File this one under “Gigantic Bummer.” Following a November 2009 determination by the Department of Buildings that 348 Clermont Avenue was unsafe and needed to be torn down, HPD contractors arrived yesterday to begin demolition of the long-neglected brownstone. (You can see some interior photos in this old post.) The building, which is within the Fort Greene Historic District, only abuts one other house, also a brownstone, which will be protected as part of the demolition. The silver lining, if you can call it that, is that the Landmarks Preservation Commission is suing the owner for the full market value of the property in an effort to prevent him from profiting from the neglect and as a deterrent to other homeowners who might consider a similar course of inaction. Let’s hope they make an example of him. And before anyone starts crying us a river, this isn’t even a case of some old-timer who couldn’t afford to fix up his house: This place has changed hands (at least) four times since 2006 for prices ranging from $499,000 to $1,500,000. Smell a rat? Check out the transaction history on the jump.
House of the Day: 348 Clermont Avenue Shell [Brownstoner] GMAP