New-York tribune., 1898-01-29
TNSEEHIY DISPUTE O| Eh A BODf'
KILLING OF MAN NEAR FLORAL PAkh
LEADS TO A QUARREL BETWEEN
RIVAL CORONERS

The instant killing OF Herman Zensky' a couh'iS
merchant living in Little Neck. Long lsahn. al
the Floral Park crossing on the Long isahd ha'i-
road last night at about o'clock was followed two
hours later. by unseemiy dispute between Coro-
ners over the possession Of the mans oody' IN
order to help out one OF the Coroners, the engineer
OF a Long Island Railroad locomotive ran his en-
gine TO the place Of the accident and had the booy
lifted the locomotive and carried n1ty leet
over the line and handed 1t over to Leonard RuoH
the Queens Borough Coroner, who carried II away
despite the protests Of half a hundred angry ao-
herents Of Coroner Smith, Of lnwood.
Zensky prosperous travelling shoe-deaIer'
about forty-hve years od, and on his way
home to Little Neck. whore ne had wife and
family He was driving across the tracks west Of
Floral Park station. The tracks at this point are
unprotected Zensky on the track when a
through express going east. struck him. killing him
almost instantly. killing the horse and demolish-
ing the wagon. the contents Of which were scat
tered along the track for a hundred feet
A crowd soon gathered The train entered tho
station. and the trainmen informed headquarters
OF the accident Word was sent from Long Island
City TO Leonard Ruoff. at Ozone Park, to take
charge of the body. He sent Gustave Hoffman TO
remove the body. Hoffman drove rapidly over the
eight miles and reached the place little after 5
o'clock. When he told the people at the crossing
that he wanted to take the body to Ozone Park
there was an angry protest from several men in
the group Of spectators, friends OF Coroner Smith,
of Inwood who declared that the body should not
be removed, as the accident took place just inside
the boundary of Coroner Smiths district.
The boundary line marking the jurisdiction OF
the two Coroners is the one which separates that
part OF Queens County which lies in New \ ork
City from the eastern part OF the county Accord,
ing TO the map Of Coroner RUof. the railroad
tracks at this point two hundred feet inside
the Borough of Queens. and Coroner smith says
that the tracks of the railroad nifty feet inside
his official territory.
When the trainmcn found that the crowd would
allow Hoffman to take Zenskys body. they tele-
gra aphed for instructions 10 Long Island city. In
few minutes the engineer OF the train jumped INFO
his ca b. and the engine moved down close to where
the dead shoe-dealer lying the frozen ground
alongside the track Six trainmen walked up TO
the body brushing the bysanders to one side lifted
it onto the pilot. and then the engine was backed
fifty feet 10 where the wagon OF HOFFMAN was
There's the body" said the engineer, grmly, 10
Hoffman Now take 1t. and dust out OF this In a
hurry. We've been squabbling over this matter
for an hour and half, and We won't stand 1t any
longer" .
Honman was driving away with the dead man
when a wagon driven by Coroner Smiths hired
man drove up with galloping horse.
We'll settle this thing in the courts said Cor
oner Smith last night when asked about II.