32. Cession during use for purposes thereof, with sundry reservations. Title and jurisdiction to the following tract or parcel of land has been ceded to the United States by this state upon condition that the jurisdiction so ceded should not prevent the execution on such tract of any process, civil or criminal, issued under the authority of this state, nor prevent the laws of the state, not incompatible with the purposes for which such cession is made, from operating within the bounds of such tract; and that the United States are to retain such jurisdiction so long only as such tract shall be used for the defense and safety of the city of New York:
1. At New Utrecht. A tract of land in the town of New Utrecht, Kings county, on the easterly side of the Narrows, at the entrance into the bay of New York, and upon a reef called Hendrick's reef, described as follows: Beginning at the northerly corner thereof, by land of Denyse D. Denyse, at high-water mark, and near the southeasterly side of a large rock, and running from thence S. 24° 30' E., 7 chains and 17 links along said high water mark to the land of Jaques Cortelyou; thence S. 64° 45' W., 24 chains to the southerly corner of the hereby granted premises; thence N. 25° 15' W., 7 chains and 17 links; thence N. 10° 30' W., 11 chains and 70 links, to the westerly corner of the hereby granted premises; thence S. 86° E., 24 chains to the place of beginning, containing 30 acres, 2 roods and 4 perches; all which courses and bearings are taken as the magnetic needle pointed November 6, 1812, acquired for the defense and safety of the city of New York.
The free and common passage over the waters aforesaid about the said tract, not actually appropriated by the United States for wharves, bridges, fortifications or public obstructions, is reserved to the people of this state.
Last modified: February 3, 2019