Underground Railroad Hearing Set For Tomorrow
The clock is ticking over on Duffield Street, where the city wants to use eminent domain to seize several houses with strong connections to the Underground Railroad of the 19th Century in order to create a parking lot and public plaza. To review, the ESDC hired consulting firm AKRF to produce a report refuting preservationists’…

The clock is ticking over on Duffield Street, where the city wants to use eminent domain to seize several houses with strong connections to the Underground Railroad of the 19th Century in order to create a parking lot and public plaza. To review, the ESDC hired consulting firm AKRF to produce a report refuting preservationists’ claims that slaves were once spirited through tunnels (like this one in Lewis Greenstein’s basement) in the basements of the houses at numbers 223 through 235 Duffield Street. The report’s flaws have been reported ad nauseum, to the point that it’s hard to believe the city hasn’t just tossed it in the garbage. All the controversy will come to a head tomorrow at a HPD hearing at the Klitford Auditorium of City College of Technology at 285 Jay Street at 10 am. Those fighting to save the houses are seeking prominent historians and African American leaders to assist in the cause. Anyone interested in helping or testifying can contact Barbara Skinner at barbara_skinner AT hotmail DOT com.
Photo by no land grab
If you tood propshark dates seriously (which are the same as city will say als) almost everything into miles of downtown Brooklyn was built 1899, 1900.
Which of course is not the case.
It is lack of documents that city puts down 1899.
Placing a fake historical significance on buildings in an effort to stop development only serves to make it more difficult to preserve actual historic structures.
can I suggest that using property shark in this context is an example of why school students should not be allowed to use computers but should actually be forced to go to libraries? (Oh, no I can’t? Sorry. Continue with your well-founded discussion.)
You can’t date houses in brooklyn from Property Shark. They are almost always bogus dates. They often list houses as 1901 too. Instead, go look for the address in the Daily Eagle, or get an architect inside and look in some walls. Actually, you should do both.
“Property Shark lists any house built before 1900 as 1899.”
OK, but it also lists several of the houses at issue as being built bet. 1915-1920 (see, e.g., 233 and 235 Duffield). How could those homes be part of the abolitionist movement?
Property Shark lists any house built before 1900 as 1899.
The abolitionist movement was a high point of moral development in America, which judging from the comments here we may never attain to again…
Are there any leper colonies that is threatened by development…?
“These houses were built well after the abolition of slavery.”
Indeed – 223 Duffield was built circ. 1899, if I’m not mistaken. And at least according to Property Shark, 233 Duff. was built around 1915.
I don’t know about the others, but it can be found out easily.