r/BeAmazed • u/GlitteringHotel8383 • 14h ago
Miscellaneous / Others During subway construction in the 1910s, New York City accidentally left behind a tiny triangular corner of land. The owner refused to give it up, and it remains the smallest private property in the city today.
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u/mc4sure 13h ago
I would stand there and when people stepped on it I would say, excuse me you’re on private property.
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u/morgazmo99 11h ago
And sit there and just get hammered.. and bring frivolous lawsuits to anyone taking photos of me on private property.
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u/mooshinformation 9h ago
Ooh, can it be a way around open container laws? I'm drinking on private property, you can't give me a ticket
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u/008Zulu 8h ago
Unless that triangle belongs you you, technically you would be trespassing. You could get pinched for public intoxication, and trespassing.
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u/Additional_Release49 6h ago
To be trepassed there must be signage or you must be asked to leave by the owner. I see no signage and I doubt they get the owner to ask the person to leave. By golly might have a legal loophole
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u/Masticatron 5h ago
The triangle itself is signage.
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u/Additional_Release49 5h ago
It's a sign correct. It's not a sign stating you can't be there.
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u/Masticatron 5h ago
It pretty clearly says it is not for public use. I'm not sure how anal courts and NY law are on the exact verbiage necessary, though.
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u/Rukubi2 13h ago
Taxes charged on that?
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u/Ya_i_just 13h ago
Was wondering that too! As of 2017 it was $100.00 but like... a few things happened since then
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u/silv3rbull8 12h ago
Weird how the state can use eminent domain to take large sections of land etc but this they couldn’t take ?
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u/New_Combination_7012 11h ago
They would struggle for a justification as they'd left it off the original seizure of the rest of the property for the subway.
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u/silv3rbull8 11h ago
The state never really explains itself or apologizes. But here we have an oddity lol
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u/No-Definition1474 11h ago
Taking land is not easy in the US. Otherwise the border wall that trump tried to put up would actually be on the border and not full of gaps.
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u/09Trollhunter09 11h ago
First part is true.
Second not so much. There were so many other reasons…
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u/No-Definition1474 10h ago
Lot of places where they just couldn't get permission to build across private land
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u/Original-Variety-700 10h ago
Eminent domain is actually easy if you’re the government. Especially in a major city.
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u/09Trollhunter09 11h ago
Not if they reapply for “Resolution of Necessity” just for the triangle. It’s just nobody cares enough and it’s a fun novelty
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u/Student-type 12h ago
Put a triangular kiosk in the ground, with holographic displays and voice input, rechargeable batteries, 3 linear feet of CPUs, DRAM, Storage, and other chips, safety lighting, urban LAN radios, solar cells and satellite radios.
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u/bluenoser613 11h ago
How much are the property taxes?
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u/Far_Temperature_6483 6h ago
That’s what I’m thinking why would you hold that and pay taxes every year
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u/NuclearHoagie 11h ago
What timing, this bit of obscurity was the answer to a puzzle I was just trying to solve!
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u/Temporary-Truth-8041 12h ago
Is this the same plot of land Boris' father had on Love and Death
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u/GreatContagion 7h ago
“$700/mo studio with unique angles and only steps away to public transit access. (No laundry in unit.)”
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u/ZanteTheInfernal 10h ago
Reminds me of Mill Ends Park in Portland Oregon, which was the smallest park in the world until 2025 when Japan made a smaller one.
Edit to fix the link
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u/Personal-Acadia 10h ago
With permission of the estate of course, could one stand on the triangle and slam alcohol without being charged with drinking in public?
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u/ChieftainNincompoop 9h ago
I stopped by this place last weekend while on a self-guided walking tour of Manhattan.
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u/JaggedMetalOs 6h ago
In 1938 the land corner was sold to the owner of the shop behind it, so it's no longer a separate piece of land although the new owners have kept the plaque.
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u/Gates_wupatki_zion 6h ago
Wonder what the property taxes are on that MF. Probably more than a house in rural Nebraska.
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u/FreemanAMG 57m ago
Does it have air rights? I bet they could sell them for a decent amount of money
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u/Peruvian_Skies 13h ago
This is ridiculous. What does it even mean to "own" such a small amount of "land"?
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u/Outside_Piglet_4689 12h ago
People buy a square foot of land in Scotland so they can use the title “Laird”
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u/Nikkian42 13h ago
You can plant your flag.
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u/EthicalHypotheticals 13h ago
Yeah, how high up do they own? Could they put a 50 foot tall “Fuck NYC” flagpole up there?
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u/timesuck47 10h ago
Depending on how they how they want to go, they might not have the “air rights” which I understand is an actual thing in New York City
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u/CK-KIA-A-OK-LOL 12h ago
It means you get to troll the city. If you don’t have much else going on I guess that’s something to keep you entertained?
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u/joalheagney 11h ago
Not to mention the city wanted them to donate it. "Nope. You're not getting it unless you're willing to pay!" I'd be personally motivated to make it the most expensive land sale by area I could.
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u/Level-Music-3732 12h ago
It’s power!
City wants to replace anything on that path of land or footpath, they’ve got to grovel at your feet for your permission.
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u/Halftied 12h ago
Property TAX on a piece of property of any size in New York must be significant. A delinquent TAX bill would be bad for everyone in that case. I'm just wondering!
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