New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-07
COURT CHECKS GRABBERS.
INJUNCTION GRANTED AGAINST THE
THIRD AVENUE COMPANY.


CORPORATION HAS NOT SECURED THE
REQUISITE CONSENTS ACCORD
ING TO STATUTE.
Thousands Of people who live or own prop
erty on the West Side. and are Interested In the
fight against four trolley tracks in Amsterdam
ave, will be encouraged by the action Of Justice
Scott Of the Supreme Court, who yesterday
granted an Injunction to restrain the Forty
second Street ManhattanVille and st. Nicholas
Avenue Railway Company operated by the
Third Avenue Railroad Company. from laying
two additional trolley tracks in Amsterdam
ave- between Seventy -frst-st. and Manhattan
St The two trolley tracks in the avenue now are
operated by the Metropolitan Street Railway
Company, and are in the middle of the avenue
The Third Avenue Railroad Company was about
to begin the construction Of two outside trolley
tracks in the avenue when the Society for the
Relief OF the Destitute Blind and the st. MI
chael's Protestant Episcopal Church applied for
injunctions TO restrain the company from going
with its work. The grounds upon which the
injunctions were asked for were that the change
of motive power for the two additional tracks in
the avenue would endanger life and limb, and
that the necessary consents Of property owners
along the line of the road had not been OBJ
tanned.
Justice Scott in the decision which he handed
down yesterday went at length into the ques-
ton as to whether the company had complied
with the law as TO the consents Of property
owners along the line and says. in part:
The defendant in the present presents 2
number OF consents of property-owners which
have been critically examined by the plaintins.
suiciency they impeach, giving in each instance
the ground Of Impeachment. They also submit
under OATH an apparently carefully prepared series
Of computations. which, il accurate seem TO demon
strait that the requisite consents have not been
II appears that the total number Of linear feet on
both sides Of the avenue from FortyIsecond-st, 10
under the construction OF the railroad law in
sisted on by the d lo it. must have the
processes to have received. and has submitted ior
Ing to represent lSA5S-2 linear feet, showing an
apparent surplus of consents In favor of change
1t appears. however. that many Of these consents
do not comply with the statute and are for one
cases the consents are conditioned upon their be-
ng hut one OF tracks in the avenue; in others
the consents are signed by persons VINO, az me
dates of the executions thereof, were not the
Of record OF the property referred to there
In i'm others the persons signing were mercy par
owners of the property either as joint tenants or
tenants in common in others me consents % S
name although the record title stood in certain
consents were signed by persons Gaming 10 nc, az
attorneys in fact for the owners. although no power
Of attorney was produced authorlZins SUI sxsIi
turc: in Others the were signed by eXccu-
! tors Of estates under wills apparently conterrlhS
no authority sign such consents and IN yet other
| cases various apparently sufficient reasons appear
for impoachng the consents. In all, the paintin S
specified consents representing 4526 6-l2 linear eet
which they allege TO be Invalid and as to eacn OF
which they point out the ground Of objections
II all the consents thus impcached are 10 ne
thrown out instead Of having surplus OF l5lo ~
linear feet the defendants would be coniront o.,
with a deficiency Of 3008 ZIP linear feet me am
davjt containing the foregoing specifications OF in,
validity was served upon defendants attorney and
/ full opportunity given 70 reply
In conclusion Justice Scott says
/ have not deemed It necessary TO examine the
evidence as 10 the suflcenCy Of the consents upon
Inc ha sis Of the ratio Of the value Of the properly
represented thereby the value OF all the properly
/ IN tho avenue. nor do | express any opinion upon
/ the question raised and urged with much 1orce AZ
IA whether or not the defendant has any right 10
! be upon the avenue at all ., -