New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-04
REYNOLDS TALKS VALUES|
Says City Can Buy 40.Acre Tract
at Island for $4,000, 900.
SUM INCLUDES DREAMLAND
A. r. Schorer Discusses Purch, sc
of Land Between Burned
Area and Seaside Park.

Ex-senator William H. Reynolds, who
dominated Dreamland said last night that
the city ought 10 get the Coney Island real
estate recently burned over for about 81
o0o.o0. He meant the entire area now COW
eted as an addition to Seaside Park. and
not only the Dreamand section. The tract,
he estimated, contained between thirty ana
forty acres. Of which fifteen or sixteen be-
longed to his enterprise The Inference, OF
course. was plain therefore thai he would
ask the city $4,000 for the land which he
controls.
mo. I'm not going 70 put any price on
the property" the former Senator said, I'M
I'll some one with authority comes along
with an idea of buying. II wouldn't ne
businesslike IN make an offer offhand. have
1t discussed in the papers and cut ana
trimmed by the public But Wen sell
cheap; I'll say that much.
The whole business for s3,ooo,ooo Is
bargain all right. let me tell YOU. why
before that area was burned the properly
on It was worth. including the lano' si''-
no zoo All this talk about the owners Try
ing to squeeze tho city Is hosh. NopooS
car hold out for 2 ridiculous price even II
he wants to. The city has only 10 CON
denim the property TO take II ana pay us
what It's worth
Condemnation would he sinP'' a'''
easy: no buildings to appraise no leases
70 compiicate the situation; only :" "'"' "
land 70 he valued and paid for.
A syndicate Of Coney Island amusement
nromotars has already bid NTW 'o'
Dreamland's real estate. an offer Mt Key
nolds has refused
Ri, A r. Schorer. secretary Of the earhs
and Fairgrounds Association. doesh ldEo'
condemnation Mr. Schorer postpoheo III,
visit 10 Coney Island, originally piahiieo
for Friday, until Yesterday lie examined
tho burned area and went over the eh'hc
prorosition with a Dreamland ofhcia'.
IT'S a big proposition" he said last nieh'
ON his return 1T would be UNDERSTANDS
for the city to acquire the Dreamland ter
ri,orv alone because other property IN the
burned tract intervenes between the
DreamIand section and Seaside Park.
..It would he highly unsatisfactory 10
split the city property up into disco'''e0'eo
norceIs So there are other property own
ers 10 confer with. and the atractiVehesS
Of the proposition will depend as mueh OF
their attitude as 20 terms as 1t VIII on 'ne
offer which Dreamland finally makes
The alternative presented Of condemn
ing the property doesn't count very strong
IL in my mind Condemnation has AWAY
proved unsatisfactory. But the farKs anu
Fairgrounds Association Is gong 10 IN
vestigatc the whole matter very thorous" IL
Is before taking action.
Senator Reynolds was asked last nlSh'
about the closing OF West 9Th street from
surf av.nue to the sea by the city In 1903
Tho street" said he, was never Legally
ono,od bv either the town OF Gravesend
or the city of New York. No awards were
ever made to the property owners on eithe'
side whose land was taken. and no assess
ments were ever levied on them Tor I'M
provement The street was never paVeu
mr. curbed, and the old Coney Island pier
which We bought was built right In the
c.ptr. Of H. As matter OF fact the
street only existed on the citys map ano
the city possessed only public easement
| in H."
"Eov ~ this street had heen allowed t'
di,,ide our property we could have had only
two small parks instead ~ one great DIE
one II was 10 eNffN '''f > a a.
,be street and TO improve the property ane
tho tone OF the place as II was improves
| We agreed to pay the city for any easemen
rights il had a commission was appointed
which hold hearings and finally recomIned
| ed the closing. The proceedings were Ell
tirelv legal and above hoard.
..Ru, what about the charge that Dream
land used unmetred city water TO MI III
/ shoot the chutes' pond" Ia,
"Dreamland never USED plt Oh ci.'
| liar /, didn't nay for the former Sen
ator replied We paid the city. S,n' q
wear for is water. The water In the shoo'
| Tho chutes pond was salt water and al
our canals were supplied from H.