In re Mayor
Opinion of the Court
The appellants, the owners of a lot of land upon a street known •as Monroe or Morris avenue, which for many years has been open . as a public street, applied to the coürt by -a petition under section. 14 of chapter 1006 of the Laws of 1895, asking that the commissioners of estimate and assessment appointed in this proceeding be-
It appeared in this proceeding that Morris avenue, upon which the appellants’ land abutted, has been for many years a public street and used as such, but that the street had not been opened under any proceeding instituted by the city of New York; that by chapter ■515 of the Laws of 1890 provision was made for making and filing the maps and plans of the streets and avenues in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards of the city of New York; and the commissioner of street improvements for the said wards was directed within a time named to complete the surveys, maps, plans and profiles of all the streets, roads, avenues, public squares and places located and laid out, or thereafter to be located and laid out, in said territory, and that said maps and plans, upon being approved by the board of street opening of the city, and filed as provided for by the act, should be final and conclusive as to the location, width, grades and class of streets, roads, avenues, public squares and places exhibited on such maps, plans and profiles. In pursuance of that •act, maps and plans for the permanent location of the streets and avenues in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards were finally adopted on June 17, 1895, and filed December 17, 1895. By those maps a new street called Morris avenue was laid out, but the old Morris avenue, the street or road upon which the petitioner’s property abutted, was indicated upon such map as a street discontinued. Prior to the filing of this map, and on June 12, 1895, chapter 1006 of the laws of that year became a law.. By section 1 it was provided that “ in each city containing, according to the latest census, a population of more than one million two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, the local authorities may authorize in the manner hereinafter provided the' discontinuance of such streets, avenues, roads, highways, alleys, lanes and thoroughfares therein as they may deem to be necessary in order to more effectually secure and preserve regularity and uniformity in the general and permanent plan of streets and avenues and public places therein.” By section 2 it was provided that “ the local authorities authorized by law to lay out, open, extend, alter or improve streets,
The question to be determined on this appeal is whether the filing by the municipal authorities of the city of New York of the map of plan of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards under chapter 545'of the Laws of 1890, before referred to, did, under section 2 of chapter 1006 of the act of 1895, discontinue the street shown on the map as the old Morris avenue ; and I think'that the filing of. the map did as a fact operate to discontinue the existing street under this provision. Section 1 of the act gives the municipal authorities, of the cities'mentioned. therein the power to discontinue public streets or thoroughfares in the manner thereafter indicated. Section 2 then provides that the local authorities authorized by law to lay out, open, extend, alter or improve streets, avenues or roads in ■any city or district, and -to make of file a map or plan showing such streets, avenues and roads so laid out, shall, upon any map or plan so made, that is, upon a map or plan not made under the authority of section 1, but under- authority conferred upon them by
It would seem to have been the clear intention of the Legislature to ¡n-ovide that when the permanent plan of a city is finally adopted by the municipal authorities, all streets or roads not shown upon the plan as permanent streets or avenues should be discontinued as public streets; and thus, when the local authorities, under the power granted'by chapter 545 of the Laws of 1890, filed their plan or map •of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards of the city of Rew York, locating upon that plan or map certain permanent streets and -avenues, all streets and avenues not therein designated as permanent streets or avenues by operation of this section became discontinued as public streets and avenues. This construction gives -effect to both of the acts and would seem to be necessary for the proper development of these outlying districts of the city of Rew York. It was essential that this Morris avenue as it existed before the making of this permanent plan should be discontinued, as it was inconsistent with the plan of the streets and avenues in that locality -as finally adopted ; and there can be no reason why it should be continued. -:
We also think that merely tracing upon this map the location of the old streets and marking them as streets discontinued was a substantial compliance with the statute which directed the municipal authorities to designate only the streets, avenues and roads which - they might determine to so lay out or improve as the permanent streets and avenues of that portion of the city. The fact that there
The court below denied the application upon the ground that the= filing of the map and plan of this portion of the city tinder the Laws, of 1890 did not have the effect of closing the streets under section % of the act of 1895, and that the petitioner’s easement of light, air and access in the old-street was not affected by that closing of the street.
It is not necessary to determine upon this application whether the.
We think the order appealed from should be reversed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements, and the motion granted, with ten. dollars costs.
Rumsey, Patterson and Hatch, JJ., concurred; Van Brunt, P. J., dissented for the reasons stated in the opinion below.
See p. 139.
Concurring Opinion
I concur in the views expressed by Mr. Justice Ingraham in his opinion herein, and I am also of the opinion that his. construction of the acts in question has received the sanction both of this court and of the Coart of Appeals. (Matter of Mayor, 28 App. Div. 143; affd., 157 N. Y. 409.)
The record in that case, which was before this court on the appeal, discloses that the map then in question related to Gerard avenue, between One Hundred and Sixty-eighth street and One Hundred and Sixty-ninth street, as laid down on section 9 of the final plans of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards, filed November 2,1895, In construing chapter 1006 of the Laws of 1895 as to the effect of the ■filing of the map, Mr. Justice Patterson, writing the opinion of the court, says (p. 146) “ that much of Gerard avenue became-closed by the filing of the map, and thus the respondents’ easements of light, air and access to their Gerard avenue frontage were in legal effect taken away.” An appeal from this decision was permitted, and certain questions were certified for review, the first of which was as follows: “First. Was the effect of Chapter 1006 of the Laws of 1895, taken in connection with the action taken by the commissioner of street improvements of the twenty-third and
This question presents the identical subject now before us for' determination, except as to the particular street. The map now before us is a part of the same final plans of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards, to wit: “ Extract from Section 14 of the Final Maps of the 23d and 24th wards. Adopted Juné IT, 1895. Filed December ITth, 1895.” It is shown by the record in Matter of Ma/yor (supra) that the section there in question was also adopted June IT, 1895, but was filed November 2, 1895.
The Court of Appeals did not answer the question certified to it categorically, but said: “We think that the provisions of chapter 1006 of the Laws of 1895 are within the constitutional powers of the Legislature, and that the order in this case should be affirmed. * * # "^ye have not thought" it necessary to enter upon a discussion of this question, for the reason that the very able opinion written below, in which we fully concur, covers all the points involved.”
These cases definitely determine that the effect of the filing of the maps in question was to close and discontinue the old street known as Morris avenue, and to take away the appellants’ easements of light, air and access therein and thereto as effectually as in the case of Gerard avenue.
I am of the opinion, also, that chapter T12 of the Laws of 1896, entitled “ An act in relation to the final maps, plans and profiles of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards of the city of New York,” has the effect to remove any objection to the maps and plans in question which might have existed by reason of the failure of the authorities to follow technically and exactly the requirements of the statutes providing therefor, and ratified and confirmed the same in all respects. It includes in its provisions, in express terms, sections 1 to 28, inclusive, of the final maps and profiles of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards of the city of New York, and while
Rumsey and Ingraham, JJ., concurred.
The following is the opinion of the court below, referred to by Van Brunt, P. J.:
The city has instituted proceedings to acquire title to the hereinafter-named streets, and commissioners of estimate and assessment have been appointed. The petitioner Dowd is the owner of the premises fronting on Ilingsbridge road over which the said premises enjoyed the usual street easements of light, air and access. Kings-bridge road is shown as discontinued and closed on the final maps of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards. Grote street is one of the streets laid out on the final maps bounding the block within which this part of Bhngsbridge road is situated. The petitioner Sattler is the owner of premises fronting on Monroe avenue, between East One Hundred and Eighty-first street and East One Hundred and Eighty-second street, over ■ which the said premises enjoyed the usual street easements of light, air and access. ■ Monroe avenue is shown as discontinued and closed on the final maps of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth wards. Morris avenue is one of the streets laid out on the final maps bounding the block within which this part of Monroe avenue is situated. The petitioner Brass is the owner of the premises situated on Eighth avenue, southerly from "Walnut street, over which the said premises enjoyed the usual street easements of light, air and access. Eighth avenue is shown
The facts alleged in the several petitions are not in substance denied, but -the granting of these motions -is resisted by the city of New York principally upon the grounds that the easements which petitioners’ lots formerly enjoyed over the highways on which they fronted have not been extinguished, either by any acts of the municipality or by virtue of chapter 1006 of the Laws- of 1895; that the demand for damages was not filed by petitioners within the time specified by chapter 1C06 of the Laws of -1895, and- that, conceding chapter 1006 of the Laws of. 1895 to apply to these streets, the easements of light, - air and access which the petitioners’ premises formerly enjoyed over the highways on which they fronted have not been extinguished, as none of the streets to which the city has acquired title to the fee have been, within -the term as used in- chapter 1006 of the - Laws of 1895, opened. It appears from the moving papers that by reason of the powers devolved on him by chapter 545 of the Laws of 1890 the commissioner of streets of - the twenty-third and twenty-fourth
Order reversed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements, and motion granted, with ten dollars costs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.