compensation awarded therefor amounts to one million, 

 three hundred and fifty-seven thousand, six hundred and 

 six dollars ($1,357,606). 



Measures were promptly taken by his Honor, the Mayor, 

 and by the Comptroller, to raise the money required for 

 the payment of these awards, and payments began to be 

 made in the month of December following. 



More than three-fourths of the whole amount awarded to 

 the proprietors has already been paid, but the difficulty of 

 raising money at this particular juncture of public affairs 

 has again delayed the period when the Board can take that 

 entire control of the land which is necessary for laying out 

 and improving the Park. 



The Board hopes to obviate one cause of the delay by an 

 application to the Legislature, at its present session, to 

 authorize immediate action on the land, thus removing a 

 restriction of no real value to the owners, and which now 

 only serves to protract the commencement of operations, 

 the inrportance of which cannot be over-estimated. 



For these reasons the Board can scarcely yet be said to 

 have entered upon any of the more active duties contem- 

 plated by its appointment, nor has it, consequently, been 

 able to lay out an entire plan of improvement. For 

 although the property, as the awards are being paid, is 

 gradually coming into the possession of the Board, it is 

 only as a whole that any plan of improvement can be 

 judiciously carried out. 



A considerable portion of the Park property is found to 

 be encumbered with small — many of them dilapidated — 

 buildings, which the Board has concluded to sell. But 

 there are several good dwelling-houses, which may be 

 advantageously rented until the ground on which they 

 stand shall be required for the purposes of improvement, 



