The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-09
MORE TAX APPEALS.
State Board Renders De-
Cisi0ns in Most of the
Cases Offered for
Its Consideration.
FREDERICK CoUDERT's BLUFF
His Englswood Property Rendered
Valueless to Manufacturers By
the Palisades Statute.
FREDERICK COUDERT'S BLUFF

ting in the City Hall yesterday afternoon
they listened to appeals for reduction
from the assessed valuations of various
| property located in North Hudson. Bay
onne and Bergen county. The two Com
m~issioners went through the entire list
of appeals mapped out for yesterdays
sitting. Before adjourning at ten minutes
past six o'clock they rendered decisions in
| almost every case. So thorough had been
the work and method of the Jersey City
assessors that the Commissioners. found
it necessary to dismiss nearly all of the
appeals of the Jersey City property own
ers. They even went so far as to ask the
press in their name to thank and COM
pdment the local assessors. This request
does not apply to the other assessors,
| especially to those of Bergen county.
In fact the evidence produced concern
ing the methods of assessing valuations
in Bergen county made Major Carl Lentz
mad and he openly threatened to go be-
fore the Bergen County Grand jury and
| endeavor to nave some of the assessors
of that county indicted.
William j. Morrison, of Overpeck town
ship, wanted the valuation placed upon
some of his property reduced to SO l-3 per
| cent, of it's real value in order to conform
with the valuations placed upon adjoin-
ing and similar property. The assessors
of Bergen county had made affidavit that
they had assessed property at so per cent.
of it's actual value. Mr.. Morrison's ap-
peal was laid over. The Commissioners
will examine into the matter.
John G. Ropes, one of the Bergen coun-
ty assessors, who swore that he had as
sessed eleven acres belonging to Fred
erick Coudert fronting on the Hudson
River at Englewood, at 40 per cent. of
their true value, was. asked by Major
Lentz if he was one of the assessors who
swore that the Bergen county properties
had been assessed at so per cent. of its
actual value.
Il do not think you will find my name
kamong those who thus voted" said the
assessor with some hesitation.
Mr.. Condert had appealed from the
placing of 81, 300 as the valuation of his
property. The property is located on
and below the bluff at Englewood.a He
was represented by Counsellor Lawrence,
who read a statute prohibiting the blast
ing of the Palisades, which rendered his
eleven acres practically useless to such
customers as manufacturers of steamship
companies, thus depreciating its value. 1t
is used at present as a picnic ground, with
ordinary dancing pavilions located there
on. Riparian COMMISSIONS Payne took
the stand and corroborated the state
ment of Counsellor Lawrence, and said
further that pending certain cases now
before the courts the Commission would
make no further grants. William O. Eli
son, who was present, offered $500 an acre
for the tract as a matter of speculation.
The Board reduced the valuation from
81, $50 to $1,000.
An appeal from the Institute of the
Holy Angels at Ridgefield for a reduction
from $1,000, as the valuation placed upon
certain properties belonging to that in
~stitution, was dismissed on the ground
that the taxes had been paid since the
appeal was filed, the Commissioner
claiming they had no jurisdiction in such
cases.
The Board ordered cancelled an assess
ment on $1O,O0 0 placed as the valuation Of
the roadbed and tracks of the New York
and New Jersey Railroad Company, a
branch of the Erie, in Delford borough,
by the County Board of Appeals, which
ordered the collector to make the assess
ment. The assessment was not made by
the assessor. who was present, along with
the Mayor of Delford, and both of whom
gave testimony in the case.
Mrs. Caroline Becker, of the Town of
Union, represented by her husband, APP
pealed from a valuation of $4,000 IN prop
erty located at Bergenline avenue and
Garden street, which he valued at So. 900.
He said he wanted to know if assessing
property was a matter of favor or spite.
He submitted to the State Commissioners
a list of valuations placed upon similar
properties along Bergenline avenue and
in other parts of the township. He said
Assessors Storms ran against him for
assessor at a recent election, and had
raised the valuations of his property as a
matter of spite.
Did you run against this man for As
SCISSOR in your township?' earnestly in
quired Major Lentz.
The Major, as well as both the assessor
and the appellant, is a German, and
some of the questions were asked in
their native language, so as to get at
an intelligent understanding. This. how
ever, was not one of them.
NO" replied the gray-haired assessor;
che ran against me-
The lobby laughed.
Mr.. Becker attempted to show that
similar property owned by Martin Filon
and other North Hudson celebrities was
valued at the same figures as the year
before, $6,000A The assessor declared he
had raised the valuations along Bergen
line avenue, the principal thoroughfare,
in obedience to the injunctions of the
County Board of Appeals. He claimed
tina Becker,s property was more valua-
Bile than Filon's and others. The Board
dismissed the appeal.
Walter E. Ammon, through Counsellor
Mungo G. Currie, appealed from assess
ments on two tracts of lands in Bayonne,
valued respectively at $780, $50 and IS, 100.
There is one house on each tract. The
larger tract is traversed by the Boule-
ward and Avenue B, but is otherwise I'M
developed. The tract embraces 236 lots.
The larger tract was bought from the
Provident Institution for Savings at
mortgagee's sale, last year, for $27, $50,
and the smaller tract at partition sale for
s., 500. Both were bought for speculative
purposes.
A series of appeals for reductions from
the valuations placed on similar tracts
in Bayonne were made by Counsellor De
Witt Van Buskirk, in his own behalf, and
that of Edith u. Eddy and ]. f.. Smith.
The lane is located in the very heart
of Bayonne, though ex-Judge Thomas
Noonan admitted that the land was low
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