Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 85, no. 2183: January 15, 1910

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I20 RECORD AND GUTOE January 15, 1910 tell them to go away; that day is gone by. Politics must be banished from your department. Let every deputy who sets down a manifestly wrong valuation be dismised at once. He is not entitled to a trial, but only to opportunity to make an ex¬ planation. The sooner they are brought to realize this the better. It is doubtful if they ought to be in the competitive civil service at all, for their duties are not formal, but require the constant exercise of judgment and discretion. "Ti-y to find out some owner trying to corrupt a deputy -and we W'ill have him indicted. No meaner person exists than one capable of trying to get rid of some part of his taxes by throw¬ ing it on his neighbors. No jury would spare lilm. For sev¬ eral years the great gas plant at Astoria of the New York & East River Gas Company was valued on the tax rolls at only $600,000. In 1900 it was raised to $3,oOO,000. Competent per¬ sons say that even this is not one-half of its value, but that is for you. It was valued by the company in the recent fran¬ chise tax suit at over $10,000,000 in making up the total capital on which the coiTipany should be permitted to make a dividend of at least 6 per cent, "I have several times mentioned the Cutting real estate (not the ferry property—that has still a similar history—but the water front property in South Brooklyn), ,It was set down on the tax books at $1,078,000. It was sold to the city for $4,- 565,367- How that was brought about some or all of you knov/. I do not say the Tax Department undervalued the property to the, extent of this excess of l);3,4S7,367. In justice to the Tax Department I am able to say as my best judgment after ex¬ amination that the property could not have been fairly valued at over $1,500,000, and that substantially all in excess of that sum paid by the city was excessive. The spectacle of the city bargaining through one set of its officials to pay $4,565,367 for land which another set of its officials valued for taxation at only $1,078,000 as its true value cannot help but draw the com¬ petency of the integrity of government in question. "There was another piece of Harway Basin valued on the tax rolls for several years at about $29,300, when there was ac¬ tually a mortgage on it for $26,000 and the purchase price was $350,000, These are some samples. Now you have an able man for your head, but he cannot see everything at once in this great city. I have appointed you to w-ork with him and give all of your time to this business, and have it accomplished in one year. The deputies must no longer be left to do as they like. The charter says they shall act under your direction. Let thein understand by your conduct what that means. Go out and direct them. "You cannot do this work by sitting in your offlce. See all sections of the city, and have your assistants do the same. I am particularly anxious about this borough of Manhattan. Only the other day the sale o£ a piece of real estate here was reported for $1,400,000. 1 found it on the tax rolls for $750,- 000- If the dwellings and ordinary holdings were valued on the rolls on the same basis there would be no injustice, but they are not. They are valued well up to what they could be sold for. Look to all this. You, Mr. McElroy, know all about values in Manhattan. You know how I came to appoint you. Y^ou have all been carefully selected for your coinpetency and in¬ tegrity, and I feel certain you will not disappoint the people of the city. Distributive justice in all things is the prime object of government, and see to it in this matter. Also it is no use to levy personal taxes on persons who have no taxable per¬ sonal property. It is a general annoyance. Moreover, it re¬ sults in a large deficit each year in the finances represented by uncollectable arrears of personal taxes. There are many mil¬ lions of such arrears now for which permanent bonds have to be issued. Please see that this yearly deficit Is reduced to a minimum by more care in the levy of the tax." These instructions, if carried out, will result in more benefit to the real estate interests of this city than any one other pos¬ sible action on the part of the Mayor. The inequalities above quoted are not isolated cases—the condition is general. If all real estate were assessed at its fair sale value the tax rate would be lower. The business reported by the brokei-s this week is well up to the average of the past month, with the Midtown and Wash¬ ington Heights sections showing the most activity. In the foriner section the activity is practically all west of Tth av, although the leading item of the weeli's business in the district was the sale by the Realty Holding Co. of 164 to 16S West 27th st, a new 12-sty loft building, held at $650,000. THE AUCTION MARKET INTEREST this week in the auction mai-ket centered in the offerings on Wednesday of Bryan L, Kennelly of the Yard estate holdings at 148 to 154 West 23d st. The property con¬ sisted of two six and one four-story loft buildings, on a plot 101 feet front. Bidding started at $225,000, and the property was ill at his home this week. He expects to be at his office assessed by the city at $338,000. Mr. Kennelly also sold 348 6th av, 24.8x59, for $154,500. It contains 1,436 square feet, which would make the square foot price $106.11. No. 340, at the northwest corner of 21st st and Gth av, containing 2,343 square feet, -sold in 1900 for $173,300, or $74.05 a square foot. No. 581 2d av sold for $139,500, and a vacant lot on 3d av, just north of SOth st, for $20,000. The only other voluntary offering sold during the week was the offering of Joseph P. Day of the plot of seven lots at the northeast corner of Amsterdam av and 116th st. Columbia University was the buyer at $23,000, PARTITION SALE OF INVESTMENT PROPERTIES. On Thursday, January 27, L. J. Phillips & Co. will sell at auction in the Real Estate salesroom, 14 and 16 Vesey st, five valuable investment properties that deserve the attention of both the investor and speculator. The 4-sty tenement at 2064 to 2070 3rd av, northwest corner of 113th st, and the 3-sty dwellings at 171 to 177 East 113th st, makes a plot 100x140, and should be particularly attractive to the speculator, being of a size suitable for modern improvement. Another good Second av property at 2183 to 2189, northwest corner of 112th st, will be sold. 521 Lenox av, northwest corner J of 136th st, is on a busy avenue, where there is seldom a va- \ cant store; it is only one block from the 135th st station of the Subway, and is a very attractive investment proposition. The sale is by order of the Supreme Court. Further particulars may be obtained of L. J. Phillips & Co., 156 and 15S Broadway. Policy of the Title Guarantee and Trust Company will be de¬ livered free. INTEREST CENTERS ON OAKDALE. There is a circumstance connected with the sale of lots in Oakdale, on the south side of Long Island, that seems to have escaped general notice; and that is, Oakdale is situated just far enough from New Tork for the person who seeks exclusive- ness to escape the flve-cent zone, and at the same time it is conveniently accessible to both the railroad station and the city. The property is laid out as a substantial home colony, being sold in tracts of from one to five acres and in plots not less than 28x200 ft., most of them larger. Peperidge Hall Estate water front is no further from the railroad station than is similar property situated in Bay Shore and Islip, all of which is well improved. Oakdale's natural advantages, its magnificent water front on Great South Bay, its proximity to the Motor Parkway terminal at Lake Ronkonkoma, its healthful climate, pure water, mag¬ nificent shades trees on tlie famous South Country road, and low taxes, have caused an influx of purchasers during the last year, William K. Aston, who owns Peperidge Hall Estate, was far- sighted enough not to throw the property open to the energies of speculators, but quietly placed it on the market for the small investor to avail of and with restrictions sufficient to insure a good character of improvements. Although situated 47 miles from New York, there have been 15 consecutive successful sales of the Aston holdings in Oak- dale. Bryan L. Kennelly was the auctioneer. The co-operative movement between the wealthy residents of Oakdale and the Long Island Railroad Co. for the improvement of the grounds around tlie railroad station has attracted the at¬ tention of many buyers to the place. As soon as the tunnels under the East River are in use a building movement is destined to take place in Oakdale, and it will in turn enhance fee values there. The sixteenth auction sale is scheduled for February 3, at the Brooklyn Real Estate Exchange, 189 Montague st, at 12 o'clock noon. The plots to be sold have a frontage on the West Shore Road and Lincoln Drive, situated midway between Oak¬ dale station and Great South Bay, about six minutes wallv each way. Permanent shore rights on the Bay will be included. Sixty per cent, of the purchase price will be allowed on mort¬ gage for three years, with titles guaranteed. BIG PURCHASE BY NEW COMPANY. S. Osgood Pell & Co., through Mark Rafalsky, its vice-presi¬ dent, sold the Manhasset apartment house, which occupies the block front in the west side of Broadway, between 107th and 108th sts, and No, 85 Sth av. at the northeast corner of 16th st and including Nos. 5 and 7 East in that street, for Carrie M. Butler, wife of Jacob D. Butler, to the Realty Assets Com¬ pany, a newly formed corporation. The cash consideration In the entire deal was approximately $3,000,000. , E. B. Boynton, president of the American Real Estate Co., is president of the Realty Assets Co. Richard T. Lingley is vice- president of the Realty Assets Co. and Harold Roberts is secre¬ tary. Both Mr. Lingley and Mr. Roberts are officers of the American Real Estate Co. We print the ASSESSED VALUATION of all property transferred.