The New York herald., 1922-05-14
QUEENS FIGHTS BIG
ROAD ASSESSMENT.
Wants Cost of Boulevard W0rl,
to Be Paid by All Borouehs
in the City.

A large delegation Of residents Of
Queens appeared before the Board Of
Estimate last Wednesday TO oppose the
proposal of Chief Engineer Tuttlc which
seeks to saddle ON them more than ONE
half the cost Of improving Queens Boule-
ward from Long Island city TO jamaica
and bringing It to Its full width of 200
feet The irate Queens borough citizens
were led by Alrlck H. Man chairman ot
the borough planning committee Of the
greensboro Chamber OF Commerce.
The greensboro chamber OF Com
merce. in urging that the physical inn
provement OF the boulevard he under
taken Immediately, has recommended
that the cost he made a ciiywide charge.
vehicular traffic count 20; one weck
recently mado By tho Typographical
Bureau of the Borough OF Queens shows
that "A per cent Of the traffic on the
boulevard originated outside OF the Bor-
ough of Queens. Furthermore, in view
of the fact that nearly 10 per cent. Of
the traffic originated in Nassau and
Suffolk counties alone, tho Greensboro
Chamber of Commerce makes the addi-
ticnal recommendation that the state OF
New York be requested to bear share
of the cost
In the report of the borough planning
committee to the board OF directors OF
the greensboro Chamber Of Commerce
the following statements are made;
'If the present extraordinary project
had not been deemed q necessity, the
State and county before consolidation or
the city afterward would certainly have
contributed fair share of the cost of
permanent improvements. Under former
conditions these streets would have de-
veoped along logical lines as the local
population Increased and the farm lands
assumed metropolitan conditions. But
ut present the project OF the boulevard
of more than three times the width OF
the street required for local use has
prevented and will prevent any ordinary
or normal development 1t is a wei
known fact. proven in every former in
stance of a street OF extraordinary
width, that the abutting property is
damaged rather than benefited.
There Is no other street in New
York city which affords a complete prece-
dent or analogy for Queens Boulevard
1t is estimated that not one-tenth OF the
vehicular traffic on it originates. from
adjacent developments. All ordinary
rules as to the value of the traffic TO the
abutting property fail in this case.
Past experience shows that 1t takes
a community nearly fifty years to as-
simulate a street OF extraordinary width
and find suitable uses for the abutuns
property. The property owners who
originally paid the enormous cost are
either bankrupt or dead long before any
commensurate appreciation of value re-
suits.
'It is unsuitable to compel the adja-
cent property owners along Queens
Boulevard to pay any of the expense OF
grading, paving or otherwise improving
the roadway except their share as tax
PAYERS of the city of New York. who by
the act of consolidation have been pay
ing their share Of the interest and prin-
cipal on the bonds of the former cliy
of New York. as well as of the iormer
city of Brooklyn and The Bronx. issued
for the acquisition and Improvement OF
marks. concourses. water systems, %c III
which their interest is small
.'If the city at large, including Queens
Borough. bore the cost OF the Grand
Concourse in The Bronx, why should V
not nav for the cost of grading ai.d
paving Queens. Boulevard. which aiiorVs
access from Manhattan and The Bro"N
TO the country and beaches and lron
the farms TO the markets?