In re City of New York

Here we have presented one of the most elusive problems in the field of condemnation law. It arises as a result of the legal closing of a part of a street, thus producing a dead-end or cul-de-sac street with access only in one direction. The question concerns the right to compensation of an owner whose property fronts on the unobstructed portion of the street.

This proceeding became necessary when the city decided to build a school, Junior High School 71, on Avenue B in the borough of Manhattan extending from Fourth to Sixth Streets, thus occupying the bed of East Fifth Street for a distance…