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September 23, 2016
The smallest lot in New York City (500 square inches)
It's pictured above and below.
Brian Roemmele has the back story:
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Between Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue South, just in front of the historic Village Cigars store, there's a small mosaic triangle set into the sidewalk — the smallest legal plot owned in New York City.
This land is now part of the sidewalk: it was never sold or given to the city.
In 1910, Seventh Avenue was extended to just below Greenwich Avenue to make room for subway construction.
The city exercised eminent domain to condemn and demolish 300 pieces of property.
One of the buildings to be demolished was D. H. Hess's Voorhis Apartment, a five-story residential building.
Hess mounted a fierce battle with the city that ultimately left him with about 500 square inches of real estate shaped like a triangle.
The city requested that Hess "donate" the land to be part of a new sidewalk.
Hess did not agree and went to court to assert his rights and it became a famous case in the late 1910s known as "The D. H. Hess Estate of Philadelphia case."
Ultimately Hess won the case and created a lasting reminder of defiance: On July 27, 1922, he ordered black and yellow tile to create a defiant message [above] that can still be read today:
PROPERTY OF THE HESS ESTATE WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN DEDICATED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES
In 1938 the Hess family sold the triangle for about 2¢ per inch ($1,000 in total) to the cigar store that still operates at the location today.
September 23, 2016 at 12:01 PM | Permalink
Comments
PupTentacle,
Nicely done!
Correction tweeted to Mr. Roemmele:
Posted by: bookofjoe | Sep 25, 2016 4:42:57 AM
In 1938 the Hess family sold the triangle for about 2¢ per inch ($1,000 in total) to the cigar store that still operates at the location today.
That would be TEN dollars, not a thousand.
Posted by: PupTentacle | Sep 25, 2016 12:38:50 AM
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