Editing Hell Gate Bridge (section)

=== Effect on development and commerce ===
[[File:Hell Gate (95023027).jpeg|thumb|The main span's deck]]
When the Hell Gate Bridge and the NYCR line were proposed, the [[Brooklyn Times-Union|''Brooklyn Times'']] reported that the bridge and line would shift New York City's freight rail traffic from Manhattan to Brooklyn,<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1902 |title=To Centralize Business Interests on Long Island |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-to-centralize-business-inter/142084801/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=9}}</ref> and PRR president [[Alexander Cassatt]] said the project would be second only to the [[Panama Canal]] in its impact on trade.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 12, 1906 |title=Extensive Local Terminal Plans of Long Island Railroad |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-extensive-local-terminal-pla/142116304/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=18}}</ref> The bridge would also enable residents of towns along the New Haven railroad to commute to Penn Station,<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 9, 1908 |title=New Haven Denies Rumor |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-new-haven-denie/142165203/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=2 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=April 12, 1908 |title=New Haven Railroad Plan |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-new-haven-railroad-plan/142165045/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=73}}</ref> at a time when the railroad used Grand Central Terminal to access Manhattan.<ref name="Newspapers.com 1909 x719">{{cite web |date=March 21, 1909 |title=Transportation Problems |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun/82724063/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Sun |page=50}}</ref> The ''[[New-York Tribune]]'' wrote in 1908 that, "for the first time in the history of this city, [there will be] an all-rail route through New York between New England and the South".<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 12, 1908 |title=Real Estate Market Strong |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-real-estate-market-stro/142166121/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=61}}</ref> After work had begun, ''The New York Times'' called the bridge and the NYCR line "one of the greatest improvements under way toward the industrial development of Queens",<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 29, 1912 |title=Industrial Future Bright for Queens; Hell Gate Bridge Will Be Big Factor in Stimulating Business Growth. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/09/29/archives/industrial-future-bright-for-queens-hell-gate-bridge-will-be-big.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> while the ''Sun'' said the bridge would increase Long Island's population and economy by making Queens into an industrial hub.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 1, 1912 |title=Connecting Railroad Will Have Wide Effect |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-connecting-railroad-will-have-wi/142376514/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Sun |pages=26}}</ref> The ''Times'' also predicted in 1913 that the bridge's completion would increase real-estate values in western Queens and the [[South Bronx]].<ref name="nyt-1913-07-06" />

When the bridge was completed, various houses and other buildings were constructed underneath the bridge's approach viaduct, particularly in Queens.<ref name="Greenstein pp. 49–50">{{harvnb|Greenstein|2004|ps=.|pages=49–50}}</ref> The ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' predicted that the completion of the bridge, along with the proposed [[Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel]], would reduce shipping times to and from Brooklyn by a full day.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 26, 1916 |title=N. Y. Connecting R. R. Important Factor in Freight Transportation |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-n-y-connectin/142450150/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=80}}</ref> The ''Railway Age Gazette'' similarly predicted that freight rail would benefit most from the Hell Gate Bridge.<ref name="p886557243" /> When the bridge opened, business owners negotiated for space near LIRR yards in western Queens, owing to these yards' proximity to the bridge.<ref name="nyt-1916-10-15" />