City of New York, September 9, 1910. HENRY J. WALSH, ESQ., Secretary, Sinking Fund Commission: Dear Sir-An application has been made to this Department by the Eighth Regiment Armory for sufficient land at the southerly end of the Jerome Avenue Reservoir property as a site for a new armory. This Department proposes to construct the easterly basin of the Reservoir along the lines originally planned. Funds have already been provided and the building of said Reservoir authorized. The Armory Board have selected a plot of ground facing Jerome avenue with a frontage of 300 feet extending back for a distance of 600 feet. This land is not required for any of the purposes of this Department, and in pursuance to section 205 of the Charter is hereby transferred to the Sinking Fund Commission for assignment to the Armory Board. The release or transfer of the lands is conditioned upon the following express stipulations. That the Armory Board is to build a cut-off wall along the line marked A-B, as shown on the print, which forms the southerly boundary of the easterly basin of the Reservoir, and the northern boundary of the Armory site. The design, material, mode of construction and specifications for this wall must be submitted to and approved by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, which shall also have the right to detail inspectors during the progress of the work in order to see that it is properly constructed, the main purpose of which is to make a water tight and stable cut-off to prevent leakage from the Reservoir. This wall may be later used as part of the foundation of the Armory. It should be expressly understood that the entire expenses of this work, including the supervision, etc., are to be borne by the Armory Board. Yours truly, HENRY S. THOMPSON, Commissioner. Office of the Secretary, the Armory Board, New York, December 19, 1910. To the Honorable, The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund: Sirs-I transmit herewith copy of a resolution adopted by the Armory Board December 15, 1910, requesting your Honorable Board to assign to the Armory Board the land at the southerly end of Jerome Park Reservoir, to be used as a site for the proposed new armory for the Eighth Coast Artillery District, subject to the conditions requested by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. C. D. RHINEHART, Secretary. Respectfully, Resolved, That the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund be and are hereby requested to assign to the Armory Board the land at the southerly end of the Jerome Park Reservoir, to be used as a site for the proposed new armory for the Eighth Coast Artillery District, subject to the conditions requested by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. W. J. GAYNOR, Mayor; GEORGE MOORE SMITH, Brigadier-General, Commanding First Brigade; JOHN G. EDDY, Brigadier-General, Commanding Second Brigade; LAWSON PURDY, President of the Department of Taxes and Assessments. Dated December 15, 1910. In connection therewith the Deputy and Acting Comptroller presented the following report and offered the following resolution: To the Honorable the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund: January 20, 1911. Gentlemen-On December 15, 1910, the Armory Board adopted a resolution requesting the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund to assign to it the land at the southerly end of the Jerome Park Reservoir, to be used as a site for the proposed new armory for the Eighth Coast Artillery District, subject to the conditions requested by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. This plot of ground is situated on the westerly corner of Jerome avenue and Kingsbridge road, and is 300 feet wide and 600 feet deep. The Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, in a communication dated September 9, 1910, states that this land is not required for any of the purposes of his department, and pursuant to section 205 of the Charter, he transfers the same to the Sinking Fund Commission. He suggests, however, that when this land is transferred to the Armory Board, it be done upon the following express stipulations: That the Armory Board build a cut-off wall along the line marked "AB" on print submitted herewith, which line forms the southerly boundary of the easterly basin of the reservoir, and the northerly boundary of the armory site; the design, material, mode of construction and specifications for this wall to be submitted and approved by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, which department shall also have the right to detail inspectors during the progress of the work in order to see that it is properly constructed, the main purpose being to make a water-tight and staple cut-off to prevent leakage from the reservoir. This wall may be later used as part of the foundation of the armory. The Commissioner of Water Supply states that it should be expressly understood that the entire expenses of this work, including the supervision, etc., are to be borne by the Armory Board. It appears from the resolution adopted by the Armory Board that said Board is willing to comply with the conditions suggested by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. On January 11, 1911, the Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, submitted a map showing thereon the lands at Jerome Park Reservoir to be assigned to the Armory Board, and giving a description by metes and bounds of these lands. He further states that as a condition for the transfer it has been agreed that the Armory Board, as soon as the lands are transferred to it, will ask an appropriation of $140,000 to pay the cost of the cut-off wall above referred to, and the said Armory Board shall proceed at once with the construction of said cut-off wall in order not to delay the awarding of the contracts for the easterly basin of the Jerome Park Reservoir by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. I therefore respect fully recommend that the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund assign to the Armory Board to be used as a site for the proposed new Armory for the Eighth Coast Artillery District, the land at the southerly end of the Jerome Park Reservoir, situated in the Borough of The Bronx, as shown on a map attached hereto, and bounded and described as follows: "All that certain piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of The Bronx, City of New York, bounded and described as follows: "Beginning at the point formed by the intersection of the northerly line of Kingsbridge road and the westerly line of Jerome avenue; running thence north 30 degrees 18 minutes 45 seconds east 300 feet along the westerly side of Jerome avenue to a point; running thence north 60 degrees 16 minutes 45 seconds west 600 feet to a point; running thence south 29 degrees 43 minutes 15 seconds west 335.31 feet to a point on the northerly line of Kingsbridge road (which line is a curve whose radius of 283.94 feet bears north 71 degrees 39 minutes 53 seconds east from said point); running thence along said curved northerly line of Kingsbridge road 260.62 feet to a point of tangency; thence continuing along said northerly line of Kingsbridge road the following courses: South 72 degrees 55 minutes 28 seconds east 84.978 feet and south 77 degrees 46 minutes 54 seconds east 274.71 feet to the point or place of beginning, continuing within said bounds 219,622.97 square feet (5,042 acres), more or less. Being parcel No. 1, Map M. B. 63, located in Section 12, Block 3246, Borough of The Bronx.' -it being understood that when this transfer is made the Armory Board shall, at its own cost and expense, build a cut-off wall along the line A-B, from A to B (as shown on the map submitted, and attached hereto), the design, material, mode of construction and specifications there for to be first approved by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, which shall also have the right to detail inspectors during the work to see that it is properly constructed, and that as soon as these lands are transferred to the Armory Board, the latter will ask an appropriation of $140,000 to pay for the cost of building the cut-off wall above referred to, and said Armory Board shall proceed at once with the construction of said cut-off wall, as above explained, in order not to delay the awarding of the contracts for the Easterly Basin of the Jerome Park Reservoir by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. Respectfully, WM. A. PRENDERGAST, Comptroller. Whereas, The Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, in a communication dated September 9, 1910, having turned over to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund as no longer required, certain land at the southerly end of the Jerome Park Reservoir, and more particularly hereinafter described; it is Resolved, That, pursuant to the provisions of section 205 of the Greater New York Charter, as amended, the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund hereby assign to the Armory Board, to be used as a site for the proposed new_armory for the Eighth Coast Artillery District, the land at the southerly end of the Jerome Park Reservoir, situated in the Borough of The Bronx, bounded and described as follows: "All that certain piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of The Bronx, City of New York, bounded and described as follows: "Beginning at the point formed by the intersection of the northerly line of Kingsbridge road and the westerly line of Jerome avenue; running thence north 30 degrees 18 minutes 45 seconds east 300 feet along the westerly side of Jerome avenue to a point; running thence north 60 degrees 16 minutes 45 seconds west 600 feet to a point; running thence south 29 degrees 43 minutes 15 seconds west 335.31 feet to a point on the northerly line of Kingsbridge road (which line is a curve whose radius of 283.94 feet bears north 71 degrees 39 minutes 53 seconds east from said point); running thence along said curved northerly line of Kingsbridge road 260.62 feet to a point of tangency; thence continuing along said northerly line of Kingsbridge road the following courses: South 72 degrees 55 minutes 28 seconds east 84.978 feet and south 77 degrees 46 minutes 54 seconds east 274.71 feet to the point or place of beginning, continuing within said bounds 219,622.97 square feet (5,042 acres), more or less. Being Parcel No. 1, Map M. B. 63, located in Section 12, Block 3246, Borough of The Bronx." -it being understood that the Armory Board will at its own cost and expense build a cut-off wall along the line A-B, from A to B (as shown on the map submitted). The design, material, mode of construction and specifications therefor to be first approved by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, which shall also have the right to detail inspectors during the work to see that it is properly constructed, it being also understood that the Armory Board will make application for an appropriation of one hundred and forty thousand dollars ($140,000) to pay for the cost of building the cut-off wall above referred to, and proceed at once with the construction of said cut-off wall in order not to delay the awarding of the contracts for the Easterly Basin of the Jerome Park Reservoir by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. The report was accepted and the resolution unanimously adopted. The Deputy and Acting Comptroller called the attention of the Board to the fact that the resolution adopted at the last meeting (January 11, 1911), authorizing the settlement of a dispute with the Arverne Bay Construction Company, as to the location of the mean high water line in front of the property owned by the Company, received but four votes, while the provisions of the Charter require that such matters receive the unanimous vote of the full board. The resolution, therefore, was again offered for adoption. Whereas, Section 205 of the Greater New York Charter provides that the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund are authorized to settle disputes as to boundary lines; and Whereas, A dispute has arisen between the Arverne Bay Construction Company and The City of New York as to the location of the mean high water line in front of the property owned by said company; and Whereas, The said company in a verified petition addressed to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund under date of September 15, 1910, prays for a settlement of such dispute. Resolved, That the Corporation Counsel be and is hereby requested to prepare a conveyance between the City and the Arverne Bay Construction Company, whereby the high water line in front of the property of the Arverne Bay Construction Company will be determined to be coincident with the northerly line of the bulkhead of such Company as shown upon a map of property at Arverne, Rockaway Beach, Fifth Ward, Borough of Queens, City of New York, N. Y., compiled from United States Coast Surveys and surveys of F. W. Conklin for Arverne Bay Construction Company, June, 1910, surveyed for and guaranteed to the Title Guarantee and Trust Company by F. W. Conklin and filed with the petition of the Arverne Bay Construction Company, and that the same be established as the boundary line between the property of the said Company and the land under water of the City of New York, such agreement and conveyance to be in consideration of one hundred and one dollars ($101) and a quit-claim by the Arverne Bay Construction Company to The City of New York of the land under water and formerly original upland north of said boundary line, subject to the rights appurtenant to the premises released to the Arverne Bay Construction Company. The Arverne Bay Construction Company to pay in addition, the sum of twelve dollars and fifty cents ($12.50), the cost of preparing the necessary papers, and to agree to cede to The City of New York all lands together with all rights appurtenant thereto south of said boundary within the lines of any and all streets and avenues now existing that are or shall be made part of the map or plan of The City of New York, within ten days after such map or plan has been adopted by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment; and be it further Resolved, That it shall be the duty of the Mayor to execute such instruments on behalf of The City of New York and the City Clerk to attest the same when prepared and approved as to form by the Corporation Counsel. Which resolution was unanimously adopted. The following petition was received from the Robert Gair Company for a release or quit-claim of a six-inch strip of land on Plymouth street. Borough of Brooklyn, between property conveyed by the City to Robert Gair and the property owned by him west of it and immediately adjacent thereto, on the ground that it was left out of the sale of the property by the City through a mistake. In the matter of the application of Robert Gair Company for a confirmatory deed of certain lands situated in Block 28, Section 1 on the Tax Assessment map of the Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York. To the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the City of New York: Gentlemen-The petition of Robert Gair Company respectfully shows: First-That your petitioner is a corporation doing business under the name of Robert Gair Company at the corner of Washington and Water streets in the Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York. Second-The premises the confirmatory deed of which is prayed for are bounded and described as follows, to wit: Beginning at a point on the southerly side of Plymouth street distant 115 feet 6 inches westerly from the southwesterly corner of Plymouth and Adams streets and running thence southerly and parallel with Adams street 100 feet; thence easterly parallel with Plymouth street 45.68 feet; thence northerly parallel with Adams street 16.66 feet; thence northwesterly 92.32 feet to a point in the southerly line of Plymouth street distant 109.61 feet westerly from the southwesterly corner of Plymouth and Adams streets; thence running westerly 5.89 feet to the point or place of beginning. Said premises are now and have been designated on the tax maps of the Borough of Brooklyn with property adjoining on the west belonging to your petitioner as Lot 5 in Block 28, Section 1. Third-That said lot hereinbefore particularly described was conveyed with other property to The City of New York by George M. Olcott, Francis E. Dodge and Francis H. Sloan as joint tenants by a deed dated September 14, 1903, and recorded in the Register's office of Kings County in Section 1, Block 28, Liber 29, page 111 of Conveyances, December 1, 1903, a copy of which deed is hereto annexed marked Exhibit A. Fourth-That heretofore and on or about September 1, 1904, Robert Gair addressed a communication to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund requesting a sale under the direction of the said Commissioners and in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, of a parcel of land located on the southerly line of Plymouth street, adjoining his property and lying between his property and the westerly taking property line of the Manhattan Bridge in the Borough of Brooklyn, this property being a part of the Olcott purchase. Fifth-Under date of September 8, 1904, the Commissioner of Bridges in a communication addressed to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund transmitted a map which is hereto annexed, marked Exhibit B, as being property not required for Bridge purposes, and turned the same over to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund in accordance with section 205 of the Amended Greater New York Charter. Sixth-That on or about September 16, 1904, at a meeting of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, a resolution was adopted authorizing a sale at public auction of the premises described on the map (Exhibit B) to the highest bidder, at an upset price of six thousand five hundred dollars ($6,500). (See Minutes of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund for the year 1904, at pages 722 and 723 to 726 inclusive.) Such sale was duly advertised and held at the Real Estate Exchange in the Borough of Brooklyn and bid in by Robert Gair for the sum of six thousand five hundred dollars, the upset price (see Minutes of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund for the year 1904, at page 797), and thereafter a deed was delivered to the said Robert Gair, which deed was dated the 17th day of November, 1904, and recorded in the office of the Register of Kings County on the 26th day of November, 1904, in Section 1, Block 28, Liber 22 of Conveyances, page 471. A copy of said deed is hereto annexed, marked Exhibit C. Seventh-That on or about December, 1904, the Department of Taxes and Assessments changed the lot lines in said Block 28 and incorporated the said lot then known as Lot 12 described in the deed from The City of New York to the said Robert Gair in with the property of the said Robert Gair adjoining on the west and known as Lot 5 in said Block and the whole of the property west of the westerly line of the said taking for the Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn, became Lot 5 and the said Robert Gair paid taxes thereon during his ownership thereof or for a period of about 6 years. Eighth-That on or about the 1st day of October, 1910, all of the property located in this Block was transferred by the said Robert Gair to your petitioner herein, the said Robert Gair Company. Ninth-That prior to said transfer an examination was had of the title of Robert Gair to the various parcels of land located in said Block and such examination disclosed the fact that through a clerical error the said Robert Gair did not acquire title to all of the strip of land owned by the City and which it was intended to sell and convey by the City to him, and that there was a six-inch strip of land title to which was still in the City lying between his parcels fronting on Plymouth street, as will be shown by the diagram hereto annexed, marked Exhibit D. In short, the City acquired a parcel of land beginning 115 feet 6 inches west of Adams on Plymouth, but when it sold this parcel, the conveyance described land beginning 115 feet west of Adams on Plymouth; thus leaving in the City title to the six inches. Tenth-Your petitioners believe that at the time of the purchase and during the negotiations therefor it was understood both on the part of the City as well as Mr. Gair that the City was to sell all of the property owned by the City west of their westerly taking line and that there was a meeting of the minds to that effect, and that it was not possible that there was any intention on the City's part to retain a strip of land 6 inches wide which would be of no benefit to the City any more than there was on Mr. Gair's part to purchase a strip of land which would be separated from his own holdings of real estate by said 6-inch strip. Wherefore, your petitioner respectfully requests that your Board adopt a resolution authorizing a release or quit-claim of the 6 inches left out in the original deed or a confirmatory deed, which deed shall contain a description in accordance with that contained in Paragraph Second of this petition. And your petitioner agrees to pay such costs for the preparation of the papers as in the judgment of your Board may seem proper. ROBERT GAIR COMPANY, By ROBERT GAIR, President. City of New York, Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel, New York, December 13, 1910. Hon. WILLIAM A. PRENDERGAST, Comptroller: Sir-I am in receipt of your communication of 4th November, 1910, transmitting for my opinion, an application addressed to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund by Robert Gair Company, praying a confirmatory deed of premises in the Borough of Brooklyn, described as follows: "Beginning at a point on the southerly side of Plymouth street distant 115 feet 6 inches westerly from the southwesterly corner of Plymouth and Adams streets and running thence southerly and parallel with Adams street 100 feet; thence easterly parallel with Plymouth street 45.68 feet; thence northerly parallel with Adams street 16.66 feet; thence northwesterly 92.32 feet to a point in the southerly line of Plymouth street distant 109.61 feet westerly from the southwesterly corner of Plymouth and Adams streets; thence running westerly 5.89 feet to the point or place of beginning. Said premises are now and have been designated on the Tax Maps of the Borough of Brooklyn with property adjoining on the west belonging to your petitioner as Lot 5, in Block 28, Section 1." It appears that the premises above described are part of a tract acquired by The City of New York for the Manhattan Bridge Approach in Brooklyn by deed of George M. Olcott, Francis E. Dodge and Francis H. Sloan, dated September 14, 1903; and that thereafter the Sinking Fund Commission directed a sale of these premises, being a part of the tract not required for bridge purposes. It further appears that when the conveyance made in pursuance of the sale directed by the Sinking Fund Commissioners was prepared, it described the parcel conveyed, as lands beginning "115 feet west" of Adams street on Plymouth street; although the City, when it acquired the entire parcel by the Dodge-Olcott-Sloan deed, took title to the parcel as "beginning 115 feet 6 inches west" of Adams street on Plymouth; the result being that the City is the apparent record owner of a six-inch strip. This six-inch strip is not connected with or contiguous to any other parcel of land owned by the City in that vicinity. I am of opinion from examination of the papers transmitted by you, and of the minutes of the Sinking Fund Commission relative to this sale, that it was the intention of the City to sell, and of the grantee, Robert Gair, to purchase all of the parcel not required for bridge purposes; including this six-inch strip, for which confirmatory deed is now requested. I accordingly certify that the title of The City of New York in and to the sixinch strip in question is a mere cloud on the title of the present record owner, Robert Gair Company; and I have prepared and herewith enclose confirmatory deed of conveyance, which will cure the original error in description. The papers transmitted with your communication are herewith returned. |