The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-12-31
TAMMANY'S LAST TAX REYEL.
ONE TO FIVE MILLIONS, BRONX
ASSESSMENTS, TAKEN OFF

And saddled on the City Circuit Fought
or sftliions More-Board Of Public
Improvement Dies In Character Tart
Retort to Its vaIedictory speeches.
According TO Comptroller eloct circuit
81. O00,0 O0 Of assessments-according TO
lawyers interested, nearer 5000, 0o0-were
taken OF property In The Bronx yesterday
In a final scramble before the Board OF
Public improvements and saddled on the
city. The action IL fnal. The board.
which dies Tomorrow and was holding its
last meeting. was at II three hours.
In many instances the property holders
asked that the city should assume the en-
tire cost Of the opening Of new streets while
In other cases reductions OF 30 and 10 per
cent. were asked for. That the petitioners
didn't get all they asked for was due for
the most part to the continuous fight put
up by Mr.. Grout. To almost every motion
made by the Tammany members favoring
the pleas OF the horde OF attorneys who
were there Mr.. Grout interposed an amend
ment, but the most he was able 10 do was
10 cut down reductions to rs per cent.
Once Mr.. Grout said that all the lawyers
present seemed to represent nobody out
side Of The Bronx whereupon President
Holahan exclaimed: We'll, II you had some
lawyers in Brooklyn I've no doubt they'd
do the same thing"
Il would like to assume said Mr.. Grout,
sin view Of what is being done here that we
ave at least some lawyers In Brooklyn
who know something about injunctions.-
On behalf OF the property owners inter-
ested In the opening Of Crotona Park ave.
ma Gapa,nr Zoe, xol - ,..o 49,. al.
city should assume all the cost. He got a
reduction of IS per cent. On the opening OF
Fordham road bet ween iseth street and
kingsbridge road President Coogan moved
that the city take over so per cent. Of the
cost. Mr., Grout got that cut down to rs
per cent. John C.. Shaw. who announced
that no appeared for the Aston estate.
asked that rs per cent. be taken on the
assessment for Morris avenue between
Third Avenue Bridge and Crotona Park.
An individual owner appealed to ha re so
per cent. taken of. President yiafYen was
anxious TO oblige him. but Mr.. circuit kept
the reduction down to rs per cent. Law
yer j. Flannery in seeking to nave the
assessment removed from Belmont place,
from Third avenue to Arthur avenue, said
almost the entire expense would fall upon
the Home for Incurables. Mr.. Grout laid
that 1t had always been the policy that such
institutions should bear a part OF the ex-
penses for the improvement Of the prop
erty owned by them.
That's all very WELL i~nterposed
COMMISSIONS Shea, but IL what you say
is true there will shortly be a law passed
by the Legislature exempting these insti-
tutions from assessment"
That cannot he DONE" Mr.. Grout replied,
"a Constitutional amendment forbids it
Mr.. CIRCUIT pointed out that for every
dollar voted to the Home for Incurables
the surrounding property owners would
benefit 81. But the Board voted to take
70 per cent. of the Belmont place assess
ment.
Some Of the other reductions passed were: |
Clay avenue, IS per cent; Randall avenue, |
rs per cent; Quarry road, two-thirds Of;
Whitlock avenue. Is per cents Is7d street, |
between Arthur avenue and Boston road,
one-third Of: Tiffany street. IS per cent;
extension Of fremont avenue 10 West
avenue, rs per cent.
An effort was made by representatives
OF the property owners Of Elm street TO
have the assessments levied for the widening
Of that ~thorouehfare modified but the
refused 10 entertain that PROPOSE
ton.
Mr.. Circuit sought TO cancel the adoption
on Dec. - of the map wherein certain land
in the Thirtieth and T~hirty-frst wards
Of Brooklyn was marked out for acquisi-
ton by the Water Department. He said
was illegal, but his motion was defeated
The President, Holahan. rose and mLde
a long and emotional valedictory speech.
He said that If he and the Board had made
mistakes they were mistakes OF Judgment
not of design. He wished the incoming
administration success. Some Of the other
members talked about the good will they
TOW ard their political opponents.
They looked at Mr. Grout ~ they talked.
Mr. CIRCUIT got up and said that while he
20 remain on friendly terms with
.he retiring officials he must admit that
I he'd been due 10 him that the revised
'Larter had abolished the Board lie
added that ho thought the body ar an
unnecessary one and had therefore adyo-
~ cAtiuctiOu