The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-03
FENCING ii HIS TENANTS.
WIEN THEY ARE SURROUNDED
Mr.. WYGANT WILL ACT.

Rival Claimant OF the Lad u DOinG
the FenclnE and Mr. WyEant WI Let
Him, but He stands Ready v ChBp .
Passage Through for Ftis Tenant
On Saturday ~ venteen men, hois digEoFs,
post sotters, carpenters and q foreman,
erected q quarter Of mile Of cheap feno.
ing on Staten Island. and with the aid Of
others will erect more than . mils to-day.
II the work IL oompheted tbs fence Wtu
enclose about seven acres Of land on which
are dozen tanAntsd houses and on part
OF which u q portion OF q water supply
system operated by q private corporation
for public service. Tho fence has been
erected 90 far under police protection. An
effort may be made this morning 10 tear
down a part Of It.
Tho fenoe Il being erected beoauhs there
is dispute az TO who owns the propsrty.
The land in dispute Ice between Columbia
street. Richmond Terrace and Je wstt ave-
nue., Staten Island. II used 20 IL partly
In the village Of Port Richmond and partly
in the town Of Castleton until those places
were wiped out by oonso lidaton.
John Bodine bought the property n iS01
from Ale xander MoComb, ybose titb ran
back TO the days OF royal gTAnts. hr.
Bodine died years ago and the property
was not very valua be until recently, but
! having greater possibilities was allowed 70
| lie practically idls. Tho Bodine heirs did
not use Il but apptar 70 h&ye leaSsd =
the North Shore villages With water.
About twenty years ago Melville Wygant
| settled on one section Of tho property,
erected buildings and lived there and also
| did a livery business there. He more ~
| Gently erected the dozen houses which are
hniBn IL al
| Golden City, because he found, or said be
! did, lot Of old gold on the site Just when
! Wygant settled on the property IL . die
! puted point. Wygant claims Il was some
| weeks more than twenty yearp ago, and
that by adverse possession be is now the
| owner Of the property. The Bodine heirs
assert, through William AllAire Short, their
! counsel, that Il can be shown 10 a day when
/ Wygant squatted on the land and that y
was but nineteen yeare, nine months AND
/ some days from that day until they sought
! repossession. That would leave almost three
months 10 60, William u, Mullen. who
! represents WyRant, says the three months
| leeway lie In favor Of his client, and that IL
was in the fall WygAnt took possession,
and that the twenty year, expired sons
| weeks ago.
The fence erected on Saturday was on
! the Jewett avenue side, and to-day the
| work will be continued along that avenue
! and down along Richmond terrace an d
! into Columbia street Mr.. Mullen Gays
that when the houses on the property are
! cut Cd by the fence he will have men CHOP
down part Of the fence 90 that the tenants
Of his client may have access 10 the street.
Other wise his client will not inteTfere with
the erection. He thanks his neighbors
for being so kind as 20 fence in the prop
erty for him II will save him trouble and
expense.
Mr.. Short says any one touching the fence
will be arrested. He also proposes TO take
legal steps 10 Dust Wygant and what Mr..
Short terms the rest Of the treapaSserB