The board of land commissioners conducted property assessments on more than 34,000 lots in the area,[47] completing them by July 1855.[48] While the assessments were ongoing, proposals to downsize the plans were vetoed by mayor Fernando Wood.[48][49][50] At the time, the site was occupied by free black people and Irish immigrants who had developed a property-owning community there since 1825.[51][52] Most of the Central Park site's residents lived in small villages, such as Pigtown;[53][54] Seneca Village;[55] or in the school and convent at Mount St. Vincent's Academy.[56] Clearing began shortly after the land commission's report was released in October 1855,[47][57] and approximately 1,600 residents were evicted under eminent domain.[55][58][59] Though supporters claimed that the park would cost just $1.7 million,[60] the total cost of the land ended up being $7.39 million (equivalent to $203 million in 2019), more than the price that the United States would pay for Alaska a few years later.[61][62][63]