317 



quest for permission to sell was also denied, although it had 

 received the approval of the Senate, and is believed to have 

 influenced that body in the passage of the bill for park exten- 

 sion, which was acted upon by them on the same day. 



After park areas had been thus far extended, the Commis- 

 sioners, hoping that the residue of the land required to carry 

 out the improved plan would yet be conceded to them, deemed 

 it expedient to commence the improvement. They began upon 

 that part of the ground which was originally selected for a 

 park, and where their expenditures had been limited in amount; 

 but it proved to be the most difficult, and consequently the 

 most expensive to operate upon. Among other difficulties, it 

 became necessary to accommodate the park grades to those 

 established for the surrounding streets of the city, which grades 

 had recently been much reduced; and the transformation of 

 the ground to meet these changes could only be accomplished 

 at very considerable expense. The Commissioners, however, 

 believe that the expenditure is not to be regretted, and they 

 take this opportunity of expressing the opinion that the style 

 and finish with which this as well as other park improvements 

 have been executed have had much to do with the great in- 

 crease of values to which they have above referred. It was not 

 so much the fact that Brooklyn was to have a large park, as it 

 was the discovery, that her park was to possess an artistic 

 beauty and finish equal to any park extant, which was to sus- 

 tain her in her competition with the parks of other cities. 



The Commissioners have claimed for Brooklyn the advan- 

 tage of being a more desirable place of residence in many re- 

 spects than New York, and they think it can be readily shown 

 that she possesses finer sites for city residences, in connection 

 with the refined enjoyments of a park, than can be found in 

 that city. She has even now under her own control a district 

 of country, east of Flatbush avenue, in the highest degree 

 attractive, and which, if properly improved, would open up 

 another large district southerly and easterly therefrom, to the 

 immense advantage of our city, both socially and financially. 

 But in order to develop these advantages fully, they think it 

 will be necessjirv to revise the whole street plan of this quarter 

 of the city while it is yet under easy municipal control, and to 

 lay it out anew in such a way as will not only be much more 



