Sad and disturbing news this morning from Bedford Stuyvesant. The beautiful brownstone at 474 Greene Avenue between Bedford and Nostrand was gutted by a fire in the early morning hours today, the result of a raucous all-night party gone terribly wrong. According to an email we received from a block resident, who fell asleep finally at 4:30 a.m. only to be awakened by the sound of shattering glass at 6:15 am., the building “is a well known crack house that has been in operation for at least 3 years.” A group of neighbors has been trying to work with community leaders, the NYPD and DA Charles Hynes for much of that time to no avail. There have been daily calls to the NYPD but concerned residents “have been told repeatedly that it is near impossible to shut down.” The photo, at right, from Property Shark, shows the house pre-fire with windows and doors covered in sheets to keep out unwanted eyes. “Clearly we are all in immediate danger when people are living without electricity, using candles and making crack and NO ONE in the NYC system can close down the house,” writes the tipster. “That fire was big and we were all in danger this morning.” We’ve seen the same thing on the corner of Grand and Putnam where law enforcement officials know what’s going on but are hamstrung by laws that make it close to impossible to arrest and successfully convict members of the drug trade. GMAP P*Shark

Update: Here are a couple of photos from a few minutes ago. Send more photos or comments to brownstoner@brownstoner.com.