 The Hatch tract was favored over other potential locations such as Coney Island and Staten Island, due to its large beach area continuously extended by tidal action, and beaches and surf of higher quality than the other sites.Because Hatch was offering the property at a much higher price than its appraised value of $200,000, the city sought to acquire the site via condemnation.Efforts to develop the park, then called Seaside Park, and the hospital were suspended on November 1, 1907, due to the panic of 1907, but resurrected in 1909 after campaigning from citizens and philanthropic groups.