New-York tribune., 1912-06-09
FIRST DAY OF BIG SALE.
Wan CortIandt Estate Land Sells
at Low Prices.
PROPERTY IN THE BRONX
Average a Little Better than
s1.400 for 253 Lots Dis
posed Of.

which at duNlshti was Sidl lCu III luC
,,orning on the premises by Joseph p. Day.
,sa Arst eighty lots to he sold brought
,,nn-2; or an average of about 1926 a lot.
po,h the auctionoer and j. Clarence Da-
4.s manager for the Van Cortlandt fam
"a. ssid the property was being given
.,ov-that the prices did not compare with
80 Maid at private sale for no better
,,oo,ed property right in the same section,
,o- we're they as good as the prices offered
,,- this property prior TO the sale. which
49,, estate was unable To accept. since the
,'1sart offering is under direction of the
Supreme Court
A. an auction sale yesterdays was about
.,, biggest as regards attendance seen
-, here in a good many years. There
1ror was such a crowd at any auction
,oor, sale. for the exchange could not hold
,anv When the auctioneers clerk be-
san reading the terms OF the SAFE al a lc"
ro,,utes before Il o'clock, every one of the
tvelve hundred chairs prov!dcd was TAKEN
and as many more people were stahuihs as
uero sitting. Even after that ever! SUD-
vav train arriving at the -GSth street sta
tiIu dropped of from ten TO twenty-five
more persons 50 that by 8 O'Clock II was
estimated at least 8 80 TO $500 people were
in attendance.
Practically everybody known TO real es-
,,te was there Any list Of those present
would include most of the local operators
.nd MANY well known brokers' some OF
whom, held commissions 10 bid and buy for
customers. Buyers came from everywhere
and in all sorts Of Conveyances. There were
twenty or thirty big touring cars on the
y, onertv during the sale, and twice as many
,sIor automobiles that looked as though
they might do service in the wllds of West
chester Then there were all sorts Of
horse drawn vehicles, giving the property
tho look Of d country fair ground. Quite
feature was the number Of women present,
many OF whom took active parts in the bid
ding and actually bought the first seven lots
offered as well as q good many more later
o..
And when they bought. what Commo-
,icn there was as they started 10 find the
money deposit asked OF them Sometimes
there were many safety pins to be removed
beforo the greenbacks could be reached. and
on other occasions the lady would tell the
auctioneer's clerk 10 wait "a minute, and
af.er excusinS herself would walk behind
the tent flap TO return again in moment
smil!ng and bluShing, but holding the money
For deposits they took everything yes
terday that had dollar mark on it--bank
booke. certified checks, plain checks and
money-and they even had blank checks
for those who had come unprepared.
The sale seemed just like big, jolly
outing, and even when somebody's baby
there were many Of them there-tried 10
outcry the auctioneer. Mr.. Day just raised
bic voice a triAe or advised the mother 10
take it 20 the luncheon tent and give il
sorc milk. The sale was held under big
te1l in which about 1900 persons could
had seats The bright, clear morning
brought that many people out early, and
for d couple of hours before the sale they
wandered about the property, looking over
he lots they wished 20 buy.
Little time was lost in getting down to
business as soon as the terms Of sale had
been read.
The auctioneer announced that the first
lot 10 be sold would be No. 679, at about
the middle Of the easterly side of Gouver-
neUr avenue, between Sedgwick avenue and
Van Cortlandt Park South. Somebody In
the crowd who seemed to think that the
lard was down near Montauk, pped bid
Of 500. but Mr.. Day would not look at him.
Next a woman In the crowd offered S3OO'
snd at this dgure the Van Cortlandt estate
sale started. 1t did not take long for the
BIDS 10 get up 10 reasonable figures. three
women competing for the first lot, one rais-
ing another by S25 and $50 until the price
reached Sl,i25. at which il was knocked
down 10 Mrs. II. T. Healy, Of No 23S East
s2d street Given the option. she took three
more At the same price.
That Was the highest figure obtained for
inside street lots on either GOuverneur or
Norman avenues. The next bid was Sl,25O
| for two lots adjoining purchased by Mary
| A. Mcmahon, OF No. 223 West 105th street.
| After that the prices on the block reached
as lou- as $1,000 at which buyers took
| them IN twos and threes. on the other side
u Gouyorneur avenue prices were not so
s0od. the highest there for full lot being
iiI00 and the lowest 81 600. At these
Price the buyers were Rose Farina, Minnie
c. Gadd, Harry Karger Fred T. Sutton,
John j. bowling Frank ". Weiss, Alb!n
iuststson and Arthur Phillips
| On tic west side OF Norman avenue even
I lower prices ruled, the mark Of 500 being
4 reached Tor five lots. The highest price
paid for inside lots was $1,1jo.
I Considerably better amounts were had
4 for The lots fronting on SedgWick avenue
4 'nd Van Cortlandt Park south. The corner
AN Sedgwick and Gouverncur avenues
Ihought $3.50, and of Sedgwick and Nor
~ l., =. ber sold
Z for 81 500 10 5000. GOuycrDcur aud Nor
Z man avenue corner on Van Cortlandt Park
[ south brought $500 and $500. respec-
lively, and inside lots on the park south
1880 10 $1,000
After selling an irregular plot at the
4 northwest corner Of Gouvcrneur and Sedg-
wick avenues for s2.5J0 Mr.. Day switched
20 Van Cortandt Park South again, and
obtained 30 much better prices that when
4 10 lots had been sold his average per lot
asd mounted TO about $1,52G.
j. Clarence Davies during tho sale
4 aiought ont The fact that this was less than
K qhe-half tho prices paid for property ad-
( Nning the Van COrtlandt tract Oh the
4 Duth. There on avenues and streets, many
4 ne same as those running through the Van
o%tlandt property. the average price at
l 10Th private sale and at auction during the
sst FIVE years SO far as the best records
B vi was more than $500 Despite the fact
[ W the low prices, he said the sale will so
VI until every lot is sold. The sale VIII be
f"umed tomorrow morning. IT probably
II VII take three days to dispose Of the entire
esering
i Many Of the local operators went TO the
4 vale, hoping that the Broadway lots at 'he
rot Of the Z38th street subway station
"ould be sold first They were disappoint-
A.. however, for no property in that sec