
A 25-Inch Plot of Land in Greenwich Village Embodied ‘a Resistance’ - pseudolus
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/10/nyregion/hess-triangle-greenwich-village.html
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theoh
See also [http://socks-studio.com/2014/10/22/gordon-matta-clarks-
reali...](http://socks-studio.com/2014/10/22/gordon-matta-clarks-reality-
properties-fake-estates-1973/)

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omaranto
I thought it was weird to give the size of a plot in units of length. _That_
made me click the title. If it had said "270 square inch plot" I probably
would not have been curious enough to follow the link.

So, I claim the title is click-bait. :)

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plink
I simply assumed the writer inadvertently left out the word "square".
Apparently, the omission was a deliberate nudge to Hiring at any other
publication with laxer standards.

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omaranto
No, it's not just an omission of square: the plot in question is a little
triangle, each side around 25 inches long, so the area is around 270 sq in.

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plink
Indeed: The abbreviation "sq" indicating area.

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L_Rahman
I know the NYTimes thinks its charming, but this plaque embodies the arrogance
and greed of wealthy landowners in NY who have opposed the construction of
mass transit for over a hundred years.

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driverdan
Plenty of people fight against violent confiscation of private land. You don't
have to be arrogant or greedy to resist.

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InitialLastName
There is no private land in the United States that was not confiscated either
by direct violence or through the threat of violence.

In fact, private land can only exist thanks to the threat of violence against
those who would use it outside of the "owner's" intent.

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ColanR
> In fact, private land can only exist thanks to the threat of violence
> against those who would use it outside of the "owner's" intent.

Kinda like what makes your wallet 'yours'.

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InitialLastName
Exactly.

The key difference, though, is that my wallet is unlikely to be directly
useful for the creation of a public good. Some portion of the contents are
frequently used to that end though.

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clamprecht
This article gave me an idea. We've all read about neighborhoods being
"gentrified", raising the property taxes, effectively pricing the original
habitants out. I've wondered, if this ever happened to me, how could I solve
the problem. Some kind of "poison pill", making the land useless to anyone
else. Perhaps the solution is dividing the property and carving out a small 1
square foot section somewhere important on the property, so its land value is
low enough to where anyone can afford the property taxes on it. That way, even
if you're forced to sell the land, there's this little part they can't take
from you that makes the rest of the land useless.

I'm sure someone else has thought of this... anyone know of something like
this, or other solutions to this problem?

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jballanc
It would vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally you can't just
carve up a lot willy-nilly. In order to transfer ownership of a lot, a deed
must be recorded with the relevant government agency (city, county, etc.).
These agencies generally have plat books recording the location and
coordinates of lots so that this transfer can take place without having to
send a surveyor out each time there's a transfer, and there are rules and
procedures regarding how lots are recorded, modified, and updated.

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d-sc
Not only that. There’s usually development regulations for ‘sub divisions’
that specify minimum things like street access, utilities, etc.

