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Things are looking up on MacDonough Street, the site of a partial building collapse in January that threatened to end in demolition of two historic brownstones. Thankfully, that crisis was averted through a mix of activism and clear-headedness. According to a post from the Historic Districts Council that went up last night, “there is now a new concrete pier in the basement about 4 feet by 3 feet by 9 ft high that contains about 15 tons of concrete supporting the building.” And, as this photo from this morning shows, the scaffolding on the adjacent buildings at 327 and 333 MacDonough came down earlier this week. The HDC email also praises the hard work of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the New York Landmarks Conservancy in saving the buildings, and even gives kudos to the DOB engineer who initially recommended demolition for keeping an open mind about the decision. The letter goes on to recommend the creation of some kind of “interagency structure…to allow LPC and DOB to triage emergency situations with added preservation resources.” It sounds like a great idea to us.
MacDonough St. Houses Report [Brownstoner]
Update on MacDonough Street [Brownstoner]
Salvation on MacDonough Street? [Brownstoner]
Stay of Execution on MacDonough Street [Brownstoner]
MacDonough Street Update 1/25/10 [Brownstoner]
Wall Collapse, Vacate Order, Maybe Demo on MacDonough [Brownstoner]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. The councilman did nothing. And I dare anyone to prove otherwise. Tish James was great. Judge Bunyan, a saint. HDC, despite their overly liberal praise of city agencies, should be commended for their in court and behind the scenes advocacy. LPC completely bent over for the buildings department. They should be ashamed of their lack of advocacy and support when and where they were most needed. Study that!

    Local residents especially the bldg owners and their adjoining neighbors turned this from catastrophe into an example of what smart, dedicates and savvy folks can do.

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