An Appeal From the Owners of the Broken Angel
As many of us suspected, the fire at the Broken Angel has brought increased scrutiny by the Department of Buildings, prompting this appeal from the owners’ son post on Brooklyn Record last night: The New York City Building department is attempting to remove my parents from their home of 30 years, unless we immediatly get…
As many of us suspected, the fire at the Broken Angel has brought increased scrutiny by the Department of Buildings, prompting this appeal from the owners’ son post on Brooklyn Record last night:
The New York City Building department is attempting to remove my parents from their home of 30 years, unless we immediatly get an architect or engineer to bring the building to NYC codes. We do not have the money to do this. If there is anyone out there who is qualified and willing to work Pro Bono we desperately need the help, contributions are also welcome. You can contact my father. Arthur Wood, 4 Downing St, Brooklyn, NY 11238. Also we appeal to David Chappelle and Michel Gondry.Our home became the backdrop for your wonderful concert film, please help us to save it now.
BREAKING: Broken Angel on Fire! [Brooklyn Record]
I wish you well with your house. It is after all your home and people seem to be missing that point. I’ve lived in housing like this though, and it’s dangerous. I know why the DOB wants it up to code. They are not “Nazis” for wanting this. And quite honestly you calling them that doesn’t help the situation.
This is a major conflagration waiting to happen. That’s what happened where I lived!
Please get it up to code. I should think that lots of building artisians might like the chance to help if only for the experience of working on this treasure.
This is a reminider of the fact that Brooklyn is about all different kinds of people not just the yuppies buying condos.
Best of Luck,
Gitl
i disagree. we (artists/people not interested in living conventional boring lives) deserve handouts because it’s a lot harder to do something off the path than to play by the rules. everyone should have the same income regardless of what they do, or at least put an income cap of $200,000 so that we don’t have these really rich people ruining the world and making life hard for those who are different. anyway, give them an architect, building materials, who cares if it’s a private residence. at least they haven’t caused rents to increase all over the city like so many lousy capitalists.
I still remember the first time I saw it, on one of my first walks around my new neighborhood…it took my breath away. I walked around it, block by block, trying to get a better view. I knew it was something special, much more than just a house (or factory). I can’t believe how mean spirited some people are. Even if some can’t appreciate a labor of love and work of art in their midst, you’d think there would at least be some compassion for two old people who’ve devoted their lives to this house/museum/sculpture and face becoming homeless victims of a hard hearted bureaucracy.
I have loved that building for years. It is a true work of folk art and deserves to be preserved. Maybe it’s just that this society no longer values art, or we are coming to believe that new is good, old is bad. Or maybe the real collapse is the failure of our imaginations, it’s all been disneyfied- you don’t have to work at imagination any more. Just google disney and they’ll do it for you. Sad when we no longer appreciate people like the Woods who are individualistic and creative and living their art. I guess they didn’t put out the slick brochure with the simpering photos that ratner did.
There’s allways a home equity loan. I mean it may be a wreck but it’s still an asset which can be leveraged. So, possibly, they do have wealth. They just need to risk some of it for their personal use and cash some of it in. Now if this option has already been exercised and they’ve found themselves in this state (like any overextended creature in an ecosystem) they’ll have to scale back or find a new host ;-). Charity might work but this is a case that requires far more tangible assets than I think could be given.
Someone’s trolling here! I know plenty of Architects who, not well paid compared to other NYC professionals, still donate their time and knowledge to different causes. What’s wrong with asking for help? Doesn’t Brownstoner have a Bedsty Reno Blog where his/her friends are helping out with the work? Donate or don’t donate. Why do people (trolls) need to waste our time with their bitterness.
Interesting. There has been so much mooing in the press about “green” consumerism, mostly applauding any fashionista or design whore who’s used any old piece of crap more than once. I buy a couch from Craigslist instead of ABC and I am suddenly a “green” consumer because it’s “recycled”.
The folks at Broken Angel have been around a long time and mostly didn’t USE money – they picked up junk from neighborhood houses which were abandoned and destroyed, salvage from dumpsters and wherever they could get stuff. So commenting “they are better spending the $$ on doing it right to begin with” kind of avoids the question. The point was they didn’t spend ANY money on ANYTHING.
I’ve never been a big fan of that place, but I do like hippies. These folks are the real deal and about the last ones around – why not give em a hand?
And hey, get with the program – they’re being green. That’s the style now.
The building is a fire hazard and it should be taken down. As an avid fan and collector of the former Howard Finster, I think it is insulting to lump that wreck in with his work. Howard would never risk anyone’s life with his work. The “broken angel” is the work of packrats not artists.
This job seems perfect for a Pratt School of Architecture or Construction Management project. I think the owners should reach out to the school somehow and see if they can help. It would be a nice thing for Pratt to do and good for the neighborhood and would give the students a truly memorable experience I imagine. Maybe the owner should get in touch with the fabulous Tish James to see if she can help to reach out to Pratt about this? And then we can all follow up with phone calls to Tish’s office asking her to help as well in order to show how much community support there is for this project. To me it is really great to have such a bold architectural statement on our neighborhood’s horizon — especially in light of the horrible architectural incursion that is trying to make its way to our horizon, aka, “Ratnerville!”