Daniel Conover
Daniel Denice Conover (1822 – August 15, 1896) was an American public servant, political activist and industrialist. He was the first to invest in land development in Long Island and, through his efforts, was partly responsible for transforming the southern coastline, then known as the Great South Bay, as a popular summer resort for many prominent New York and Brooklyn families throughout the mid-to late 19th century. His appointment as street commissioner of New York City by Governor John King in 1857, which was instead turned over to Charles Devlin by Mayor Fernando Wood, resulted in the Police Riot of 1857. Biography Born in 1822, Daniel Conover became involved in local New York politics as a young man. He soon became a well-known political activist, being a member of several prominent clubs, and was involved in both municipal and national elections. He was also an outspoken supporter of the New York City Volunteer Fire Department and was closely associated with department for decades. In 1853, he was the foreman of Amity Hose which was reportedly "a company not only noted for its elegant carriage, but for the character and prominence of its members in the community". He was a member of the Common Council and, through his influence, he successfully introduced the resolution to purchase the fire department's first steam engine. He was also a presidential elector for John C. Frémont during the United States presidential election of 1856. In 1857, he was appointed street commissioner by Governor John King. On the day he was to assume his office however, Conover was informed that Mayor Fernando Wood had instead given the position to Charles Devlin and had Conover thrown out of the building by Municipal police. Conover immediately obtained two arrest warrants for Mayor Wood, one charging him with inciting a riot and another for assault, and returned to New York City Hall with 50 Metropolitan officers. The resulting confrontation between the Municipal and Metropolitan police resulted in the Police Riot of 1857. Following this incident, Conover became a prominent industrialist especially in New York's growing street railway systems. He was one of the projectors for the Boulevard Line, the granting of a charter for which precipitated a contest in the Board of Aldermen, as well as the Thirty-Fourth Street line. He later became president of the Fulton Street, Wall Street & Cortland Street Ferries Railroad Company and the Twenty-Eighth & Twenty-Ninth Street Railroad Company. Settling in Bay Ridge, New York during his later years, Conover was responsible for developing real estate in the area surrounding Bay Ridge and Islip, New York. He first visited Bay Ridge in 1856 when the Olympic Club, of which he was a member, relocated there. He began buying up cheap undeveloped property, among these a sizable property on Saxton Avenue where he built a Victorian style cottage for his wife and children, and constructed homes which rented out for $100 to $1,000 a month. These cottages were based along Saxton Avenue, Awixa Avenue and