Lost Property Rights

One man owns a piece of Fort Totten, now a major New York City metro area park; he's just not sure where it is (or who's buried there), complicating matters for the Mayor.

1 minute read

January 31, 2006, 2:00 PM PST

By David Gest


"Fort Totten is the next great step in my Administration’s efforts to create parks and open space along the City's 578 spectacular miles of shoreline," said Mayor Bloomberg.

But Thomas Loggia's lost property "situation is dangerous to the Mayor's campaign because, unlike the thieving majority of those who claim a right to city property, Loggia has proof. He has a copy of the deed that says in 1829, his ancestors, Jacob Wilkins and his wife Hannah, sold what is present-day Fort Totten to Charles Willets with the exception of a burial plot."

"Technically, that might not matter, according to Mike Berey, senior underwriting counsel and vice president of First American Title Insurance Company. Losing track of one’s land does not mean losing a right to it."

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 in New York Press

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