Brownstoner Commenter Recalls Park Slope's "Hot Sheet" Hotel

Long since converted into luxury condos, Park Slope’s 153 Lincoln Place used to be a hotel that rented rooms by the hour.

Known as the Lincoln Plaza Hotel, the 26-room lodging laid claim to some of the most peaceful prostitution around. Major crime at the $15-an-hour institution was reported only once, when a woman was found strangled in her room in 1999.

In 2013, author of the seminal 1969 New York Magazine article “The Consequences of Brownstone Fever” Pete Hellman wrote to Brownstoner about a painting of the building he bought off a street vendor.

Now, two years after we posted his fascinating tale of the blue-paint-job-that-never-was, on October 9 of this year, Brownstoner reader reeko357 has commented on the selfsame article, answering some of Hellman’s questions.

I might be able to answer a couple of questions about this. I knew the owner of the building. I lived across the street. Members of my family worked there in the ’60s and ’70s. That painting was one of several renderings of properties that the owner had planned to “upgrade.” There are also renderings of 320 Washington Avenue in Fort Green/Clinton Hill and 218 Gates Avenue in Bed-Stuy. The building was all white at one time (’60s). Then later painted black with gold accents in the ’70s. Never blue. Inside was an African motif (hence the pyramid awning), with wood carved furniture and zebra carpets. There was a party space called “The Swahili Room” in the sub basement. There was also a sauna room. This property was owned by an African American (James Cuffee and also Elizabeth Jones) in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. His properties reflected the “Black Power Movement” in their interior designs. Awesome paintings by Frank Sapp and R.Bostik of Black Culture from Nubia to New York. Their paintings hung in all the properties. My mother thinks the artist of the rendering was from Connecticut. Her memory tends to be a little foggy at times. They had a vision of what they wanted to do, sadly they were never fully executed. To their credit, it was pretty amazing at that point in our history, for one African American to own such great landmark properties. *the building next door (153) was also owned by Plaza North. It was the “annex.” I hope this info was helpful. Blown away that you found that picture. I used to see it every day.

Photo by J. Schaefer Home Inspector for PropertyShark

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