| To avoid the high costs of condemnation, the BPC acted as its own real estate appraiser, land company, and condemnation board. The 1912 survey had provided commissioners with a record of property owners, property descriptions, and land valuations based on tax assessments. After receiving the authority to purchase land, the commission began an even more extensive study in order to establish a set of standard values in each section of parkway. The commissioners’ expressed goal was to ensure uniform prices that would be fair to all landowners. They cast their task as "Herculean," since more than 1,200 plots of land had to be valued, ranging in size from 43 square feet to 50 acres. The parcels contained 620 houses along with other buildings, fences, retaining walls, and other minor improvements that had to be assessed. Real estate experts, architects, and builders were hired to assist with the appraisals. The commissioners held 148 meetings to complete their work. Each commissioner personally visited each of the 1,200 parcels on several occasions, inspected every house and structure, and in most cases, assigned a value to the property. According to the BPC, this exhaustive process established a "price so fair that no one could reasonable object, but which at the same time insured a fair return for the expenditure."(83) After the land valuation was completed, the BPC sent letters to the owners of the 1,200 parcels needed for the parkway, notifying them that the commission was ready to negotiate for their land. The letter invited owners to submit their offers in writing, after which their property would be appraised and considered for immediate purchase, if the asking price was deemed reasonable. The BPC promised to pay cash for all parcels.(84) Numerous newspaper articles explained the BPC land acquisition procedures, endorsing the commission’s contention that volunteering reasonable offers rather than holding out for higher prices through condemnation would be advantageous to property owners and expedite the commission’s work.(85) The reaction to the BPC’s initial entreaty was less positive than expected. The commission received only sixty responses from landowners interested in selling their property at BPC-determined prices. The commissioners ascribed the low response rate to the likelihood that many property owners had observed the excessive awards paid for land required for other public projects such as the Bronx Boulevard. These inflated prices led landowners to view the government as a profligate spender and encouraged them believe that they would receive a higher price for their land by holding out for further offers or condemnation hearings. The BPC maintained that some property owners, especially immigrants, erroneously believed that they needed an intermediary with personal connections or political influence to act on their behalf. Condemnation lawyers and real estate agents reinforced these notions by visiting property owners and promising that they would receive substantially more for their land if they had representation. As a result, commissioners lamented, many landowners were not aware of the BPC’s methods and rejected the BPC’s invitation to sell on the mistaken belief that they would not be treated fairly.(86) Since the BPC’s invitation to sell at commission-dictated prices was not an overwhelming success, the commission launched a concerted campaign to correct the public’s misconceptions about how land acquisitions would be pursued. First, the BPC dispatched Downer and his assistant secretary, George Hilty, to personally visit property owners and inform them about BPC methods. Downer and Hilty advised owners that they could negotiate with the commission personally and receive fair treatment and an equitable price for their land, saving themselves the cost of legal representation. Downer and Hilty assured owners that they would be adequately compensated and that everyone would be paid the same price offered for lands of comparable value. To emphasize the commission’s commitment to fair and equitable treatment, the BPC published its transactions in the local press, listing owners’ names and the prices paid for their land. BPC land records were also open for public inspection.(87) |
|
|
|
|
| (83)Bronx
Parkway Commission, Report, 1912, 22; Report, 1914,
22. |
|
