The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-05-21
BROOKLYN THE HOME CITY.
RE1rARKABLE real ESTATE DEUEL.
oPMENT NOW IN PROGRESS.

ans ITOIIey bynte" MAJ brOukht All y
ofths Borough within Thirty.ave Minutes
of the City Hall in Manhattan and Brook
Ign IL Drawing People from Every Town
in tho metropolitan District-<,0oO New
Houses Under Construction and Hun
dreds of Acros of Farm Lands Arc Being
Cut Up Into City Building Lots-New
"Towns' sprinRinE Up Like Mushrooms.
New York In growing Brooklynward at n
marvellous pace. Brooklyn borough Is al
ready the borough OF homes. II It's present
progress continues II soon will be the bor-
ough Of homes OF the country. II 1t has
not already attained that position. It Is
safe to say that Philadelphia. the city OF
homes. Is already outstripped. and that
Brooklyn contains more individual! homes
than that city famed for is homes; and
II is growing 80 fast that even the confirmed
Brooklynites accustomed to exaggerate the
beauty and the size OF the borough do not
make their stories big enough. and are guilty
OF belittlinR things. At the present moment
there are more than four thousand residences
In course OF construction in the new part Of the
city. This does not include the ordinary build
inps OF a big city. II does not include fiat
houses or stores. and II does not include hun
dreds OF private residences that are going up
in the old city. These four thousand dwell
lnRB VIII 6dCD. WnbH COElp loLtu, bC III nun
vidual home. the home Of one family. They
are being built on the edge OF the old city.
The borough Of Brooklyn is drawing new
people from every borough and every town In
the metropolitan district she Ia drawing from
the borouRhs OF Manhattan and the Bronx.
The districts north Of the city. lonkers. New
Rochelle and a score OF towns like them. are
feeling her growth. She is drawing from Jer-
sey City and Newark and Hoboken. from Pater-
md Pa aaaic and the multitude Of towns In
New Jersey near the city. II is predicted that
the census. which will soon be taken. will show
that the growth OF Brooklyn as II home city In
the last two or three years ia phenomenal. This
story Is in nowise a boom for Brooklyn. 1tsa
plain statement OF fact which an investment OF
five cents on a trolley car will abundantly prove
10 not overdrawn. and II things 60 on as they
are going now 1t will not be- many years before
the visitor to New York will be told when he
remarks OF the wonders Of the city. Here's
where they work and there" pointing across
the big bridge. is where they live"
In general outline Brooklyn Is a great fan.
The big bridge is the handle. and starting at
the other side she spreads out in every direc-
ton. II she were built long and narrow. like
Manhattan. already she would reach out half
the length OF Long Island: but rounded as she
Ia. all parts OF the borough are In easy reach.
That probably. more than anything else. 10 tho
explanation OF her present popularity and her
present growth. Every part OF the borough
is within An hours ride Of the Man
haitian end Of the bridge. and It costs
only nve cents to get there. Nearly all
OF her territory is within thirty minutes
ride OF the Manhattan end Of the bridge. The
outskirts Of the old city. where the thousands
OF new houses are building. are all OF them
within thirty-hve minutes Of the Manhattan
end Of the bridge. and between these outskirts
and the limits Of the borough there are hum
dreds OF aeres Of land now practically vacant
which are fast going into the hands OF the
real estate syndicates that are taking q large
part in the development Of the new city.
1t is within the memory Of boys and girls
now In school whom miles Of the present city. In
any direction you care to point. were devoted
exclusively to truck farming. as is the great
territory between the city's outskirts and the
sity's limits now. The region was one OF the
great trucking districts Of the country. A large
part Of the fresh vegetables that came to New
York's big markets came from what is now q
thickly populated part of the borough Of Brook
lyn. Truck farming paid handsomely. These
farms had been handed down from generation
TO generation for 100 to 200 years. In many
Instances the title had never passed out OF q
single family. and ten years ago the generation
In possession probably thought it never would.
fit thought about 1t at all. for the growth OF
the city at that time was in one or two direc-
lions only.
The present development OF Brooklyn might
be said to be the history OF the trolley system
that provides the means Of transit for the peo-
pie to and from their homes. The trolley
roads. the Brooklyn City. the Brooklyn
Heights. the Nassau Company. the Brooklyn.
Queens and Suburban. now all the Brooklyn
Rapid Transit. and the De Kalb avenue and tho
Smith street lines. the only indeDendent COM
pany In the city. have made the city Of Brook
lyn what 1t Is. They are to-day making 1t the
city OF homes OF the nation. They alone are
responsible for the present development, and
to them the people who are finding comfort
able homes there for little money. no lose than
the original owner OF the land, are indebted.
The business OF the trolley companies has been
to enrich the city by making available for
homes districts that we're inaccessible and that
promised to remain 80.
Don't let anybody run away with the idea
that the trolley roads were run by philanthro-
pists. Probably there was nothing further
from the thoughts Of the wise men who built
the roads and managed them than philan
thropy. They were shrewd. hard headed busi-
ness men with money to invest. idle money on
which they wanted interest. They were after
cash for cash. Roswell P. Flower. whose death
the other day was considered the hardest
blow that Brooklyn Rapid Transit had ever
received; Anthony n. Brady. the Standard
Oil company and men OF that STAMP
saw in the development Of the trolley
roads the development Of the city and
with tho development OF the city the
return OF the money they invested with heavy
interest. 1t was no speculation with them. II
was the history OF railroads that any roaC
along the line Of which there was an average
increase OF population Of ten per cent. In
year was bound to pay. There had been the
necessary increase along the limos OF the ole
roads in Brooklyn. They had not paid Thes,
men saw that it was because OF the unnecessa
rlly expensive management. They alsC
Jaw that in the development OF tn,
metropolis Of the nation homes for tn,
people convenient TO the business centr'
were absolutely necessary. On the west sid
the river was a stumbling block. JerseI
could take care OF some. but was not con
venient enough for even a large proportion
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