Broken Angel Reno
July 20, 2007
Broken Angel: DOB Overzealous or Just Doing Its Job?
We haven't heard much on the Broken Angel front since late May when the DOB was trying to force the demolition of the masonry walls constructed by Arthur Wood, despite having signed off on earlier plans that showed them being left in place. Since then, the only major development has been the Stop Work Order placed on the building for "additional work outside the scope of the permits." In a recent email, Arthur's son Chris writes that the SWO came suspiciously on the heels of his father's refusal to drop his lawsuit against the city for abusing his civil rights. This part of his email hints at what Arthur comes right out and says in a recent video: That the city is carrying out a "sick vendetta" against him. Recent examples he points to are the revocation of his Veteran's Tax Exempt Status by the Department of Buildings and its failure to lift the stop work order after more than five weeks. It's impossible to know how much of Arthur's position is conspiracy theory and how much is fact, but it's certainly worth the time to listen to him make his case. While we can't begrudge DOB doing its job to make sure this is a safe and by-the-book project (especially since we spend so much time urging it to be more vigilant), it's impossible not to sympathize with Arthur and Shahn Andersen, the developer working with him, over the intense level of scrutiny and apparent lack of straight dealing they've received from both DOB and the courts, especially in light of how many real dirtbags are out there evading enforcement every day. It seems unfortunate that DOB and the city in general aren't working more in partnership, rather than in opposition, with Arthur and Shahn's efforts to do this project responsibly while trying to salvage as much of the neighborhood landmark's design and spirit as possible. We'll be interested to see what readers think when they've watched Arthur's video and read Chris' email which is pasted on the jump. You can also check out Chris' collection of Broken Angel photos and archives here.
Broken Angel Video July 2007 [Rumur.tv] GMAP
The Lowest Point [Broken Angel Reno]
Continue reading "Broken Angel: DOB Overzealous or Just Doing Its Job?"
May 10, 2007
Judge Gives Angel Duo The Heisman
So Arthur (shown in photo) and Shahn got the shaft from turf-guarding bureaucrats and now have to remove the entire top portion of the Broken Angel. Read the bizarre story of the judge and her entourage coming to the site and then dawdling in her decision despite the fact that she ended up relying on the opinion of the DOB engineer that the structure posed an imminent danger. And learn why Shahn and Arthur have decided not to appeal the decision and just rebuild the sucker.
The Hearing, The Verdict, The Decision [Broken Angel Reno]
Clinton Hill Fixture Coming Down After Decades [NY1]
April 20, 2007
Broken Angel Reno: Approaching the Summit
Shahn's come out of his late-winter hibernation and started posting again over on the Broken Angel Reno. The latest update deals with floor repairs, interior repointing and removal of the parts of the rooftop sculpture that were damaged in the fire. More pics and details on the link.
Approaching the Summit [Broken Angel Reno]
February 15, 2007
Debris Removal at the Broken Angel
Today on the Broken Angel Reno, enjoy some voyeuristic photos of thirty years of pack-ratting in addition to a lesson from Shahn on the economics of debris removal.
Rolling The Ball [Broken Angle Reno]
February 9, 2007
An Angel Rises: Broken Angel Reno Blog Launches
Not wasting any time (it's been 28 years since the Woods first bought the former trolley factory but less than a month since they inked their deal with Shahn Andersen), work begins today on the conversion of the Broken Angel. To coincide with the first piece of scaffolding going up, we're happy to announce that the Broken Angel reno blog, which Shahn has titled "An Angel Rises," also launches today. You can access it off the navigation bar above or directly through www.anangelrises.com. We wish both Shahn and the Woods the best of luck and are sure we speak for everyone when we say we look forward to being a fly on the wall for the next several months.
An Angel Rises: Broken Angel Reno Blog [Brownstoner]
Photo by plemeljr