt Island Historical Society|2008|page=13}}</ref><ref name="STRUCTURE magazine 2015 d973" /> [[John A. Roebling]], who would later design the Brooklyn Bridge, proposed suspension bridges at the site in 1847 and 1856.<ref name="STRUCTURE magazine 2015 d973" />

==== Rainey attempts ====
An attempt to finance a fixed East River crossing was made in 1867 by wealthy Long Island City residents, who established the ''New-York and Long Island Bridge Company'' to erect the crossing.<ref name="Society Society 2008 p. 13"/><ref name="p278774250">{{cite news |date=March 27, 1994 |title=Queens History; How a Bridge Shaped a City Queensboro Span Key to Population Explosion |page= |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278774250}}}}</ref> This group was led by Thomas Rainey, a doctor from Astoria.<ref name="n133722053" /> The crossing would have connected 77th Street in Manhattan and 34th Avenue in Queens, passing over the center of Blackwell's Island.<ref name="Society Society 2008 p. 13"/> The New-York and Long Island Bridge Company appointed commissioners for the proposed bridge in 1875<ref>{{cite web |date=July 1, 1875 |title=The Second East River Bridge.; Election of Directors of the New-York And Long Island Bridge Company Description of the Enterprise. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1875/07/01/archives/the-second-east-river-bridge-election-of-directors-of-the-newyork.html |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014711/https://www.nytimes.com/1875/07/01/archives/the-second-east-river-bridge-election-of-directors-of-the-newyork.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 1, 1875 |title=Another Proposed East River Bridge: Election of a Board of Directors—site and ... Of the Structure |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572585390}}}}</ref> and hosted an [[architectural design competition]] for the bridge in 1876.<ref name="STRUCTURE magazine 2015 d973" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Gentilviso |first=Richard |date=March 25, 2009 |title=AIA Celebrates Queensboro Bridge Centennial |url=https://www.qgazette.com/articles/aia-celebrates-queensboro-bridge-centennial/ |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=Queens Gazette – |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014710/https://www.qgazette.com/articles/aia-celebrates-queensboro-bridge-centennial/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A cantilever design by Charles Macdonald and the [[Delaware Bridge Company]] was selected in early 1877,<ref>{{cite news |date=April 5, 1877 |title=Spanning the East River: The Blackwell's Island Bridge Adoption of the Delaware Bridge Company's Plan—its Characteristics—features of the Whole Structure—its Probable Completion in Two Years Asserted Diagram of the Plan Adopted |page=2 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572675015}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 29, 1877 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge |pages=4 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-blackwells-island-bridge/133721355/ |access-date=October 19, 2023 |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014709/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-blackwells-island-bridge/133721355/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but no action had been taken by 1878, a year after the plans were approved.<ref name="n133720976">{{Cite news |date=August 27, 1878 |title=The Blackwell's Island Bridge |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-blackwells/133720976/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014711/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-blackwells/133720976/ |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |access-date=October 19, 2023 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=4 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Media sources reported in May 1881 that work was to commence shortly,<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 3, 1881 |title=The Blackwell's Island Bridge |pages=1 |work=The Buffalo Commercial |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-commercial-the-blackwells-i/133842493/ |access-date=October 21, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110175242/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-commercial-the-blackwells-i/133842493/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 2, 1881 |title=New York News |page=3 |work=The Hartford Courant |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|554167211}}}}</ref> and a [[cofferdam]] for one of the bridge's piers was installed that month.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 24, 1881 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge |pages=1 |work=The Brooklyn Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-union-blackwells-island-br/133843152/ |access-date=October 21, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110175244/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-union-blackwells-island-br/133843152/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 28, 1881 |title=The Second Bridge Between New York and Brooklyn |magazine=Scientific American |volume=XLIV |issue=22 |page=335 |id={{ProQuest|126602806}}}}</ref> By the time the [[United States Congress]] approved plans for the bridge in 1887,<ref name="n133722053">{{Cite news |date=March 3, 1887 |title=The Blackwell Island's Bridge |pages=2 |work=New-York Tribune |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-the-blackwell-islands/133722053/ |access-date=October 19, 2023 |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014711/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-the-blackwell-islands/133722053/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Rainey's bridge had been relocated southward.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 16, 1889 |title=Arguments for His Bridge: Thomas Rainey Issues a Circular About the Proposed Structure From Black Well's Island |page=14 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|573536126}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 23, 1887 |title=The New East River Bridge.; Property Which the Company Wants for Its Approaches. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1887/04/23/archives/the-new-east-river-bridge-property-which-the-company-wants-for-its.html |access-date=October 22, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110175247/https://www.nytimes.com/1887/04/23/archives/the-new-east-river-bridge-property-which-the-company-wants-for-its.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A state justice found in 1890 that the bridge's charter was invalid.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 8, 1889 |title=No Blackwell's Island Bridge. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1889/11/08/archives/no-blackwells-island-bridge.html |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014711/https://www.nytimes.com/1889/11/08/archives/no-blackwells-island-bridge.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 8, 1889 |title=It Is Invalid |pages=6 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-it-is-invalid/133847653/ |access-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110175246/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-it-is-invalid/133847653/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nonetheless, Rainey's efforts to build the bridge made his name "a household word in western Long Island".<ref name="n135292602">{{Cite news |date=April 13, 1907 |title=East River Bridge No. 4 Nearing Completion |pages=30 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-east-river-brid/135292602/ |access-date=November 16, 2023 |archive-date=November 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116170927/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-east-river-brid/135292602/ |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:Queensboro Bridge 1908 LOC 3c00105u.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Bridge seen from Manhattan, c. 1908]]By the 1890s, [[Long Island Rail Road]] (LIRR) president [[Austin Corbin]] had merged Rainey's plan and a competing plan.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 i117">{{cite web |date=May 24, 1896 |title=Long Island Territory; Property That Will Be a Part of Greater New-York. More Than One-Half Of the Consolidated City Will Be Across the East River – Developments That Are Now Under Way in Brooklyn and in the Cities and Towns That Adjoin It – Advantages That May Be Obtained There. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/05/24/archives/long-island-territory-property-that-will-be-a-part-of-greater.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109015807/https://www.nytimes.com/1896/05/24/archives/long-island-territory-property-that-will-be-a-part-of-greater.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Rainey resubmitted plans for the bridge in early 1890.<ref>{{cite web |title=Debating High License; A Brief Hearing Before the Senate Committee. Naive Mr. Cornell Gets a Little Setback – Another Excise Bill – a Home-Rule Discussion. |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=March 7, 1890 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/03/07/archives/debating-high-license-a-brief-hearing-before-the-senate-committee.html |access-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110230205/https://www.nytimes.com/1890/03/07/archives/debating-high-license-a-brief-hearing-before-the-senate-committee.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1890 |title=Over Blackwell's Island |pages=8 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-over-blackwells-island/133849324/ |access-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110175243/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-over-blackwells-island/133849324/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The state legislature gave Rainey a charter for the Blackwell's Island Bridge in mid-1892.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 1, 1892 |title=The Blackwell's Island Bridge |page=6 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|573750645}}}}</ref> Corbin received an option to buy out Rainey's charter,<ref name="p574687307">{{cite news |date=December 27, 1899 |title=Dr. Rainey on His Bridge Charter |page=3 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574687307}}}}</ref> and a [[groundbreaking ceremony]] for the bridge was held at 64th Street in Manhattan on August 19, 1894.<ref name="n134814941">{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1894 |title=The Blackwell's Island Bridge |pages=20 |work=The Sun |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-the-blackwells-island-bridge/134814941/ |access-date=November 8, 2023 |archive-date=November 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108021338/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-the-blackwells-island-bridge/134814941/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 21, 1894 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge: Ground Broken on the Great Long Island Railway Structure. |page=5 |work=St. Louis Post – Dispatch |id={{ProQuest|579162706}}}}</ref> The span was planned as a cantilever bridge carrying four LIRR tracks, as well as roadways and footpaths.<ref name="n134814941" /><ref name="The New York Times 2023 f692">{{cite web |date=May 8, 1895 |title=The New East River Bridge Begun; Rapid Development on Long Island Expected to Follow Its Completion. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1895/05/08/archives/the-new-east-river-bridge-begun-rapid-development-on-long-island.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109015754/https://www.nytimes.com/1895/05/08/archives/the-new-east-river-bridge-begun-rapid-development-on-long-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By that November, two cofferdams were being sunk for the bridge's piers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 25, 1894 |title=Corbin's Great Bridge; Work on a Pier on Blackwell's Soon to Be Begun |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/11/25/archives/corbins-great-bridge-work-on-a-pier-on-blaekwells-soon-to-be-begun.html |access-date=November 8, 2023 |archive-date=November 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108021339/https://www.nytimes.com/1894/11/25/archives/corbins-great-bridge-work-on-a-pier-on-blaekwells-soon-to-be-begun.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 25, 1894 |title=To Build The Bridge: It Is to Connect the Long Island Railroad With This City the Structure to Pass Over Blackwell's Island to Be Finished in 1897 |page=8 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|573993107}}}}</ref> Laborers began constructing foundations for another pier on the eastern shore of Blackwell Island in April 1895.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 25, 1895 |title=At Work on the New East River Bridge; Laborers Laying the Foundation on the Easterly Shore of Blackwell's. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1895/04/25/archives/at-work-on-the-new-east-river-bridge-laborers-laying-the-foundation.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109053323/https://www.nytimes.com/1895/04/25/archives/at-work-on-the-new-east-river-bridge-laborers-laying-the-foundation.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Stone and steel contracts had been awarded by the following year, and two of the piers had been built above the water line.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 5, 1896 |title=East River Bridge No. 2: That at Blackwell's Island Is in Part a Fact |page=B8 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574172215}}}}</ref> Construction was halted after the piers were built,<ref name="n134871305">{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1897 |title=Inter-Urban Transit |pages=7 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-inter-urban-tra/134871305/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109015756/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-inter-urban-tra/134871305/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1897 |title=Crossing the East River |pages=10 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-crossing-the-east-river/134870921/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109015758/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-crossing-the-east-river/134870921/ |url-status=live }}</ref> first due to lawsuits, then because of Corbin's death.<ref name="p574687307" /> 

==== Post-unification approval ====
Manhattan and Queens were merged into the [[City of Greater New York]] in 1898,<ref>{{Harvnb|ps=.|Eldredge|Horenstein|2014|p=125}}</ref> spurring alternate plans for a bridge between Manhattan and Queens.<ref name="p879753651">{{Cite magazine |date=February 12, 1897 |title=Bridge Building |magazine=Railroad Gazette |page=120 |issue=1 |id={{ProQuest|879753651}}}}</ref> New York Assembly members proposed separate bills in early 1898 to revoke Rainey's franchise for the bridge<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 6, 1898 |title=Blackwell's Island Grant |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-blackwells-isl/134900125/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109192338/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-blackwells-isl/134900125/ |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=30 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> and to have the city purchase Rainey's franchise.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 16, 1898 |title=Bridge Over Blackwell's Island |work=New-York Tribune |page=3 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574423687}}}}</ref> Rainey vowed not to sell his franchise,<ref name="p574687307" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 25, 1898 |title=Won't Sell Franchise, Declares Dr. Rainey |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-wont-sell-fran/134898210/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109192336/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-wont-sell-fran/134898210/ |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=1 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> but the state legislature passed a bill in March 1900 allowing the city to take over Rainey's franchise.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 30, 1900 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge: The Charter Granted by the State May Be Bought by the City |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-blackwells-island-brid/134906823/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203702/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-blackwells-island-brid/134906823/ |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |work=New-York Tribune |page=1 |via=newspapers.com |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|570800173}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 30, 1900 |title=To Buy Raines' Franchise |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-buy-raines/134906310/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203700/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-buy-raines/134906310/ |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=17 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Although Rainey himself eventually consented to the city's takeover of his franchise,<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 16, 1900 |title=Hearing on the Rainey Bridge |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-hearing-on-the-rain/134907455/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203657/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-hearing-on-the-rain/134907455/ |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |pages=9 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> mayor [[Robert Anderson Van Wyck]] wanted to build a new bridge in a slightly different location.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 20, 1900 |title=Rainey Veto Expected |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-rainey-veto-exp/134907614/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203700/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-rainey-veto-exp/134907614/ |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=20 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

A New York state senator introduced legislation in early 1897 to permit the development of a bridge between Manhattan and Queens;<ref>{{cite news |date=February 26, 1897 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge Scheme |page=3 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574273400}}}}</ref> the unified city government was to pay for the bridge.<ref name="p879753651" /> At a meeting in Long Island City in February 1898, a group of men from both boroughs were appointed to consider plans for the bridge.<ref name="n135292602" /> By late 1898, Queens residents were threatening to not vote for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] (of which Van Wyck was part) if the construction of the bridge did not begin shortly.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 20, 1898 |title=Horak Rebuked by the Mayor |pages=10 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-horak-rebuked-by-th/134898364/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109192340/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-horak-rebuked-by-th/134898364/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 20, 1898 |title=Van Wyck Voters Turned Down |pages=1 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-van-wyck-voters-turned-down/134898596/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109192339/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-van-wyck-voters-turned-down/134898596/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The city allocated $100,000{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1898|value=100000|fmt=c|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} for preliminary surveys and borings for the Blackwell's Island Bridge, as well as the [[Williamsburg Bridge]] between Manhattan and Brooklyn, at the end of 1898.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 2, 1898 |title=Van Wyck's Bridge Schemes: Money for Preliminary Surveys for Two Given by the Board of Estimate |page=8 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574549109}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 1, 1898 |title=Shea Will Get Money to Begin Third Bridge |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-shea-will-get-m/134896832/ 2] |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-shea-will-get-m/134896768/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109170935/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-shea-will-get-m/134896768/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early 1899, R. S. Buck published plans for an asymmetrical cantilever bridge connecting Queens with Manhattan;<ref name="p278774250" /> the early plans called for a utilitarian design.<ref name="The New York Times 2002 j597" /> The New York City Bridge Department's chief engineer finalized plans for the bridge in October 1899.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 18, 1899 |title=Plans for a New Bridge: Details of the Cantilever Across Blackwell's Island Prepared |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574669841}}}}</ref> Coler drew up a plan for a tunnel between Queens and Manhattan via Blackwell's Island;<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 19, 1899 |title=Bridge and Tunnel Talk; Hearing on the Question Before an Aldermanic Committee |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/12/19/archives/bridge-and-tunnel-talk-hearing-on-the-question-before-an-aldermanic.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109170935/https://www.nytimes.com/1899/12/19/archives/bridge-and-tunnel-talk-hearing-on-the-question-before-an-aldermanic.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=December 20, 1899 |title=Coler's Tunnels Attacked: J. Rufus Terry Sends Circular Letters to the Board of Aldermen Opposing the Scheme |page=10 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574690070}}}}</ref> he claimed that the tunnel would cost $1.9 million, while the bridge would cost $13 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 30, 1899 |title=Bridge and Tunnel Cost; Controller Tells Aldermen the Difference in Initial Outlay on Blackwell's Island Projects Is $11,100,000. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/12/30/archives/bridge-and-tunnel-cost-controller-tells-aldermen-the-difference-in.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109192338/https://www.nytimes.com/1899/12/30/archives/bridge-and-tunnel-cost-controller-tells-aldermen-the-difference-in.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn-lr|The tunnel plan would be equal to about ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1899|value=1.9|fmt=c|r=0}} million, and the bridge plan equal to ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1899|value=13|fmt=c|r=0}} million, in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} The Board of Aldermen appropriated $1 million{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1899|value=1|fmt=c|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} for the bridge at the end of 1899.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 31, 1899 |title=Aldermen's Last Meeting; New Bridge from Pike Street to Brooklyn Provided For |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/12/31/archives/aldermens-last-meeting-new-bridge-from-pike-street-to-brooklyn.html |access-date=November 8, 2023 |archive-date=November 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108021340/https://www.nytimes.com/1899/12/31/archives/aldermens-last-meeting-new-bridge-from-pike-street-to-brooklyn.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 30, 1899 |title=Brooklyn Now Assured of Another E. R. Bridge |pages=1 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-brooklyn-now-as/134904766/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109192338/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-brooklyn-now-as/134904766/ |url-status=live }}</ref> State assemblyman [[Edward C. Brennan]] proposed a bill in January 1900 to appoint commissioners for a bridge or tunnel between Manhattan and Queens.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 19, 1900 |title=New Routes to Brooklyn: Bill in Legislature Providing for Tunnels and Bridges |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/01/19/archives/new-routes-to-brooklyn-bill-in-legislature-providing-for-tunnels.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203658/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/01/19/archives/new-routes-to-brooklyn-bill-in-legislature-providing-for-tunnels.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The city's Municipal Assembly initially failed to authorize the bridge's construction due to opposition from [[Tammany Hall]] politicians.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 26, 1900 |title=Bond Issues Authorized; The Municipal Assembly Spurred On by Mandamus Proceedings. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/09/26/archives/bond-issues-authorized-the-municipal-assembly-spurred-on-by.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203658/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/09/26/archives/bond-issues-authorized-the-municipal-assembly-spurred-on-by.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 26, 1900 |title=City Council in Deadlock |pages=3 |work=The Standard Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-city-council-in-deadl/134907531/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203658/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-city-council-in-deadl/134907531/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The bridge was approved that November; the bridge was relocated southward so its Manhattan end was near 60th Street.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 19, 1900 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge |pages=9 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-blackwells-island/134906944/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203659/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-blackwells-island/134906944/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 20, 1900 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge Approved |pages=14 |work=New-York Tribune |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-blackwells-island-brid/134907873/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203701/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-blackwells-island-brid/134907873/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[United States Department of War]], which had to certify the plans for the bridge before any work could begin,<ref name="p570905934">{{cite news |date=January 29, 1901 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge: The Federal Government Responsible for the Delay in Building It, Mr. York Says |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|570905934}}}}</ref> approved the span's construction in February 1901.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 24, 1901 |title=Bridge Plans Approved; Secretary of War Sanctions the Blackwell's Island Structure. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/24/archives/bridge-plans-approved-secretary-of-war-sanctions-the-blackwells.html |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203658/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/24/archives/bridge-plans-approved-secretary-of-war-sanctions-the-blackwells.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 2, 1901 |title=Bridges |magazine=The Construction News |volume=12 |issue=9 |page=136 |id={{ProQuest|128395528}}}}</ref> Initially, the crossing was referred to as East River Bridge No. 4;<ref name="n134908111">{{Cite news |date=February 26, 1901 |title=Shea Is Pushing Work on New Bridge No. 4 |pages=6 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-shea-is-pushing/134908111/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109203701/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-shea-is-pushing/134908111/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p910589327">{{Cite magazine |date=March 29, 1901 |title=East River Bridge, No. 4, New York |magazine=Railroad Gazette |volume=33 |issue=13 |page=223 |id={{ProQuest|910589327}}}}</ref> the Board of Aldermen voted to officially rename it the Blackwell's Island Bridge in March 1902.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 19, 1902 |title=Aldermen's Lively War; New East River Bridges Named by the Board. Commissioner Woodbury Attacked and His Resolution for a Brooklyn Deputy Lost – The Chairman Denounced. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/03/19/archives/aldermens-lively-war-new-east-river-bridges-named-by-the-board.html |access-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110175022/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/03/19/archives/aldermens-lively-war-new-east-river-bridges-named-by-the-board.html |url-status=live }}</ref>