348 Clermont Avenue Getting Demolished
File this one under “Gigantic Bummer.” Following a November 2009 determination by the Department of Buildings that 348 Clermont Avenue was unsafe and needed to be torn down, HPD contractors arrived yesterday to begin demolition of the long-neglected brownstone. (You can see some interior photos in this old post.) The building, which is within the…
File this one under “Gigantic Bummer.” Following a November 2009 determination by the Department of Buildings that 348 Clermont Avenue was unsafe and needed to be torn down, HPD contractors arrived yesterday to begin demolition of the long-neglected brownstone. (You can see some interior photos in this old post.) The building, which is within the Fort Greene Historic District, only abuts one other house, also a brownstone, which will be protected as part of the demolition. The silver lining, if you can call it that, is that the Landmarks Preservation Commission is suing the owner for the full market value of the property in an effort to prevent him from profiting from the neglect and as a deterrent to other homeowners who might consider a similar course of inaction. Let’s hope they make an example of him. And before anyone starts crying us a river, this isn’t even a case of some old-timer who couldn’t afford to fix up his house: This place has changed hands (at least) four times since 2006 for prices ranging from $499,000 to $1,500,000. Smell a rat? Check out the transaction history on the jump.
House of the Day: 348 Clermont Avenue Shell [Brownstoner] GMAP
The pro-LPC zoning snobs are out in force today.
Landmarking has real social cost and hurts the poor; it is fundamentally undemocratic.
I hope that LPC loses big.
Posted by: thwackamole1 at March 9, 2010 10:35 AM
The name of the site is “brownstoner” not “projectdweller.”
This building site will be recycled as denser housing which will benefit a lot more people than spending the same amount to do custom artwork on a facade of a worn-out building.
The pro-LPC zoning snobs are out in force today.
Landmarking has real social cost and hurts the poor; it is fundamentally undemocratic.
I hope that LPC loses big.
“There is a very beautiful aprtment building on Brooklyn Ave., across the street from the Children’s Museum. It has been deliberately neglected for years, the scaffolding is precarious and the sidewalk is a disaster.”
Yes – that place is a ruined masterpiece, and an accident waiting to happen. Shameful.
The problem with neglect is that it creates dangerous situations for surrounding buildings and for the neighborhood in general. There is a very beautiful aprtment building on Brooklyn Ave., across the street from the Children’s Museum. It has been deliberately neglected for years, the scaffolding is precarious and the sidewalk is a disaster. Pieces of cement regularly fall off- this is a property that should be taken by the City and given to someone who will renovate it, and get it back on the tax rolls again. There is no reason for this kind of wilful neglect- and we are talking, literally years. This owner too is no struggling homeowner. He is a landlord with multiple properties.
The report you have is missing another deed trasnfer from December 2009 from the property development corporation back to the seller (with no reproted price on ACRIS) as well as one deed transfer in November 2006 for $650K (10,000 less than the prior transfer in August 2006).
Very confusing. Maybe a tax or RE lawyer specialist can speculate on what is going on.
How will the Fort Greene Historic District ever recover from this, the most tragic of tragedies?
Used to live around the corner from this place, always wanted to know what the deal was. I doubt there’s much in the way of salvage there. The roof has been a gaping hole for a couple years now. What a shame. I hope the LPC is all over this owner.
maybe 350 will be able to put in Norah jones windows.
cj11238…look at the pics above where you click on “this old post.” It’s a pretty dismal picture.