Facade Torn Off Washington Ave. House
Another strong argument for more aggressively expanding historic districts…Yesterday, the entire roof and facade was ripped off the former fishscale-shingled house at 221 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill. This was originally part of a trio of similar houses, though only one (the one with the blue trim) is still in its original form. As you…
Another strong argument for more aggressively expanding historic districts…Yesterday, the entire roof and facade was ripped off the former fishscale-shingled house at 221 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill. This was originally part of a trio of similar houses, though only one (the one with the blue trim) is still in its original form. As you can see from this map, the house in question lies falls three lots outside of the border of the Clinton Hill Historic District. According to DOB filings, the owner, who paid $530,000 for the house last year, is converting this into a three-family dwelling. It’s scary to imagine how the new version will probably look compared to what was there before. GMAP
Don’t ask me what is going on in this picture, but the brown shingled house with the blue cornice is totally adorable and cute! Absolutely love it. Brooklyn apparently used to be covered in houses like this, which have all been covered up with vinyl siding.
And you, Benson, always make it a foregone conclusion that people who prefer preservation over a completely new building are somehow against renovation, building, economic development, or hard working immigrants. Give it a rest. Your knee-jerk reaction is just as strong and healthy as those you constantly oppose.
love that crazy shingle vernacular house next door though.
“As much as I love historic homes, this places was a wreck, and anything (except vinyl siding) will be an improvement.”
I suspect that it will be far worse than that!!!!!!
Plans were filed by a company called Mistry Design. Their site doesn’t have project pics, but why not reach out to them and get them to treat us to the plans? The representative photos on the site look to be better than the yellow brick infill that usually pops up when a frame is knocked down.
http://www.mistrydesignllc.com/
I used to walk by this place everyday on my way to the subway. As much as I love historic homes, this places was a wreck, and anything (except vinyl siding) will be an improvement.
DH;
Well said!! Isn’t it wonderful how the frownstoners treat a guy who is investing in Brooklyn at a time of economic stress? Seems that it’s already a foregone conclusion that it will be a POS, even without a shred of evidence. Sheesh!!!
FYI: when Ed Koch was mayor, he was the sponsor of a law that stated that if a construction project is reusing an existing building’s foundation, and building per the zoning law, it can be filed as a renovation. He did this to spur small-scale development such as this, and I say: bully for Mayor Koch!!
Also FYI: this type of renovation filing is most used by the Syrian community in Gravesend. They will buy an existing one-family home, tear it down but keep the old foundation, and then erect a virtually new building.
What knocked it down? Was it really that windy yesterday?
so vacant wrecks with a historic facade are better than an occupied renovated house which may or may not have an eyesore of a new facade. way to welcome the guy to the nabe.
**preservation at any cost**