Politics and the Park [ 139 ] of such a park in New York, which he termed "the most interesting phase of the whole matter" He pointed out that one group of critics of a New York park felt it would be made only "for the 'upper ten', who ride in fine carriages" while another felt that a country park would be "usurped by rowdies and low people!' He rejected both criticisms as foolish and instead developed the argument that a public park would be a place where class and social differences need not exist, for "they enjoy together the same music, breathe the same atmosphere of art, enjoy the same scenery, and grow into social freedom by the very influences of easy intercourse, space, and beauty that surround them!'24 As interesting as the notion was that the environment could have a substantial effect on social conditions, it was not this argument that caught the attention of the public and the council. It was rather the attractive portrait of the large landscaped park that he had described, his concern about the east-side site's insufficient size, its noncentral location, and its inability to absorb the new municipal reservoir that had been projected. These comments seemed to summarize the growing feelings of discontent over Jones's Wood. The council was impressed by Downing's arguments, and thinking that it had perhaps acted too hastily in initially designating the East River site, it accordingly retreated on August 5, 1851. The mayor appointed aldermen Daniel Dodge, Joseph Britton, and William A. Dooley as a committee to examine whether another site was preferable. Two days after this appointment, the council again met. At this session, aldermen who were advocates of the Jones's Wood site tried to force action by offering a resolution that would have directed the corporation counsel to take whatever legal measures were necessary to appoint commissioners of estimate and assessment who could then secure the land immediately. This step was deferred by the full council when it voted to refer the resolution to the special committee appointed a few days before.25 Thus the move was on to find a more suitable site, or at least to give further study to the one already designated. By the autumn of 1851, the main groups in the political controversy were divided according to three major interests.26 First, there was a large and influential group 2* Ibid., 151. 25 Hall, "Central Park in the City of New York;' 455-56. 28Nevins, The Eoening Post, 198.