Editing Brooklyn Bridge (section)

====Opposition====

There was substantial opposition to the bridge's construction from shipbuilders and merchants located to the north, who argued that the bridge would not provide sufficient clearance underneath for ships.<ref name="McCullough p. 424">{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|p=424}}</ref> In May 1876, these groups, led by Abraham Miller, filed a lawsuit in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]] against the cities of New York and Brooklyn.<ref name="McCullough p. 424" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/11/07/archives/the-big-brooklyn-bridge-the-supreme-court-asked-to-call-it-an.html|title=The Big Brooklyn Bridge; The Supreme Court Asked to Call It an Obstruction|date=November 7, 1883|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 26, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125004541/https://www.nytimes.com/1883/11/07/archives/the-big-brooklyn-bridge-the-supreme-court-asked-to-call-it-an.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1879, an Assembly Sub-Committee on Commerce and Navigation began an investigation into the Brooklyn Bridge. A seaman who had been hired to determine the height of the span, testified to the committee about the difficulties that ship masters would experience in bringing their ships under the bridge when it was completed. Another witness, [[Edward Wellman Serrell]], a civil engineer, said that the calculations of the bridge's assumed strength were incorrect.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1879/03/21/archives/city-and-suburban-news-newyork-brooklyn-newjersey.html|title=The Obstacles to the Bridge, Views Of New Yorkers—Its Supposed Shakiness|date=March 21, 1879|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 24, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308202139/https://www.nytimes.com/1879/03/21/archives/city-and-suburban-news-newyork-brooklyn-newjersey.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252010%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201879%2520Grayscale%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201879%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200262.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901060110/https://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2010/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201879%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201879%20Grayscale%20-%200262.pdf |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |url-status=live|title=The East River Bridge; Doubts Expressed of Its Asserted Strength|date=March 21, 1879|work=The Evening Post|via=fultonhistory.com|access-date=January 23, 2020}}</ref> The Supreme Court decided in 1883 that the Brooklyn Bridge was a lawful structure.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/11/27/archives/the-brooklyn-bridge-suit-the-united-states-supreme-court-decides.html|title=The Brooklyn Bridge Suit; The United States Supreme Court Decides That It Is a Lawful Structure|date=November 27, 1883|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 26, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626145241/https://www.nytimes.com/1883/11/27/archives/the-brooklyn-bridge-suit-the-united-states-supreme-court-decides.html|url-status=live}}</ref>