The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-03
REAL ESTATE.
THE NEW WARDS OF THE CITY
Char acter Of New York's Past Growth and the
Lesson It Teachss-Topographical Feature,
Of tho Newly Acquired District-what
Has Been and Il Being Done for Its
Improvement-An Active Inquiry.

The accuracy Of recent analyses in this colum n
lof the situation in respect to real estate Is being
proved each day as the year advances to the spring
season Of activity in the large inquiry that prevails
m the direction Of the newly annexed district. II
As trlre observation that history repeats ITSELF
but 1t Is really curious as well instructive to OBJ
serve, and may commend itself to the considera
stion of our worthy Chief Magistrate Of this great
municipality, tnat this annexatio IL but the Sc.
quence OF principle In our city's growth, whence
derived 1t would be dincult to say, but which hai
been so marked a feature OF our development that
attention has been more than once called to IL IN
der this head. And thati its
SPORADIC SETTLEMENT.
Thus while the young community Of New Am
Hterdam, and later New York, was still nursing
the germ OF commercial activity that was to make
Manhattan Island the great emporium OF trade
for new continent. the restless members OF that
community, themselves fOrecasting its inevitable
destiny, were at intervals ignoring Its built up
boundaries around the southern end OF the island
and colonzng in different localities north and east
ana west Of the island, more or less removed
from the ancient settlement. In this way do We
ind the various titles that distinguish portions Of
our most thickiy peopied wards. Thus have we
Greenwich Village. an old suburb, seDarated from
the early municipal control by a meadow, pond
and meandering stream, where is now Canal
street. that might have seemed to the Dutch Chief
Magistrate OF that day as natural boundary to
the young city's limits as do the Harlem mats
and river to his worthy successor in the Mayors
chair to-day. But the meadow Ia 0bliterated, the
pond flied up and the gentle stream dried at Its
source and over all there surges daily the trafdc
end travel of great CITY, The worthy Mynheer,
who wonid have then opposed the annexation Of
Greenwich Village. is long since gathered to his
fathers, and Greenwich Village is no more. swal-
lowed up in the vortex of mighty Hood OF popu-
lattcn, proof Of how even
DUTCH sAGACITY,
with the best intentions in the world, may err.
80. too, have disappeared YorkvIe and Manhat-
tanvile, Harlem and Carmansville, and, more re-
Gently, Morrisanla and West Farms, with dozen
minor local divisions. Truly this is manifest
destiny In respect to the more recent acquisition
TO the territorial limits OF the city, while it
does not wipe out the Harlem River, as the carrier
atream that used to meander through Canal street
was wiped out renders Its navigability from the
Hudson River to the Sound q foregone conclusion.
The annexed district Is a remarkably pictur.
esque addition to the scenic beauty OF our great
metropolis presenting bold outline OF ragged pre-
Capitous and rocky elevations, broad table land
ana N aeys
large clty-pleasant country roads. It's
ALA0ST ENTIRELY BOUNDED By NAvIGABLE WATERS
sonth By the Harlem River and on the west by
the the, Hudson sI gentle stream. known AZ the
the s the
that stream to the Hudson. little to the south or
The former corporate limits Of the city OF YOnKers
land. primeval forest. won to civiiizat T
largely settled with many man pi oassn Hns
ana thriving nuclei VI future populous fa1-
6oargs, such as fremont. Paramount Belmont,
Kingsbridgeyine and Others. This district has
sanee 1870 In RESPECT to the laying out OF avenues
and bouievards, the Grand Central avenue, nearly
parallel with the line o. the Croton Aqueduct ira
this the principal boulevard there Is natural
watershed, which supplies an easy drainage into
the bronx on the east, or f1bbitt's Brook, to the
Harlem River for the centre. and the Hudson
River on the west The same character of
proper or business limlts-viz, on the east BY the
Harlem and New Haven railroads and on the west
By the New YORK Central and Hudson River and
the new Boston and Montreal Railroads whereby
residents are enabled to make
A CHOICE OF COMMUNICATING LINES
as their accommodations recommend them to
patronage. rue plan observed IN the laying out Of
the new wardsehas been to conform as nearly as
1ossible to the lines OF avenues and transverse
parallel streets as previously existed In the city.
some divergence, however, IrOm this strict paral-
telegram form has been rendered necessary by the
wkioh the avenues aud streets would have to pass,
IN order to avoid the unseemiy appearance ire
quenty presented in the new portions OF New
YORK OF houses percned upon apparently fnaccess-
ihle Cliffs through which new street had just
been cut at tremendous expense for blasting, said
houses being vaguely suggestive OF later arKs
stranded on later Mount Ararats. Very considera-
ble progress has already been made In this work,
as II had i, been largely IN hand long before the
Q direct issue. 1t ls strange, IN view or the i'm
portance OF this
oUrGRowrH OF THE METROPOLIS,
certainly TO its gain, to note the opposition
which hisslight ann xatlon has provoked. How
ever, when the Mayor o. the city himself endorses
the new theory OF natural boundaries to munich
paHties there Is less for surprise. He is GER.
tainly supposed 70 represent Inc people, and it
That Is, ne represents the old iOgy element,
as his coaJrere, the Comptroller, does the
wnS New
peopled Long Island 1t has built Brooklyn. the
third city in the Union, and all the outlying towns
II has peopIed New Jersey, causing settlements to
spring up along the line Of railways IN that state
~ r. ,nooga planted oy ppuntiu soTer; and with
Of enteiprise throughout the country that is
steadily coming back in perennial stream Of
should seek to enlarge It's own boundaries, and
that, having enlarged rnem, the new territory
should quickly exhibit the same features OF restless
activity, speculative lie and rapid appreciation
which, so marked a feature of the smaller NUM-
cipality, had stimulated such
MARVELLOUS Subsidiary GROWTH
beyond the waters Of the Hudson and East rivers
1t is not therefore, too much to anticipate lively
movement in this direction tins spring. The mon
etary conditions are all favorable the present In
dcations in the matter OF inquiry and private sales
point that way, and the logic OF events so far as
may be traced, would seem TO promise 1T.
THE NEW PARADE GROUND
matter has had rather sudden and unoOked-for
denouement. Senator Gross on Thursday INTRO
duced bili into the Legislature to repeal chapter
6l8 of the Laws Of 1871, which gives the Board OF
Public Parks and the Major General of the First dl.
vision power to lay out and establish pubic square
for the use oil the FIRST DIVISION OF the National
Guard In any Iart OF the city above 155th street.
This would seem, on the lace OF II, to meet the
wishes OF the property owners in the neignbor-
hood OF the present designed Improvement Of that
ik as set forth recently IN this column, and inter-
preted by the Mayor IN his recent Message. II APP
pears, however, from representations that nave
been made to the writer that the opposition on
the part OF adjacent property owners 10 tns im-
pr0vement has been purely
IN A PICKwICKIAN SENSE
and that while 'vowlng they would ne,er consent ,n,
they not only consented, but we're anxious LOT Tue
work to 60 through. The only objection they had
was to paying Tor IT, and they thought by asking
for its dIsconrlnuance tney would get rid Oh tner
assessments and shove the liability over on the