The New York herald., 1922-12-24
GROWTH OF CITY II:
FORCES SALE or I
GREAT ESTATES
AS Population Spreads Sub
divisions Of Large Tracts I.
Long Vacant Made.
FOOD FOR AUCTION MART
Properties Nearest to City to
Be First to Come Into Z
Scope Of Demand.
BY JOSEPH p. DAY.

BY JOSEPH p. DAY.
TN THE process of rounding out the
city of New York there must be not
only general distribution of popu-i
lation over districts moro or less distant
from the congested centers of business
the extension of rapid transit facilities
and municipal improvements. but also,
the subdivision OF large tracts of land
held intact for many years by estates
and private and corporate owners.
Every sale Of such properties largo or
small. will constitute fresh opportunity
for the homeseeker to buy at publicn
auction his building site at his own price.
1t is logical to suppose that In the
process of remodelling New York into
round city the closest In, most conven
lent and accessible residential and busi- !,
ness sections will be the first to be in
demand. Such a section Is west Of
Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Rich-,r
mond Hill and between and on the line
of Queens and Woodhaven boulevards
and Metropolitan avenue, which Is ap-
proximately only ride of ten minutes
or less from the Pennsylvania Station
and Just beyond where the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company. the Queens
boro Corporation and other prominent
interests are investing millions of dol
lars in apartment houses Of the elevator
and the non-elevator type, in two family
houses. in homes, In stores and In busi- r
ness buildings.
The most recent factor in the develop
ment Of that most accessible section Of
the city, in the Borough Of Queens. was
the subdivision and sale of the property
known as Forest Hills West. which sur
rounds the new Long Island Railroad
station known as Matawok. ] COM
menced the sale Of that property on''
July and sold daily thereafter for
about ten days, on the premises and
in the Pennsylvania Hotel. The sale
resulted in the disposal of 3.1S3 lots for
1921, ,275, and was followed almost irn-t
medately by the formation Of the For
est Hills West Taxpayers Association
which Is composed of the 500 or more
buyers at the sale.
During the few months that have
elapsed since the sale plans for more
than fifty houses and business buildings
to be erected there in the next SPRING
have been filed. That total will be aug
mented greatly by the large number or
houses and business buildings for which
plans are being prepared. The sale or
the large number of lots for an average
of more than s412 was an indication of-
the strength of the lot buying and homse
building movement in New York.
VIII BE short Cut to Rockaways..
The extension and construction OF
the Woodhaven Boulevard to the Rock
aways Is progressing rapidly when thatI
cross borough and cross bay hignway4
is completed the boulevard. or Jamaica
Bay Causeway as 1t Is to be called, Will
be the principal automobile highway to-
the Rockaway beaches, because 1t VIII
cut about twelve miles from the present
roundabout route.
Queens Boulevard by its widening to
200 feet, will become even more Inn
portant than 1t is now as the principal
automobile highway OF Queens and the.
route of the Queens Boulevard trolley
lines which operates from greensboro
Bridge Plaza, Fifty-ninth street. Man.
haitian. Metropolitan avenue to the
south of Queens Boulevard Is the prin-
cipal highway out of Brooklyn and the
route of the trolley line between Brook.
lyn and Jamaica.
In the earlier days tho late Cord Meyer.
one of the first to see the possibilities
of the section, purchased In 1904. tho 500
acres comprising the superbly developed
residential colony at Forest HIS and as
part of the equally fine Forest Hills
Gardens. developed by the Sage Founda-
tion.
Tho development of Forest Hills by
the Cord Meyer Development Company
was begun in 1905. when the only
method Of transportation was horse,
drawn stage that operated between
Forest Hills and the Long Island Rail-
road station at Elmhurst As a sue
cessor to the horse stage an automobile
bus was placed in operation between thes
Same points.
In 1908 five steam trains stopped
daily, on flag signal only, at tho Forest
Hills station, which at that time was
little more than a platform.
In 1910 the electric service OF the
leland Raflroad WAS nut Into
operation and the transportation troubles.
of tho Forest Hills section ended. Troll
ley service to Fifty-nlnth street ana
Second avenue started In 1912.
In 1909 the Sage Foundation pur-
chased approximately 100 acres from the
Meyer company and In 1910 forty addi-
tional acres.
Kew Gardens Begun I'm 1917.
Two years later the development OF
Kew Gardens was begun and in 1914
tho West Side Tennis Club. Forest Hills
Gardens, was opened.
This year has seen the opening OF a,
new 100000 theatcr on Continental
avenue in the business section of Forest
Hills and close to the railroad station
on land purchased from the Meyer COM
pany and adjacent to n 100000 building
erected by the Corn Exchange Bank for
the occupancy by one OF It's branches.
There are about SbO houses at FOREST
Hills and 400 to 450 at Forest Hills
Gardens
The 600 acres purchased by the Meyer
company in 1904 were assessed then at
$500. 900. I understand that that prop.
erty, with the Improvements made Mnce.
is assessed at about s10.ooo,ooo. and that
valuation of s10,00O.0 900 does not include
the 14O acres sold TO the Sage Founda.-
ton in 1909 and 1910. :,
With the rapid increase OF population
In the Forest Hills and Forest Hills Care
dens sections, the need of moro schoolf
and churches has been felt aud large
school building and n portable school.
building have been erected at Forest
| Hills Gardens, near the railroad station
A community church has been built In
The same neighborhood and Masonic
temple at Forest Hills. overlooking =
Queens Boulevard.
Building sites at Forest Hills are be-@
ing sold to-day for $1,000 and more lot
and houses that have been resold by
their original owners invariably havsr
been disposed of for substantial adj
vances IN prices.
The next big development OF the seq
tion will be the building of homes. apart.
ment houses. stores and business build
inss In the Forest Hills West section
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