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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 16, no. 391: September 11, 1875

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol, XYI. NEW YOEK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBEB 11, 1875. No. 391. Published Weekly by THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION. C, W, SWEET..'.............President and Tbeasubeb PRESTON I, S'WEET,..........Seobetaey. L. ISRAELS.........................Business Ma^tageb TERMS, ONE YEAR, in advance___$10 00. Communications should be addressed to C. SSr. ©TTEET, Nos. 345 AND 347 Beoadway. OUR STATE TAXES. -Tax Commissioner Andre-ws' commnnication to the State Board of Eqtialization contains some valuable facts of interest to property-own¬ ers and taxpayers. He says: Por several years tlie impression has prevaUed among taxpayers'in the City of ISTew York that, owing to inequalities in assessments in the various counties of the State, an undue propor¬ tion of the State tax was borne by the city. That impression has ripened into conviction, growing out of a state of facts which are here¬ with presented. It appears that during the past ten years the proportion of the State tax paid by the city and by the rest of the State, re¬ spectively, has been as follows: TABLE SHOWING THE SUM OF STATE TAX PAID BY THE CITY OP NEW YOEK AND BY THE BEST OF THE STATE DURING-THjE PAST TEN YEABS, WITH THE AMOUNT PER CAPITA Eds'EACH YEAE, BASED UPON THB LATE STATE CESSU8 OE 1865: Yeab, Quota of State tax for the city of New York........ : i^ $4,328,127 4.626.920 7,082,792 5,756,397 5,558,678 7,544,020 51868,894 9.828,130 7,127,422 7,715,096 : ~o : "n.^. . & • sta "$3 99 5 35 7 66 6 18 6 75 9 28 7 90 13 43 10 69 11 03 For each inhab¬ itant of rest of State..... 1866................. $2,902,849 3,890,544 5,564.426 4,486.920 4,904.501 6,741,956 5,745,049 9,761,752 7,673.481 8,012,386 $1 39 1 49 1867................. 1868................, 1869.,,..........____ 2 29 1 85 1870......____,...... 1 80 1871...........,___, ■ 2 42 1872,,,; .,.;.,,,..,., 1 89 1873.,.,,,,,......... 3 17 1874................. 2 29 1875................. 2 48 "When it is considered that about one-half the population of the city is in such narrow circum¬ stances as to occupy tenement houses, it vrill be conceded that the tax per capita, for such re¬ mote and incidental advantages as the State af¬ fords in return, is extremely onerous. The un¬ dersigned, however, do not rest upon this con¬ dition of aflfairs as affording, in itself alone, a sufficient reason for the t otion they solicit at your hands. The apportionment ip based upon property, "and not upon population. Prior to the adoption of the ratio of 43 per cent by the State Assessors, the Tax Commie- Bioners submitted to those officers a schedule including nearly five hundred pieces of property scattered in all the wards, which had been sold or weTe for sale at prices upon which the assess¬ ments ranged from 56 to 103 per cent, averag¬ ing 68 3 per cent,, and of others in one subur¬ ban ward' (the Twelfth), ranging from 45 to (50 per cent, averaging 51 -per cent But the total assessments in the Twelfth 'Ward were only 7,7per cent of those in the e»tire city. The fittest practical commentary on those ratios adopted by the State Assessors may be found in the following extract from the report of the New York Tax Commissioners for 1875, page 19: "In 1873, the State Board added to the assess¬ ment of the entire county of Westchester $2,677,723, in order to equalize the assessments in that county with those of New York, In 1874, upon the annexation of three of the towns of Westchester County, the Commissioners found it necessary, in order to bring the valuations in those towns to something like a fair proportion with the assessments in other portions of the city, to add $13,468,847 to that same assessment for 1873. That is to say, that, assuming that the rest of that county was assessed in the same pro¬ portion in 1873 as the three annexed towns were, the valuation of the countv should hav 3 been in¬ creased $76,334,957, instead of only $2,677,723," To heighten the absurdity of the adoption of such ratios, it may be added that on page 82 of the report oi the State Assessors the ratio of 37>^ is "adopted" for Kingsbridge, the ratio of 33J^ is "adopted" for Morrisania, the ratio of 35 is "adopted,' for West Earms, as the ratios at which these towns were assessed in 1873, "When annexed to New York City, in 1874, and the assessment was raised upon these towns from $9,-578,230 to $23,047,540, by the Tax Commissioners of the city, then the same page of the report, in a note, states that "these towns are now annexed to New York, and as¬ sessed 38 per cent, of lull value," That is to say, that $9,578,230 is 35i per cent, out of the city, and that $23,047,540 is 38 per cent on the same property, when annexedtb the city; where¬ as, the rule of proportion makes the latter sum equal to 84,9 per cent. This is one of the rare instances where mathematical demonstration is possible. Such remarkable discrepancies as these have brought the undersigned before your board, with a behef on the part of the tax-payers of the city that a presentation of such facts would insure a more equitable distribution ot the burden of State taxation. It is not deemed necessary to give special prominence to the fact that during 1874 real estate generally declined in value. If that ele¬ ment be taken into accotmt, then the assessed value of city property must be placed at not less than 85 per cent, of current values. Indeed, the undersigned are informed that in many in¬ stances sales have been made at public auction at prices less than the assessed valuations. It may well be doubted whether, if the Tax Com¬ missioners increased valuations generally, they would not incur the risk of overrunning actual values. The undersigned have been content to make their statement before your board in the form of facts, uuencumbered by argument, and upon this presentation of facts they rely, to secure at your hands an equitable apportionment for the city they represent. They may be pardoned for referring to the incident that, while paying one half ol the State tax, the City of New York has no direct representative in your board, •This consideration has doubtless influenced her Legislature in delegating the undersigned to appear before you. But, although the city has no voice in your council, the claims of justice and'equity will doubtlcbs receive such consid¬ eration at your hands as will do much to reconcile her to the eiclu^ion. RespectfiiUy submitted, Geo. H, Andbews, "Wilson G. Hunt, Isaac Shebman, On behalf of the City of New York. New Yobk, Septeinber, 1875. THE HEW PARADE GROUND. The Department of Parks, at a meeting held on Monday last, decided to proceed with the application to the Supreme Court for a commis¬ sion to appraise the lands condemned by the city April 5, 1873, for a parade-ground. The Board of Aldermen lately passed a series of resolutions, which were approved by the Mayor, requesting a suspension of all action in the mat¬ ter for the present, and this action of the De¬ partment of Parks is in direct opposition to that of the Aldermen, The reasons of the De¬ partment for carrying on the undertaking are comprised in the following statement read by Commissioner Martin: THE EEASONS FOE THB DEPABTMBNT AOTIOir. In any case, a conclusion jeached upon an in¬ complete or partial consideration of the facts should make but little impression upon the minds of those who have investigated aU the facts. This gase presents an iUuslration of the practical wisdom of the Legislature in placing the decision of so important a question of ad¬ ministration in a department whose duty it is fully to investigate facts before coming to a de¬ cision, A consideration of all the facts of this case wiU not lead to the conclusion that the Board of Aldermen have reached, without stating them as the basis ot their action, and we respectfully present them for their information. The mili¬ tary parade-ground was, with two years' delib¬ eration, selected and laid out by the Department and the military authorities under chapter 628 of the laws of 1871. The map was filed on the 5th April, 1873, The effect of filing this map on the public and the owners of the property within the area was, that the filing of the map became final and conclusive on all parties. There re¬ mained no power to alter or recall it. The property shown on the map was condemned to tlie public use. In the words of the statute, "it became one of the public squares of the city," It was, under the exercise of the right of eminent domain, takfen for the public use. To this extent the rights of the owners of the property are finally and conclusively bound. They cannot seU or mortgage their property. They have no longer an unincum- Isered estate in property; it is condemned to another use than theirs. They have a right against the city as a forcible purchaser to be paiS. for their land, and to have the price fixed by a commission to be appointed in a legal proceeding which the city alone can com¬ mence. They cahnot improve their land and recover anything when the pric« is fixed, for the value of their improvements, and in the meantime they must pay taxes and asseBsments. Under the mandate of tlie law this Department has commenced the legal proceedings by which the price of this land is to be ascertained as the first step toward enabling the owners to recover payment for it. It is this proceeding that we are asked to dis¬ continue. The answer to it is that it is an un» just and an unwarrantable violation of a con¬ tract in which the city owes the citizen, npon whose property it has laid its strong hand, ex¬ traordinary good faith, A purchaser who exer¬ cises the sovereign right to lay his hand on pri¬ vate property, and has it then in his own pleas¬ ure to institute the legal proceedings which ha