The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-13
The REAL ESTATE MARKET

NAAA SS
BIG WEEK IN THE MIDTOWN
BUSINESS DISTRICT.
Professional Operators Bought Freely
There and in the Adjaceet Residence
Quarter-A Queer Book by he New
Jersey n. z. Exchanse-New Tax Plan.
A good deal Of business was done in
the real estate market last week. 1t
was widely distributed and affected =
variety Of property. A very large pro-
portion Of II was speculative in character
and f~oreshadows q substantial addition
to the great volume OF construction work
already under way.
The chief ecat OF brokerage activity
was in the midtown district A typical
transaction was the purchase by f. Cliff
ford Potter Of the Steinway factory
property on the east side OF Park avenue
extending from Fitty-second to Fifty
third street. When the new owner
obtains possession text year the block
will no doubt he cut up into sites for
private dwellings or elevator apartment
houses.
Park avenue is just now receiving quite
a little attention from professional oper-
ators, who argue that II will be IN the near
future one OF the most select residence
streets in town. Since the locomotive
was banished from the New York Central
tunnel a number Of costly private dwellings
have been erected in the a%venueand many
more will OF course be built there, but
it is atiil a question whether dwellings or
apartments will eventually predOninate.
Park avenue has the double advantage
to apartment builders OF being embraced
in the fashionable residence quarter and
Of being the widest thoroughfare in the
ninth street-A circumstance Of impor-
tanoe. a new apartment houses may not
exceed in height twice the width OF the
streets on which they are To front.
While the Steinway factory sale is OF
interest to the Park avenue neighbor-
large way is the fact that the Steinway
firm is abandoning the location for n
In Long Island City. where a factory
has been secured on q long lease. The
removal Of 80 large a manufacturing con-
Germ from Manhattan to a site in Queens
near the new bridge Is noteworthy. at
a time when the whole city is celebrating
the completion Of this connecting link
between the two boroughs. 1t plainly
reflects a tendency which Is to be quite
freely emphasized as time goes on-which
is, indeed. to have a marked influence
on the industrial growth Of Queens.
eo %hi1s on the ; s1S5e tSs Of ssd ,as,0r,e 9, this his
Borough Council Of Demarest may be
relevant:
At a regular meeting OF the Borough Coun-
Gil OF the Borough OF Demarest. Bergen
county. New Jersey, held on Wednesday
evening. June 0. 1900. the following reso-
luton was adopted and the secretary In
s~tructed to forward COPY Of same to the
New Jersey-New York Real Estate Ex-
change. 20 Church street, New York city:
Whereas this statement about Demarest
Ia published in the book Now jersey to
the Front issued by the New jersey-New
York Real Estate Exchange. viz. Land for
factory sites would be sold very cheap
and everything possible would be done
help along the success OF any legitimate
manufacturing enterprise that might choose
to locate there; and
Whereas the Borough Of Demarest 10
composed mainly Of the homes OF New York
business men. which homes they own and
occupy. there being no factory OF any de-
scription In the borough. not even . saloon
Therefore the authorities deny the I'm
authorized statement quoted above and they
consider such statement detrimental to the
best interests Of . place which has been
built up as a residential community of the
better class and Is being conducted by them
along such lines. And the Borough Council
respectfully requests the New Jersey
New York Real Estate Exchange to ellmi-
nate from future editions OF their book
the unauthorized statement mentioned.
The book in question is issued bv the
New Jersey-New York Real Estate Ex-
change, Of which Otto Kempner, a resi-
dent OF Brooklyn, ia president. 1t is full
Of similar and apparently equally un.
authorized Statements with regard to
other exclusive residence towns in north
ern New Jersey Ihroughopt these towns
among commuters who have bought
homes there and who do not relish his
EFFORT to promote the indiscriminate
building OF factories. One 10 at a Ions 10
see what advantages a place like Demarest
could have to offer factory owners or VIA
the motive may be IN booming II for fao-
tory purposes.
A novel plan OF arriving at an EQUITABLE
valuation OF real estate for taxation will
be tried this year by Lawson P,,rdv
president OF the Tax Department. M
Purdy has sent out diagrams showing the
street blocks and lots in given sections
70 brokers and property owpers there
with the request hat the recipients mark
on the diagrams the front foot value OF
such properties al they are familiar With
The Idea 10 TO get In this way the opin-
ions OF a large number Of experts and to
use these opinions as the basis fora stSnd.
ard Of value In every block. The plsn
Is explained In a circular which accom-
panied the diagram and which reads In
part:
In the attempt TO make a more uniform
assessment OF real estste for the purpose
OF TAXATION the Tar Department In pro-
pairing a map on which viii be shown the
value per foot front along oil streets At
the middle portion OF each side Of every
block for plots or lots that are 100 feet
deep. the hakia heinx Iots ioo fsa. A~.a