New-York tribune., 1886-03-06
ASKING FOR FIVE MILLIONS.
rxTpAvAGAST CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY
PELHAM BAY PRoPERTY-owNERs PUTTING ENoh-
NOUS PlICES on THEIR LANDS.


NJ, 81, ,hs sur,emc Court under the Act OF JuDe 1881
% s,imate the value OF thj lands for the new PARKS Ill
tbe annexed district lave beeh III >oSslOh eNcl! WV" "
van, and have yet conI ieted tue teSumon! 0'0"
o., te frat a. the proposed parks The COnnlsSoh'rS
orc Intber r. Marsh. George W. Qunard and j. seGver
paoe and they have found the task committed 10 h"ir
charge iar more heavy than they expected Al tneif
,nc,tinc Yesterday In their 0fcos in toe Lonao'
Liverpool and Globe Bniidng. the case Tor the prop I'
owners at Pelham Bay closed and the CofPofa''o
Counsel began utrolace evidence FOR the city Co"
missioner Marsh zeal0rs friend OF tue ho" pam
LEGISLATION and wrote aud talked and worked ior IT, no
believed tha. the total cost would be about $SOooooo
But IL tue claims OF Pelham Bay property ho'oH
furnish any criterion OF thOs, be made by tho owners
of tho land in the other six parks they Will cost the CITY
$20,00oO00. ,,,
rbe net undcr which the Commissioners are proceeding
pnts no limit on the amount 10 be spent Ill luo P"
The Commissioners are empowered to take the testimony
and desle values ani from their deciSlohs "plo"' i'
be made to the Supreme Court Eaeh NCui'"i''ioaa
will receye So 500 for his services Tue phNs conP9'
3SO7 acres OF land in Westchts'er county ING "so'
il the Pelham Bay Park OF LOO actes' Tue o'"o! % w
the Van Cortiandt OF 1069 acros the brohA VI Oo'
acres the Moshon OF so acres the Crotona OF 3o acres
tho Claremont of 80 acres, and the St. Marys OF 80
acres and three rark ways OF los acres Is pro'"o9
true that these lands nc bought more cheapy now
than at auy time; but the scheme hlt Is careH
through will require the outlay OF vast gums OF money
and will entail load Of taxation on popeIF-"oiuo's
In the eity The promoters OF this elaborate plan made
a Great many promises which unfortunately are not
beirc fuIned They said that the owners OF the pro
ro>el mark lands, apprecating the fact that their
nro erty would greatly increase In value as result ol
the parks, would consent TO take reasonaoIy s'nal
priccs But as matter OF fact every owner OF property
so far as evidence has gone seems 10 thhK a' 'o
one chanca OF his life to got rich has come ana ha 80
long as the city is TO bs the purchaser ne can ASK as
hays
ucturesque so high above the waterl level 50 full OF
meadows hills rocks glens and handsome trees so 'ur
nshed with and entrancng retreats that
no additional work would be require to lay them out
and beauiiy them And yet the sold and unimazhaoVe
engineer tells dig-rent story. He reports now he had
10 mase surveys when up to lis waist in marshahls;
how for distances ranging from twenty to threo
hundred feet back almost the whole shore boundary
OF Pelham Park the salt arshes extend; now oroau
areas are covered with wet woods, weeds and uhuet-
brush all of which territory will require hilg np'
cerarg of aud artistic landscape gardening before the
alar, has been scared away and Pelham Bay Park can
become safe and Interesting place fOi recreation.
But despite the that this land uuDroduve and
useless to its owners in many Ilacces II has grown re-
inendousy in value since the Legislature ordered the
purchase OF park lands In fact all the proposed terr
tory is getting to be worth sums. Ever since
tie Commission been sitting lam has risen in value
and as its is scarcely quarter done ana the most
expensive properties yet to he considered there is no
estimating the probable expansion bOfore the land Is
ready for condemnation.
Franklin Bartlett represents Corporation Counsel
L,conbe before the Commissioners, and prosecuted
his inquiries into tho nents OF tue witnesses Tor the
property holders with great energy. The chief owners
OF the Barlow estate Pierre Lorard, lr, the Narshali
estate estate OF r. r. Norris H. b. Morris. Eleanor c
Morris, James Morris Estate OF Philip Schuyler James
r. Steers Ellen Ward, c. 8. Wood, 8. II. Wither6y, f.
NJ. Stevenson, Peter LoIlard, L. L. Kedt, James H.
4 Hunter,
Farm Estate of John NJ. Furman aDl :. b. Duryea'
Some of the property is improved II cOntaus thlry
seven residences several being elegant mansions and
great many Outhouses According to the estimate OF
experts who have been examined behalf OF the prop
erty-Owners the value Of these improvements alone Is
more than Mr. Marsh thought would Do required TO
purchase the entire park. He REGARDED Sl,OOOooo as
auite sufficient 81 367 969 40 is demanded for the
improvements only. MI. Bartletts eSamiuadon has
heen thorough He has sought show that 40 sucn
prices as asked Of the city could be obtained at
Irvate sale of the lands. Ills cross-exaInInston Of
witnesses developed the fact that they usually based
their e>uates what the land under inquiry had
actually brought such recent sales we're made nut
Old the price OF other property In the vicinity OF New
York aboc tho comparative derabiiy Of which there
might be more less question, and also upon the as
sumption the Pelham Bay properties may one day
be laid in plots He showed that there had boen few
OF this land III recent years, aud that most OF the
experts based their opinions on the location OF the lots
their access city, and their inereaesd worth In
view OF supposed dil not really exist He de-
yeloped the peculiar tha u the opinion OF these
witnesses marsh lands quite valuable as high
aud dry lands.
Even the corporate towns OF Westchester County from
which these lands will be taken have made an effort to
get Oney OF the city. The two towns OF Pelham
and westcheser a. erted through tHer counsel that the
aking these properties by would take from
rolls much taxable real estate, aud
oy so IN ch their revenues would be rcduced that too.
they formed paIt OF the property composing the town
already bounded, and that If they we're taken away
should be properly indie nniei in its bounded
nde,telness. This claim too much for CCmnis-
,oner Marsh He could stand up under the claims OF
private owners, but when Ahe whole towns asserted
Themselves his patience exhausted and he ruled
the towns out in hurry.
One OF the most vexatous questions that have arisen
concerns the roadways through the Iarklands. The
question through the eiort OF CHARLES H. RoOse
velt counsel for the Roosevelt Estate compel the
Commission to take not only the private properties Tut
also rOais. This OF the city wOdd prefer to
DO acd do in order properly TO control the parks.
Bnt the Commissioners after carefully studying the Act
concluded they had not the power TO take the road
ways This is regarded by themselves and by the city
authorities serious deficiency in the act. The park
authorities will hage control OF the park lands but not
the tnoroughiares through them. The towns will con
nnue to manage them and may keep them in good CON
ditiOn or not, they choose. romantic park with
water courses rocky gens, miniature forests green hills
and dales will not be complete with muddy country
roads and old plank bridges. Two railroads the Port
Chester New Haven and Hartford and the
Suburban Rapid Transit, which will soon be in opera
tion run through OF the parks but these the
city will have control. II cannot compel them TO
build bridges take any precautions at crossings.
The law will have to be amended in those particulars
Nh Bartletts address in opening the case for the city
yesterday was startling in its statements lie had pre-
pared table which showed the value glazed by each
property owner his land IN the proposed Pelham
Park, according 20 the expert testimony. The table
footed up the immense sum OF S3,Ol9, s0l ~ AS their
demand for less than LOO sbont $4,000 all
age He said IL was absurd for these people charge
the city money, and denied that the values Of
their property half the sums theY nanel.
eKnnIs itself TO lOO& into