Episode 2 of 3
Implementation and Legal Precedents
- When
- 1811–1865
- Where
- Manhattan, New York
- Part of
- Commissioners' Plan of 1811
Existing buildings were allowed to remain if possible, but owners received compensation for necessary removals, creating legal precedents for state law administration.
In 2011, it was estimated that 39% of buildings north of Houston Street standing in 1811 had to be moved. Landowner appeals and lawsuits filed as early as 1810 created a body of precedents. By 1865, 38 separate state laws had modified the original grid.
Sources
- Commissioners' Plan of 1811 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-14
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.