Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 49, no. 1259: April 30, 1892

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Aprfl 80, 1892 Record and Guîde. 679 ^' 'S^ \ ESTABUSHED*^ WAJICH Z\'^ 1868. De/oTED ÎO f\EAC ESWE , SuiLOIf/G ApcKlTECTJl^E .KobSEXOLD DEG0fV.nOÍÍ. BaSir/ESS AttoTHEMES Of ŨeKeI^I 1^T£1\ESÎ PRICE, PER YEAR I\ IDTAIVCE, SIX DOLLARS. Published every Saturdag. TeLEPHONI .... CORTLANDT 1370. Communicationa ehould be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14 & i6 Vesey St. J. 7. LINDSEY, Business Manager. "Entered at the Post-offlce at New Tork, K. F., as second-class matter." VoL. XLIX, APRIL 80, 1893. No. 1,259 ANUMBER of gentlemen whose business and calling is specu- lation became so very bearish on the stock market that a stronger number of gentlemen following the same business and calling concluded that some money could be made by what is known as putting up prices on the shorts, hence the market recovered in the latter part of the week the losses recorded up to the middle of the week, and displayed wonderful strength in spite of very largegold shipments. With no apparent inciting cause of a bull movement the probability is that the strength so displayed wiU be of short duration. The Coalers not unnaturally continue to show strength under the stimulus of increased prices and corre- spondingly estimated increased profitg. Western Union is confi- dently spoken of as an advancing security. A few stocks left out of the calculation, the extent of a movement depends, in a market so distinctly professional, on the preponderance of long and short contracts for the time being. So far as the public is concerned it Í8 more a seller than a buyer. The improvement already noted in iron and cotton, though of very slow growth, continuesand affords some encouragement. THE Austrian and Hungarian Finance Ministers have recently come to a decision concerning the methods to be used in obtaining the gold necessary for a resumption of specie payments. If ít is assumed ihat 300,000,000 floríns will be necessary, Austria wiU have to íumish about 300,000,000 and Hungary aboufc 100,000,- 000. The Hungarian Finance Minister has already collected about 50,000,000 florins in'gold, purchased in the international money market and deposited in different banks, and will not therefore require more than 50,000,000 for his share. jiccording to a well-informed newspaper correspondent, he expects to obtain this sum with ease by undertaking a con- version of outstanding loaus. The Hungarian Government has long intended, but has postponed on account of the currency reform, the conversion of the 5 per cent Note Rente and of a number of shares and debenturerf of the State railways—all by means of one loan of about 500,000,000 florins. As the interest wiU be somewhat reduced, it will be possible to make the amount of the loan a little larger than the total amount of the stocks and bond? which are to beconverted; and Hungary would thus be able to defray the cost of the currency reform without a sacrifice. It is probable that Austria will adopt the same system, as it also owns a convertible debt of 600,0(,0,000. In Berlin there has been a certain revival of activity, during the last [few weeks, and operators in that city seem to think that the low-water mark has been reached. But the busi- ness conditions of the country offer nothing to warrant any sus- tained upward movement. The possibility that negotiations are under way for a commercial treaty between Russia and Germany are admitted. Germany has never concealed her wish to arrire at an advantageous tariff understanding with Russia. The opposition to the project arises from a distrusc in Russia's sincerity and from political considerations. "TT is well that the Sinking Fund Commissionera have authorized -*- the purchase by the city of the land partly under water front- ing on Riverside Park, between 72d and 129th streets. The inter- ests of Riverside Drive and of the pleasantest parts of the West Side demand that the water front property should be owned by the city 80 as to prevent its perversion to uses which would injure the park, and hence the whole contiguous district. At a very large cost the city has purchased the property down to the water front, laid it out as a park and as a very beautiful drive. On the basis of these improvements a great deal of money has been invested in property thereabouts. The city has a drive and a park of which it may well be proud, yet if the property on the water'front and the land unrter water should be used for tenements, docks or any purpose which would bring into being unsightly structures and an undesirable population, all this money would practically be thrown away. The drive and 'the park would remain, but the aspect would be dis- figured, the pleasant grass plots and the wooded slopes would be overrun by dirty children, and the property fronting on the dri\-e would cease to be desirable for handsome residences. It would be simply an inexcusable piece of folly to permit the water front to be so perverted. Riverside Drive has not been extensively improved as yet, becausejthe West Side "L" road is so far ofl that people who do not own ^''carriages hesitate to commit' themselves to the necessity of such a walk whenever they wjsh to get down town; but when the new West Side route is constructed, it wiU not be many years before the drive'^will be improved from one end to the other—that is, provided the park has not in the meantime been menaced by tenements or docks. The action of the Sinking Fund Commissioners has removed all fear of the former; but there is stiU danger that the Dock Commis- sioners will want to use the water front for business purposes. This would have been even worse for the interests of Riverside Drive and West End avenue than the buildingof tenements. Atthe meeting of the commissioners ComptroUer Myers pointed out that these docks could be builD only at an enormous expense, because of the lack of approaches. It is safe to say, however, that i£ the docks ever were buUt there would be a continuous demand for new approaches in order to accommodate the traffic, and that would mean the utter disfigurement of Riverside Park. It will be a sin if this park [and drive are not preserved in their present integrity, We have perverted enough of the natural opportunities of this city. New York possesses more of them than any municipalty o£ equal size in the world, and if her citizens have the slightest pride in putting these opportunities to public uses as pleasure-grounda they ought to resist strenuously any unwise attempts to degrade the places in which these opportunities have already been put to some use. THE Record and Gøide pointeJ out in its last issue that as a result of the bill exempting Madison avenue from use for rapid transit purposes the whole East Side line as laid out by the commission would have to be abandoned. This is good in so far aa it permits the commission to go ahead vigorously with the more important Wesc Side route, but it is somewhat hard upon the property-owners who would be benefited by the East Side line that their interests should be for the time being utterly neglected. They are in as much, if not more, need of rapid trnnsit tnan their West Side brethren. Notice how badly provided with transit facility is all that property along ^5th and Madison avenues and along the side streets east of the Central Park. The nearest elevated road is the 3d avenue line, whose stations are far apart and whose trains are crowded. The residents of the southern part of the district can take the 6th avenue line at 58th street, but north of about î:5th street this resource is unavailable. The con- sequence is that no improvements are undertaken in this vicinity, It is also very desirable that existing residents east of 5th avenue and west of Lexington avenue should have better facilities than those provided by the 3d avenue line. But, as we have pointed out, the needs of this district have been put aside for a period that may last several years—will last several years unless the people and property-owners affected bestir themselves to obtain the needed relief. The commissioners are so tied up that they cannot very well move unless they are forced to do so. They are forbidden, and rightly forbidden, to use Madison avenue ; and it is safe to say that they could not sell any Lexington avenue franchise. The only available avenue is 4th avenue, which is alieady occupied by a Vanderbilt corporation, and which cannot be touched under present laws. What, then, can the commissioners do ? They have no power to negotiate with the Harlem, the Cen- tral, or any other corporation, and the managers of tho Vanderbilt roads are evidently not inclined to take the initiative. Yet, obvi- ously, the Central, the New Haven and the Harlem roads need for their suburban business just what the commissionerscangivethem, viz., a southern extension to some point near the City Hall, while the commissioners need, in order to fulflll theLr appointed task, an avenue east of the Central Park which can be made available for rapid transit—just what these corporations possess. We presume that the Legislature wiU have to be called in for the purpose o£ completing an agreement between these manifestly supplemencary interests ; and i£ the East Side residents and propeity-owners know wherein their opportunities for alleviation and development con- sist, they will at once begin an agitation to bring about such a result. One thing, however, should be added. An East Side line, in order to fulfill its function, should be entirely divorced from the West Side line. Instead of merging into the Broadway route at Union square, it must run down 4th avenue, Lafayette place, to Elm street, which will be widenedforthatandotherpurposes, The