The Citiblog

Analysis: Death Row?
September 4, 2007, 11:32.13 pm ET

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I happened to be traveling up 74th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where I would often travel to admire some old Victorian homes. One was for sale and I was checking up to see if it was sold. I knew it would be someone's dream house one day, or at least that's what I thought.

As I got close, something wasn't quite right. A dead birch tree stood outside one of the majestic homes, while the earth had been unsettled in front of another. And then came the signs on all three: "Poison: Keep Out". At first I thought it was maybe a rat infestation or radon gas, but all of the adjacent homes seemed just fine.

After I bit of digging and questioning some neighbors, it seems the "poison" in this case is a developer who plans to level the homes to make room for co-ops. It's a shame when perfectly beautiful homes that depict the origins of a neighborhood, in this case Bay Ridge, can be discarded in such a horrible fashion. In Ditmas Park they're treasured. In this neck of the woods I guess it's greed that dictates. Where is the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission when you need them? To write the chairman, click here or call (212) 669-7817.






Update: It appears the neighbors we spoke with may have jumped the gun, at least according to this post on Curbed which picked up the story:

Three Historic Bay Ridge Homes Bought by Condo Developer
Preservationists Fear ‘Fedders Houses,’ Developer Claims Plans for Restoration

By Odelia Bitton
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
BAY RIDGE — Rat poison signs on three, century-old, Victorian style homes in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn have recently been turning heads. When neighbors on 74th Street at Third and Fourth avenues noticed the signs and missing window curtains, they suspected there had been a change of hands.

Indeed, records show that the Basile Builders Group — who have completed four condominium complexes in Brooklyn, including two in Bay Ridge — recently bought the three contiguous properties at 318, 326 and 334 74th St.

But the condo builders, whose office is on Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, said they have a different plan this time around. “We’re restoring the Victorian homes,” said Rocco Basile. “They’re really in bad shape now.”

We'll have to wait and see!



Photos: Cititour

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