| After spending $8 million for parkway development over the nine years, the NYC-BEA refused to appropriate funding for the project in 1922. The New York City comptroller informed Grant that he would not allow the city to appropriate additional funds for the BRPR. Downer reported that the NYC-BEA also failed to include a requested $138,000 appropriation for the parkway in its 1923 budget. The BPC filed court proceedings to force New York City to pay its share of parkway costs for both 1922 and 1923. The city took the matter to court and argued that the parkway law was unconstitutional, insisting that the BEA had been misinformed when it approved the parkway law in 1912. The court reaffirmed the constitutionality of the parkway law and ordered New York City to pay its share of appropriations for parkway development. The city lost its appeal of the judgement.(204) The city’s claim against the constitutionality of the parkway law appeared to be a subterfuge to conceal its real reason for holding back payment. The real basis for the city’s refusal to pay appears to have been a growing concern about the ever-increasing costs of the project. In 1912, the BPC had estimated that the cost of acquiring and reclaiming land for the BRPR would be less than $4 million, which was already more than double its original estimate.(205) Newspaper reports claimed the BPC "boulevard project" would cost approximately $4 million, leading many to believe that price to be the total cost of the project.(206) Ten years later, the City of New York and Westchester County had spent $11,779,431.25 for the BRPR. In late 1921, the NYC/BEA requested an investigation of the BPC’s 1922 funding request for $801,000 and asked the commission to estimate the cost to complete the parkway. The BPC responded that an additional $1,448,000 would be necessary through 1924. In 1922, the BPC estimated it would cost another $2,586,000.00 to complete the parkway by 1925. Although Westchester County continued to appropriate funding for the parkway so that construction could continue, it too, had questioned how much the parkway would cost. As early as 1916, the county had questioned expenses related to land. In early 1924, the county was examining the escalating costs for the parkway. Downer’s estimates to complete the parkway had risen to $15 million by April 1924. His final revised estimate issued prior to the parkway’s completion in 1925 was $15.6 million. The BPC blamed the budget overrun on the rising cost of labor and materials, noting that the delays caused by the NYC-BEA’s stonewalling had added appreciably to the project’s cumulative expense.(207) |
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| (204)Bronx
Parkway Commission, Report, 1922, 23, 26, 84; Bronx Parkway Commission,
Minutes, May 26, 1922, 91; September 26, 1922, 146-150; October 10, 1022,
154-156; Bronx Parkway Commission, Final Report, 49. |
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