Bait-and-Switch in Bay Ridge by Basile Builders
In a move that won’t exactly improve public opinion of developers, the Basile Builders Group last week demolished three Victorian homes in Bay Ridge which, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, it had originally promised to restore. As the blog Cititours documented in the photos above, the purveyors of all things Fedders pulled the old bait-and-switch…
In a move that won’t exactly improve public opinion of developers, the Basile Builders Group last week demolished three Victorian homes in Bay Ridge which, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, it had originally promised to restore. As the blog Cititours documented in the photos above, the purveyors of all things Fedders pulled the old bait-and-switch on the community. We’re restoring the Victorian homes, Rocco Basile originally told the Eagle at the end of August. The Bay Ridge Conservancy’s Victoria Hofmo wasn’t buying it at the time, calling the three contiguous houses “fine, structurally and not in need of any tampering. Turns out her suspicions about the developers’ intentions were right. Vile. Update: There is a meeting with local officials tonight at 7 pm at PS 170 at 6th Avenue and 72nd Street to discuss this situation and how to protect the neighborhood in general from similar threats.
Death Row Update: Bay Ridge Victorians Destroyed [Citiblog] GMAP
In Bay Ridge, Another Historic Site Is on the Road to Demolition [Brooklyn Eagle]
Three Historic Bay Ridge Homes Bought by Condo Developer [Brooklyn Eagle]
Bay Ridge Victorians ‘On Death Row’ [Curbed]
Photos courtesy of Cititour.com
My great-grandmother’s house on 72nd. Street in Bay Ridge was one of the oldest houses in that area– when she moved there in about 1910, there was a farm across the street (where my family house was built in 1912). Her house looks nothing like it did, thanks to the new owner “rehabbing” it. Sure, it was wood and rotting, but still… it could have been repaired: he’s a contractor! Now it’s character is gone forever…
Unfortunately, Bay Ridge has been forgotten and overlooked architecturally. The demolition of these houses and the renovation/add-ons that happen toarchitecurally prevalent homes in this neighborhood are atrocious.
This neighborhood is not landmarked, therefore it is not protected. Prominenet Houses that once had grace and character are changed so drastically that they have no architectural style.
I have lived in Bay Ridge Brooklyn all my life. My husband (architect) and I (interior designer) are looking to purchase a house. We are disguisted by the high prices in Bay Ridge, for homes that bear no style and have new low-end renovations.
We were in Crown heights today, where we found charming blocks with rows and rows of preserved townhouses, tons of details and affordable prices.
There’s much to be said about perserving architecture…that’s what draws people to a neighborhood.
Save the architecture of Bay Ridge, before we decide to move out!
If keeping the beautiful, historic buildings in my neighborhood means that I have to continue renting for another couple of years, that’s OK with me. I don’t understand the ghoulish Bay Ridge types who cheer each time another beautiful historic building gets bulldozed. Do they think they’ll be able to afford one of the tacky, overpriced condos we’re getting in exchange for our lost quality of life? The joke’s on you, folks.
Wait, if the poor can live here- why can’t the middle class?
Guest at 2:02 – take a walk around the greater Victorian Flatbush area and you will see that LOTS of new owners are putting their money where their mouth is, making serious sacrifices to restore these old homes. This people are not super wealthy, for the post part. A lot of them are middle class to lower eschelon upper middle class (which doesn’t mean rich in this city, sometimes just getting by within a traditional middle class sense). People with kids, big mortgages, car payments, etc… Yes, some disposable income, but not exactly swimming in it. And look who’s building next to them. Outfits like this who tear down neighboring houses before the residential public even knows they’re on the market. High rises move in, robbing hard working families of the natural light and space, the architectural charm that drew them to these houses in the first place.
It’s happening in Ditmas Park West as I type. It’s a crime. Yeah, a twenty story building can house more people. But what about the middle class? We can’t afford a family home in the Heights or the Slope anymore. Oh, I forgot this is New York. Home only to the poor and the uber rich. Make those horrible hard working family types raise their kids in the soul destroying suburbs. I mean, that’s where we belong, right?
gee what a surprise … a piece of shit convicted felon THIEF actually lied about his true intentions? At least he paid for the property and didn’t just swindle it boiler room style as his not so distant m.o. would indicate. He is a fraud and and utter disgrazia.
Google rocco and see what comes up. for me the condo bubble couldn’t burst soon enough.
Bay Ridge has many fine restaurants. No need for more density for that reason.
Francis Morrone slide show on that very subject:
http://www.nynewsday.com/media/flash/2005-02/16434441.swf
Weren’t there mansions all along the park that were torn down to build pre-war apartment buildings?