| In January 1915, Schwiers offered his two parcels to the BPC for $207,000. The BPC ordered another appraisal. Six months passed before Schwiers’s case was reviewed by the BPC. Schwiers pointed out that he had spent twenty years building up his business, during which time he had reclaimed the land from a swamp and built a railroad siding. He maintained that there was no other location in the vicinity that could accommodate his business and pleaded with the BPC to allow him to keep enough of his property to continue in business. The BPC agreed to inspect the property one more time and sent Downer to learn whether there was any way to accommodate Schwiers’s request. Sometime later, Schwiers finally sold his parcels to the BPC and was rented back a portion of the land to continue doing business. The difficulties between the two parties continued when Schwiers refused to pay half his rent. The BPC took legal action to remove Schwiers from its property in July 1917 and finally won its petition to evict him in December 1918. The BPC still did not rid itself of Schwiers, however, as the Bronx Fuel Administrator requested the company be allowed to continue doing business through the winter of 1919.(94) The Schwiers case was just one of many difficult transactions between property owners and the BPC. It illustrates that the land acquisition process did not always go as smoothly as indicated by the BPC reports. Other negotiations with local business owners reflected further problems in dealing with property owners. In early 1914, businessman Adam Danner protested that the BPC’s offer for his property was inadequate. Despite the BPC’s insistence on fairness and accuracy, the commission’s records indicate that Danner had been offered $5,000 less than the property value determined by the commission’s own appraisal. The BPC also refused to make any allowance for moving Danner’s business on the grounds that it had no "evidence of the value of the business." The commission insisted that Danner had to justify the stated value of his business with written, detailed evidence.(95) On occasion, the BPC could be convinced to revise its estimates upward, though it rarely went as high as property owners would have liked. In response to another challenge, the BPC considered data presented by the Mosler Company detailing the costs that would be entailed by relocation. The BPC concluded that Mosler’s business was very successful and agreed that it would suffer significant losses by being forced to move. The commission ordered another appraisal, which produced a figure of approximately $56,000. Commissioners considered that the appraisal did not compensate for equipment, goodwill, or loss of business, so they raised their offer to $93,000.(96) This offer was still much less than the $179,000 price Mosler requested, but the BPC seemed eager to compromise with the Mosler Company, in contrast to its stubborn dealings with Schwiers. BPC meeting minutes offer little explanation as to why the commission increased its offers or refused to budge on offers that were sometime below appraisal. The only answer as to why some property owners received more generous terms was that commissioners apparently believed that some businesses were worth keeping while others were not. Since the commissioners viewed themselves as high-minded and equanimous civic leaders undertaking a mission of surpassing public importance they clearly had no qualms about their ability to act simultaneously as judge, advocate, and jury in all matters respecting the fate of the Bronx River Parkway and its erstwhile inhabitants. BPC meeting minutes indicate that most of the commission’s time in 1913 was consumed with land acquisition activities. Despite the BPC’s public assertions that the land acquisition process was proceeding smoothly with tremendous support from affected property owners, the commission experienced significant resistance, including some disputes that escalated into contentious legal proceedings. By 1914, citizens impatient with the commission’s policy attempted to compel the BPC to begin condemnation hearings. In July 1914, New York Governor Martin H. Glynn informed the BPC that three citizens had filed charges against the commissioners on the grounds that they had "wilfully [sic] neglected and omitted their duties enjoined by law." The complainants demanded that the commissioners be removed from office. The BPC responded by sending Glynn copies of its reports through June 30, 1914, along with a set of thirty survey sheets that showed lands acquired and land yet to be acquired. BPC counsel Theodosius Stevens explained that although the suit was directed at the commissioners themselves, the charges were really a challenge to the BPC policy of direct land purchase. Stevens pointed out that the BPC had no power to take official action between their appointment in 1906 and New York City’s approval of the BRPR project in 1913, and therefore it had not neglected its duties. He noted that the commissioners had worked diligently with New York City and Westchester County authorities on behalf of the BRPR voluntarily and at their own expense during the period they were awaiting official authorization. Stevens questioned the litigants’ motives by calling attention to the fact that no charges had been made during the years of alleged inactivity. It was not until the BPC received authority to purchase land and acquired nearly half the requisite property that the charges against it were filed.(97) |
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Parkway Commission, Minutes, January 29, 1915, 31-32; June 22, 1915, 270-273;
September 30, 1916, 412-417; October 24, 1916, 445-448; July 7, 1917,
187-95; December 3, 1918, 203-06. |
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