Welde v. New York & Harlem Railroad

28 A.D. 379, 51 N.Y.S. 290
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJuly 1, 1898
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 28 A.D. 379 (Welde v. New York & Harlem Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Welde v. New York & Harlem Railroad, 28 A.D. 379, 51 N.Y.S. 290 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1898).

Opinion

Rumsey, J.:

.In the year 1831 the New York and Harlem Railroad Company was chartered with power to build a railroad commencing at Twenty-third street in the city of New York, and extending northerly. Before that time, and pursuant to the law of 1807 (Chap. 115), as amended in 1813 (2 R. L. [1813] 408, § 177), Fourth avenue ■had been laid out on Manhattan Island as one of the streets of the city of New York, although it was not opened as a street for many years afterwards. As located and built, the track of the Harlem railroad extended along Fourth avenue, occupying a space about twenty-four feet wide ' in the center of the street. At that time, and for many years afterwards, the tracks of the road lay upon the surface of the-ground in front of land now owned by the plaintiff; That part of Fourth avenue which was afterwards called and is now known as Park avenue, was opened as a street in [381]*3811852, from Thirty-fourth street up to One Hundred and Thirty-fifth street. Before that time the width of the avenue had been increased from 100 feet to 140 feet by adding 20 feet from the land on each side of the street. The plaintiff is the owner of land situated on the corner of One Hundred and Twenty-fourth street and Fourth avenue, having a frontage upon both streets. At the time that the Harlem railroad was built, the land was owned by one Isaac Adriance, who conveyed to the New York and Harlem Railroad Company a strip of land twenty-four feet wide along the center of the street for the purpose of its railroad, by a deed granting also certain easements, which will be considered later in this opinion. In 1872 the Harlem Railroad Company was required and authorized by the Legislature to lay its tracks in a cut along the center of Park avenue, which it proceeded to do. When the cut was finished in front ■ of the plaintiff’s land it was so deep that the smoke pipes of the locomotives were below the top of the cut and the smoke and steam escaping from the engines did not seriously inconvenience those persons who occupied buildings along the sides of the street. The road continued tó be operated in this cut until the trial of this action ; but in .the year 1892, by. a statute known as chapter 339 of the laws of that year, the Legislature established a new grade for the tracks of the New York and Harlem Railroad Company, and required the elevation of the road to that grade. Such grade ran considerably above the surface of the street, and the statute provided ■that there should be erected above the street, to carry the tracks, a steel viaduct, the height of which was practically fixed by the Legislature. The construction of these elevated tracks, pursuant to this statute, was begun during the year 1893, .and continued until the time of the trial of this action. At that time the greater portion of the appellants’ trains, if not all of them,, were yet running in the cut which had been built in 1872, because the viaduct was not yet so far finished as to enable them to be run over it. Certain engines, however, and cars were operated along the viaduct by those who were engaged in its construction; but whether those engines and cars were operated by the defendants or by the contractor did not clearly appear, and, perhaps, is not very important at present.

The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company is the lessee of the New York and Harlem railroad, and has for a [382]*382long time been and still is operating that road under a lease from its owner. The allegations of the complaint are, substantially, that ■these two railroad companies are-now constructing and have in part constructed an elevated viaduct on Park avenue, opposite the premises of the plaintiff, about fourteen feet above the level of the street, which structure consists of iron columns, upon which are placed horizontal and longitudinal girders and bases, and upon them is to be laid a double-track steel railroad, upon'which the defendant •companies intend to run their railroad trains at high speed and at frequent intervals. It is further alleged that the said companies are likewise constructing on both sides of the viaduct station houses, resting . upon girders, which are sustained by columns erected along the curb lines of Park avenue, between One Hundred and Twenty-third and One Hundred and Twenty-seventh streets of said city. The complaint describes these station houses and structures at considerable length, and alleges that in the operation of tlie trains there will be emitted noxious vapors, gases and cinders, and loud and disagreeable noises will be caused, and that the structure itself will shut off the light and air from the windows of the plaintiff’s houses on Park avenue, making the rooms of the buildings dark and undesirable, and impairing the value of the premises.

The plaintiff complains that during the progress of the work the tenants were seriously incommoded by the noise caused by handling the iron on the street and on the viaduct as it was building, and also by smoke' and steam from the engines used in the construction of the viaduct, and by the interruption of the' light caused by that structure as it grew towards completion, and also by the smoke and steam escaping from the engines of the defendants as they were, operated in the cut, which, instead of going straight up into the air as it had formerly done, was turned aside by the viaduct and the temporary structure erected above the street against and into -the buildings, to the great annoyance and discomfort of the tenants. The complaint then contains an allegation that, by reason of all these facts, the plaintiff had been damaged in. loss of rentals and the •destruction of his easements of light, air and access in the public street, to the extent of $7,000 per annum,

• The complaint contains further allegations to the effect that, by reason of the wrongful and unlawful acts and "trespasses of the [383]*383defendants, as aforesaid, prior to the commencement of this action, causing injury to and destruction of his easements of light, air and access to his said premises, the plaintiff has sustained special damages to the sum- of $20,000. The relief asked is the usual injunction restraining the defendant railroads from maintaining their elevated structure' and for damages. The allegations of the plaintiff were put in issue, and the questions presented were, in the first place, whether the structure complained of was erected hy the railroad companies or operated by them and the extent and nature of their liability, and if that should be found, then, of course, the question as to the amount of damages sustained by the plaintiff by reason of the construction and operation and the damage to the lands themselves from the same cause. While not disputing seriously that the alleged inconveniences resulted from the work as it progressed, the defendants insist that they are not liable for them because the contractors who were performing the work were not acting by their direction or under their control, but were acting solely under the authority and the procurement of a board of improvement created by the Legislature and over whose actions the defendant railroad companies had no control. Whether this contention is well founded and the extent to which it operates as a defense to this action at this time are the serious questions, presented by the case.

This viaduct was a part of the work of raising the grade of the Harlem railroad along Park avenue in the city of New York to and beyond the Llarlem river as provided for by chapter 339 of the Laws of 1892. The provisions of that statute have already been considered by us in the case of Taylor v. The New York & Harlem R. R. Co. (27 App. Div.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Pape v. New York & Harlem Railroad
74 A.D. 175 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1902)
Welde v. New York & Harlem Railroad
66 N.Y.S. 1147 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1900)
Lewis v. . New York Harlem R.R. Co.
56 N.E. 540 (New York Court of Appeals, 1900)
Welde v. New York & Harlem Railroad
29 Misc. 13 (New York Supreme Court, 1899)
Sander v. New York & H. R. Co.
59 N.Y.S. 127 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1899)
Birrell v. New York & Harlem Railroad
41 A.D. 506 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1899)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
28 A.D. 379, 51 N.Y.S. 290, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/welde-v-new-york-harlem-railroad-nyappdiv-1898.