DEPARTMENT OF PARKS. IOI 



of said Commissioner. At any time after the Commissioners of 

 Appraisal, heretofore or hereafter appointed pursuant to the pro- 

 visions of this act, have taken their oaths of office, the City of 

 Brooklyn may, at its option, to be exercised by the head of the 

 said Department of Parks, or his successor, with the consent of 

 the Mayor, without any suit at law or proceeding for that pur- 

 pose, enter upon, use, occupy and enjoy the land thereby sought 

 to be acquired ; provided, however, that any proceeding in which 

 any entry is so made shall not thereafter be discontinued, unless 

 provision is made for any damage resulting to the owners of the 

 premises so occupied by reason of such occupation, said damages 

 to be paid from the fund authorized to be raised by this act. 



SECTION II. Section ten of said act is hereby amended so as 

 to read as follows : 



SECTION X. The Commissioners to be appointed as aforesaid 

 shall be allowed ten dollars for each and every day actually and 

 necessarily employed about their duties. 



SECTION III. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as 

 continuing the Department of Parks of the County of Kings as a 

 separate and distinct department from the Department of Parks 

 of the City of Brooklyn. 



SECTION IV. This act shall take effect immediately. 



HOW THE WORK HAS BEEN DONE. 



This bill was not all that could have been desired, inasmuch 

 as it did not define the time when the owners of property could 

 collect the moneys due them. It gave the Commissioner the 

 right to enter upon the property and to begin improvements. 

 This was an exceedingly delicate thing to do, inasmuch as it 

 virtually dispossessed several hundred owners of houses without 

 immediately compensating them in any way. It appeared to the 

 Department that the wisest course to pursue would be to allow 

 the property owners every possible advantage, and to make their 

 removal as easy as possible. Accordingly it was resolved to allow 

 the owners of houses to purchase them for a nominal sum, upon 

 condition that the houses be removed within thirty days from the 

 line of the Parkway, by the owners ; and, in cases where the 



