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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 25, no. 635: May 15, 1880

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. YoL. XXY. NEW YOEK, SATUEDAY, MAY 15, 1880. No. 635 Published Weekly by TERMS. ONE YEAR, in advance.. ..SIO.OO. Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, No. 137 Broadway IMPROVEMENTS ON RIVERSIDE DRIVE. We were unwilling to believe the rumors afloat that some of the Park Commissioners were disposed to close up Riverside Drive again. This would have been so antagonistic to the interests of the property owners and taxpffyera, and regardless of the public's rights in the premises, that we could hardly credit such an action on the part even of men who consider politics ot more importance than the public good. We have reason to believe that these Commissioners, after having settled the, to them interesting, question as to who shall be President of the Department and pocket the S6,500 per annnm, will hold more frequent meetings and settle down to the important labors entrusted to their care. Whatever be the result of the litigation in the Supreme Court, the Park Com¬ missioners henceforth regard the opening of River¬ side Drive as an accomplished fact, and no paper resolution of their adoption can or ought to change it, now that the public have actual possession of it. Like sensible men they already acknowledge that they have been beaten by the irresistible force of public opinion, and the wisest thing they can do now is to act up to ^the requirements of the occasion. First of all, the drive should be watered at once, and some fine trees should be planted so that in the course of time there will be ample shade. Last Sunday's experience was anything but pleasant to those who came to enjoy the natural beauties of the drive, the clouds of dust and the piercing rays of the torrid sun detracting considerably from [the comfort of those who visited the new drive. Mounted police should also be stationed along the various sections of the avenue so as to preserve order and prevent too fast driv¬ ing. In fact, instead of acting counter to the wishes of the property owners, it is the bounden duty of the Commissioners to at once improve Riverside Drive. Seats, for instance, should be provided along the slopes and knolls, and the grass- plots should be kept in excellent order. Seventy, second street, also, from theiCentral Park to River¬ side, should be made into a nice pleasant drive to as to render the connection between the two parks as cheerful and comfortable as other park drives. In all these matters, however, it is impc-tant that the property owners themselves should continually urge these improvements upon those in authori tv Vigilance on the one side will beget energy on the other. It is to their own interest to keep their eyes continually upon the doings of the Park Commis¬ sioners and keep them to their duties. Thus far one or two individuals have taken upon themselves the burthen of all this work. The time has now come at last for vigilant activity on the part of all directly interested, and, by introducing these various necessary improvements property along this most magnificent drive will, probably, in the course of time, command values in full accord with the ideas of the most sanguine West Side owner. MARKET REVIE^^. REAL ESTATE MARKET. ^P" For list of lots and houses for sale see pages vi and Til of adTertisements. The auction sale of the Riverside Park front, be¬ tween One Hundred and First and One Hundred and Second streets, by Mr. Harnett, on Tuesday last, has been commented upon rather severely by the habitues of the real estate market, owing to the extraordinary terms of sale which the parties in interest instructed the auctioneer to announce. These terms were that the property when sold per lot, would again be put up as a whole, and anyone bidding a round sum over the aggregate flgures of the separate lots would be considered the purchaser. Of course, these condi¬ tions turned the sale into an actual farce and dis¬ gusted quite a number of bona fide investors, who made a short roundabout and quit the salesroom- Nobody blamed the auctioneer, who himself depre¬ cated this novel mode of imposing queer terms of sale ; but he had no option, and had to follow orders, especially as it was a Supreme Court sale. If those in interest had followed the precedent set at the sale of the northwest corner of Sixth avenue and Four¬ teenth street, about a year ago, they would have fared better, and all parties would have been satis¬ fled. At that time the entire property was put up as a whole, flrst, with the condition that if it should not bring $190,000 it would be offered in sepa¬ rate lots. It did not bring the sum flrst mentioned at the flrst bidding, and when again put up the resale worked admirably, and gave satisfaction to all con¬ cerned, the aggregate flgure at the resale being 8180,000. The flgures obtained at the Tuesday sale of the Riverside lots cannot be considered market piices, there being a mortgage of $97,000 on the lots offered, and the parties in interest were determined to secure them, regardless of the views of bidders. The following were the original bids, but owing to the peculiar terms these bids were "wiped out:" North¬ east corner Riverside Drive and One Hundred and First street, $12,300 ; lot adjoining, $7,100 ; two lots adjoining, $6,850 each ; one lot adjoining, $7,450 ; one lot adjoining, $6,850 ; one lot, adjoining, $7,000 ; southeast corner Riverside Drive and One Hundred and Second street, $9,300 ; one lot on One Hundred and First street, $4,900. On Wednesday, Mr. J. Cole sold at the Commercial Exchange, in Brooklyn, sixty-one vacant lots on Wil¬ loughby, De Kalb, Lewis and Stuyvesant avenues, also on Pulaski, Munroe and Madison streets. Though the prices were not all that the seUers ex¬ pected, everything offered was actuaUy sold to vari¬ ous bidders, as will be seen in the list at foot. During the coming week there will be several auc¬ tion sales of importance. On Monday, Messrs. A. H. MuUer & Son will offer forty-six lots on Eighth and New avenues. One Hundred and Tenth, One Hundred and Twelfth, One Hundred and Fourteenth, One Hun¬ dred and Twenty-eighth, One Hundred and Twenty- ninth, One Hundred and Forty-fourth and Tv, o Hun¬ dred and Eleventh streets, all elegantly situated, the property of Mr. Benjamin Lehmaier, who now resides inEuiope. It is positively stated that there will be no by bidding and that the sale will be a peremptory one. On Tuesday, the 18tb, Mr. Muller will sell valu¬ able improved property on Water, Mulberry, Ganse¬ voort, West and Forty-eighth streets, being the remainder of the Hardeman estate. On the same day, Mr. Harnett will sell important leasehold property on the southeast corner of Grand and De Kalb avenues, Brooklyn, also other tax leases in the same city. GOSSIP OF THE WEEK. Since the opening of Riverside Drive, there has been renewed inquiry for lots in that locality, and, at the hour of going to press, negotiations are pending for the sale of an entire front. It should be remembered that as yet prices for lots along what is sure to be a great drive of the future are, comparatively speak¬ ing, quite reasonable, and, with the constant influx of capital in our midst, it is dilEcult to say how soon present figures will have to be enhanced. Other West Side projerty just now is being somewhat neglected and holders are more disposed to sell than they were a month ago. The market, however, is strong for real estate between Fourth and Fifth ave¬ nues, all the way up to One Hundred and Tenth street, and holders there are making no concessions. The hearing of the Riverside injunction matter has been postponed until the Slst of May. Meanwhile the Corporation Counsel has sent a written order of authority to the Park Department to have the drive properly watered, rolled and patrolled by the police, and at their meeting, on Wednesday, they flnally passed a resolution to comply and appropriated the funds therefor. There are but few sales being made at private con¬ tract. Nevertheless, we hear of the purchase of sev¬ eral lots on One Hundred and Nineteenth street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, but the terms of sale have not transpired. Messrs. Joel B. and John A. Post, the owners of the granite building at Exchange place, Hanover and Beaver streets, have purchased the adjoining prem¬ ises, Nos. 18 Exchange place and 67 Beaver street, and will construct there a flrst-class ofBce buUding at acostof $250,C0C. On the east side of Fifth avenue, between Forty- seven and Forty-eighth streets, George Opdyke has nearly completed a brown stone dwelling, thirty feet by sixty-seven feet, and four stories high, to cost about $55,000. The new building of the Union League Club at the northeast corner of Thirty-ninth street and Fifth ave¬ nue is completed to the flfth story and one more story is to be added with a mansard roof. The width will be eighty-four feet, and the depth one hundred and flfty-two feet. The contract for bricks for the Hudson River tunnel has been awarded to one ot the flrms along the river (J. I. & R. Washburn, of Glasco). They will be caUed on to supply 24,000,000, at the rate of 8,000,000 per year. P. T. Barnum has instructed his agent, in Bridge¬ port, to build one hundred houses on property he owns, and already some fifteen or twenty of them are under way. The following are the sales at the Exchange Sales¬ room for the week ending May 14: * Indicates that ihe property described has been bid in for plaintiff"s account: Bond st (No. 20), n s, 382.4 e Broadway, 25.8x 100. four-story marble front dweU'g. Ed¬ ward P. Dickey. (Am-t due, abt $16,350).. $19,500 East Broadway, No. 46, n s, 25x}^ block, four- story bricb: store and tenem't; leasehold. D.P.Hays. (Partition Sale).............. 5,025 Delancey st, s w cor Suffolk st, 25x62. five- story brick store and tenem't. John B. Schmidt. (Amount due, abt $13,200) . .. 15,000 Grand st, n w cor Cannon st, 25x75. three-1 story brick and frame store and dweU'g ( and two-story brick stable............. y Cannon st, w s, 75 n Grand st, 25x100, two two- I Story brick stores and dweU'gs..........J John Steingester. (^m't due, abt $20,500) 19,750 Grand st, n s, 50 e Mercer st, 25x107. (1-6 part). Emily M. Peters. (Amount due, about $2,075)................................ 2.101