New Parks Act

[1] In 1876, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired to survey the Bronx and map out streets based on the local geography.

Olmsted noted the natural beauty of the Van Cortlandt family's estate in the northwest Bronx, comparing it to Central Park which he designed, and recommended the city purchase the property.

[2][3] The land was part of a proposed greenbelt across the Bronx, consisting of parks and parkways that would align more with existing geography than a grid system similar to the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 in Manhattan.

[16][17] Prominent opponents included Mayor Franklin Edson, who believed that the system of parks was too big and expensive to acquire, and Assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt, who opposed the bill's being pushed through.

[19] Legal disputes carried on for years, exacerbated by the fact that Marsh owned land near Van Cortlandt Park in particular.

Ultimately, the parks were established despite the objections of major figures like Mayors William Russell Grace and Abram Hewitt; Comptroller Edward V. Loew; and Assemblymen Henry Bergh and Theodore Roosevelt.