§ 260. Cutting and harvesting ice by adjoining proprietors. Whenever
the owner or lessee of lands bordering upon the Hudson river shall
require the ice formed in said river between the center thereof and said
lands for the purpose of filling any icehouse now erected, or which may
at the time of the formation of such ice hereafter be erected on any
such lands adjoining the same, such owner or lessee of said lands and
icehouses shall have the exclusive privilege of cutting and harvesting
all the ice so formed in said river in front of and adjacent to said
lands and between the same and the center of said river; provided such
owner or lessee shall have indicated his intention of exercising such
privilege by staking out so much of said ice as shall be required for
said purpose, which said staking out shall not be required to be done
until the ice has attained a thickness of four inches; and provided,
also, such owner or lessee shall surround the cuttings and openings made
with fences of bushes or other safeguards to warn all persons of such
cuttings and openings. And, whenever any icehouse is located on an
island in said river, this article shall apply to all ice formed
opposite the shores of such island in both channels into which said
river shall be divided by such island, subject to the provision
hereinafter contained; and it shall not be lawful for any person other
than the owner or lessee of such lands and icehouses, whether located on
the banks of the river or on such island, to take possession of or cut
the ice so staked out in said river or channel between the center
thereof and his lands, and the same is prohibited after such owner or
lessee shall have complied with the foregoing requirements.