The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-10-08
A CURIOUS AUCTION
Sale Of Property for Delin-
quent Assessments.
AN INTERESTING LIST.
1t. PatriCkS Cathedral Grounds Under the
Hammer.

ments under the direction oil Comptroler Gfech, was
renewed in the chamber of the Superior Court yester
day at noon, A. S. Cady Clerk OF Arrears acting
auctoneer. The attendance quite numerous, but
the principal speculative purchases confined to
about half a dozen individuals Many single pieces of
property bid for by the owners with the object
is to be inferred OF acquiring better title than they
had been holding, to extension of lease;
otherwise they had simply to go to the Comptrollers
Office pay the due and have their property
relieved OF encumbrance.
The sales Of lands and tenements will go on for an
other week. until all disposed that are now entered
the delinquent lists These lists embrace
all kinds of lands and tenements from wretched lot
among the Harlem flats covered with an equally
wretched shanty, to the pre- udes dwellings Fifth
nue. The amounts range all the way from 81 10 to
$1,000 and the dates of from 1861 to 1871
Pho Corporation is tho principal purchaser at these
sales, buying the property in trust for the owners.
The small that people neglect to pay for many
years make a remarkable feature Of the lists The
sessments levied chiefly for paving and tagging
streets and sidewalks Those in attendance at the sale
were each provided with book containing the formid
able number of hundred large printed pages lands
and tcnements condemned for sale. As the auctioneer
ratified over page after page they kept their eyes
the numbers and followed him sharply. The rivalry
between bidders was only twice very close.
The auctioneer started where he left off the first day.
nj number lOO and succeeded in reaching number 500
in about hours time. He has 600 pieces of prop
erty yet to dispose of and will probably take the whole
of next week before he finishes his labors. In the
meantime large number of people hurryng to the
Comptrollers Office to pay their assessments and
further expenses.
METHOD THE SALES
The act under which these sales made legal de-
clares that default of the payment OF assessments
levied and confirmed, the property shall be sold at
ton for the lowest term of years at which any person
shall offer to take the in consideration ofadvancng
the amount of the assessment due and unpaid and the
interest thereon to the time of SALE together with the
charges for notice and advertisement and all other
crued costs and charges To understand this properly
few words of explanation may be necessary. At these
sales time is substituted for money The auctioneers
clerk calls out the number of the piece of propertythe
numbers running seratim in the present list of
ments from No. to No SOFA person in the audience
cries out "a thousand years." which is the
lowest bid. If the property be good and
The conditions surrounding it favorable to the
chance OF the purchaser finally becoming the the
competition may be lively and proceed in this fashion,
1900 years." 1900" $780," 400 !" 49," $50" '4on
$780," 100, - '10n These were the precise bids when
the auctioneer reached No 391, property Eighty
FIRST street. betweers Eighth and Ninth avenues en-
tered in the of Mrs Mary Connolly wife OF the
exComptroer and debt to the city 1902 since April
", 1871. The purchaser holds the property for two
years the city in the meantime notifying the of
Its sale AT the expiration Of that time the purchaser
notifies tho that if he fails to pay the expenses
incurred within six months 1t will pass from his hands,
the city will then grant absolute lease the
holder The original owner has thus two years and
half in which TO redeem his property. To do this he
must pay, along with the costs incurred fourteen per
gent TO the holder AS matter of speculation It pays
TO put money in these sales of condemned lands and
tcnements, seeing that 1t IS impossible TO
lose and that the least resulting profit will be fourteen
per cent A host Of well known figure on tho
lists, but it safe to that at least twothrds
names that have been allowed to stand the records
though the property may have passed INTO other hands
DISTINGUISHED DELINQUENTS.
Such names as T. Lorillard, G. T. Southmayd, Dur
zee Son, William 7. Blodgeit, F. B. Cutting, W. H.
Dikeman L. Suydam, William b. Asor, D. Butterneld
J. w. Beekman, W. II. Vanderbilt, r. b. Minturn, W.
II. Wickham Foster Brothers and other well known
people figure among the denquents, without perhaps
being conscious OF the fact that they the city
down in different places The New York and Hudson
Railroad down for So 900 for trap block paving
of various streets in the neighborhood of the Grand
Central depot sewering appears to be the work
that calls for the. heaviest assessment Several
cemeteries marked down debtors. The Jewish
Cemetery at Eighty ninth street and Fourth avenue
grading Eighty ninth street of 500 49, or somebody
may buy it in on lease of 1000 years The Roman
Catholic Cemetery First avenue, Twelfth street.
runs the same risk, OWING to an unsettled account of
$50 The Corporation itself is in debt $456 for some
sewerng done at Seventy fourth street and Fourth
avenue, and has other sums recorded against 1t in
different localities. Columbia College, Rutgers Inst
tute, Union Theological Seminary and various banks
and gas companies are among the recacitrant tax
payers The word unknown" occurs at frequent
intervals through the lists vast deal of property
appears to have no recognized owner which is strange
reflection considering the value Of real estate Man
haitian Island The regular and principal purchasers
yesterday-men who make business of investing in
these sales-were Messrs Hoyt Ogden Frazer, Good
rich, Howenstein, Kumersy, Ely and Mahony.
Az INTERESTING STUDY
The assessment lists quite interesting study
Here is the of ex-Coector Thomas Murphy down
in couple OF places for small sums of money due on
for trap block paving Madison avenue
between Forty second and Eighty-sixth streets. The
property is bought for thousand years lease and
MIA plnT ylf nr1aI Nv 4lNr ullA
property valuable to be trited with in this way but
there is easy explanation at hand Mr.. Murphy
might have sold the property to persons who allowed 1t
to stand in his name and tho may be inferred of
property ascribed to William b. Aston and other heavy
holders of real estate. One John &een has not paid
the assessment on his property since March S 1861 II
lies between Fourth and Fifth avenues Eightysixth
street. yet the amount down to him only So AZ
but at twelve per for fourteen years together
with the attendant COSTS John Green will find his ac
COUNT not SO small as II seems. A great deal
OF hne property is charged with Tldcuousiy trilng
sums and though advertised from year TO year, the
owners persist in Withholding payment until they are
finally sold to specuator who insists on having
fourteen per cent the purchase money before yield
ing the property. Churches schools, asylums charit
able societies are prominent denquents in the assess
ment lists, They not liable taxes and many Of
them may have the impression that they equally
Yesterday the block adjacent and belonging to ST.
Patrick's Cathedral, at Finy1rst street and Fourth
avenue, was purchased on prospective lease of
1000 years, in default Of the payment 1856 so for
assessments incurred in regulating, grading curbing
gutterng and tagging Fifty first street from Fourth
tied Catholic notified the auctioneer that he should
lqudatc the debt at once.
The Haman pavement involved the highest assess.
ments The stowe foundation another expensive
luxury and the Nicholson not behindhand In roll
ing up good round sums against the property OF the
we'll bed taxpayers. The McGonegal patent pavement
appears have been the most reasonable of any, for
find the property OF Mr. Samuel Grample, OF Waver-
ley place IS only assessed account OF in the small
Of 81 10, which Is the smallest assessment in tho
entire lists The Dutch church. at Sixtyeghth street,
is delinquent to the tune Of $3.50 The Sisters OF Mercy
on Eighty-nrst street. between Madison and Fourth
avenues arc in debt to the city, their unpaid
70 November o. 1871, amounting to SOTO 16.
The Magdalcn Asylum is eight years thinking
IN harlem is equally long about qudatng its debt Of
$l4 TO- ST. Thomas church, Filtythird street. where
aweathy congregation assemblies every Sabbath VIII
hovo tnp harnr 4