Undergound RR: Consultants Caught In Another Lie
The latest in a series of holes-you-could-drive-a-truck-through in the credibility of the ESDC-sponsored report that made the case against preserving the row of houses on Duffield Street with credible links to the Underground Railroad in Brooklyn? The consultants hacks who wrote the report, AKRF, claimed that the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) had…
The latest in a series of holes-you-could-drive-a-truck-through in the credibility of the ESDC-sponsored report that made the case against preserving the row of houses on Duffield Street with credible links to the Underground Railroad in Brooklyn? The consultants hacks who wrote the report, AKRF, claimed that the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) had ruled that the houses were not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places when in fact the Office had never been asked to make determination. According to a press release from City Council Member Letitia James, the only contact AKRF ever had with SHPO was an information request about whether the state agency had anything existing in their files about the Duffield Street houses; the consultants misrepresented a negative response to this question as an explicit rejection of the houses’ eligibility. As a result of the purposefully misleading actions, James has called for a halt to any proceedings relating to the seizure of the properties through eminent domain. In the meantime, as we understand it, anyone wanting to put a statement on record with HPD has until May 30.
Underground Railroad Hearing Set For Tomorrow [Brownstoner] GMAP
“Some have even argued that facts and testimonials that were included in the initial interviews were ‘deleted’ from the final report.”
Doesn’t that constitute supression of evidence and tampering with court documents?
Unfortunately, 10:56, you can put a price on preserving history … it’s called heat, insurance, maintenance, etc. That’s why house museums and other tourist attractions are created, to generate the revenue needed for upkeep.
former mayor-wannabe Ruth Messenger (remember her? a real red-diaper baby)
wanted to impose commercial rent control.That would be a way to preserve small businesses forever, even after they stopped being any good. This was a serious discussion in the city not too long ago. No wonder we voted for a republican governor and two republican mayors in a row.
Bagel Guys should move to Fulton Street in Clinton Hill, they’ll make a killing.
Bstoner – you should plant the seed for them…
Bravo, encora, to 10:56, from me as well. Well said. The WTC site is another argument altogether, and is much more complex, especially since it involves so very much money, and as we know, vast sums of money can supercede good taste, good sense, history and morality eight days a week.
Brenda, I tend to agree with you more often than not, and love your sense of humor. I think downtown could use some judicious development, but some kind of reconpense or break needs to be given to viable small businesses that have been in an area for years, and have often been the only thing in that area that has prevented it from looking like a ghost town. They may be underwhelming, but they are someone’s life dream and work, and small business employers, and businesses that serve a need for someone, or they wouldn’t still be there. Kicking someone to the curb with only a month or two’s notice is just wrong.
I’m all for making Brooklyn a first class city in every way, but I’m getting more and more disheartened by the sheer savagery in the way it is being done. Our shared history, livelihoods and very homes are being bulldozed into oblivion in the name of progress.
I hope Bagel Guys can find a nearby spot to relocate. I’d hate to see them go, but the rest of that block is kind of a mess.
BRAVO, Anon 10:56 (“preserving an important part of our nation’s history does not require that it become a “tourist attraction” or that there be a return on the investment”). Beautifully put, very true, and incomprehensible to the turn-a-quick-buck crowd. The Post link, however, activates my few pro-development molecules; the endangered little businesses on Duffield between Bridge and Willoughby are an underwhelming lot, with the notable exception of Bagel Guys, who are wonderful.
please get this straight – these buildings are proposed to be demolished for an underground parking garage for the nearby hotel. Trying to save them is not standing in the way of progress – it’s standing in the way of community-destroying.
How about the fact that it’s ugly…Would a beautiful midrise glass condo look great there??