Brownstone Interior Destroyed Modernized by Artist Couple
We had mixed emotions reading the Times Real Estate story this weekend about the older artist couple who financed the purchase of a Stuyvesant Heights brownstone four years ago by selling a Basquiat that one of them had picked up for $100 back in the Eighties. (Anyone know what block this is?) Aren’t there enough…
We had mixed emotions reading the Times Real Estate story this weekend about the older artist couple who financed the purchase of a Stuyvesant Heights brownstone four years ago by selling a Basquiat that one of them had picked up for $100 back in the Eighties. (Anyone know what block this is?) Aren’t there enough brownstones that have already been stripped of their original detail that someone wanting to create a modern space could avoid destroying yet another piece of history? Yes, these folks were considerate enough to call in a salvage company to save the architectural artifacts, but it’s still a bummer. And how about all that tree-cutting? What a soap opera! Update: Okay, it’s sounding like the Times article might have overstated how salvageable the interiors of this place were, so it’s looking like we came down a little too hard on these folks. Apologies.
Bankrolled by a Basquiat [NY Times]
Photo by Gabriele Stabile for The New York Times
I’ve known one of the owners half my life, and she is a talented woman with really good taste, and more important, someone who cares about community and has always worked and socialized with people of all races, classes, religions, etc. The bottom line is that it’s her and her husband’s property, and unless you’re invited inside, it’s none of your darn business!
Jeez, not every house, that is old, is or was a work of art.
From the NYTimes article (and most likely quoted indirectly from the couple–why would the reporter make this up for a non-controversial, human interest fluff piece?):
“They gutted the place of its many marble fireplaces and Victorian details, and their neighbors were horrified at the destruction.”
This house apparently had quite a bit of detail. A real “artist” is sensitive to history and to his/her surroundings, and would have been able to successfully blend the old with the new to create a contemporary space. No need to gut the place of its original character. Truly sad.
I sell Real Estate in Bed Stuy and have been in Mary-Ann & Morris’ house before and after; after is much better. The important thing is, Marry-Ann & Morris are wonderful neighbors and a pleasure to be around. Bed Stuy needs more people like this couple that made their house their own.
Rich White folks, “art connoisseurs” no less, moving to a Black neighborhood composed mostly of poor people with a few “Daves” thrown in, and seeking to impress the locals by ripping every stich of fabric out of their house and replacing it with, what else? Whiteness! Love it!
jeez…these asshats built a third rate loft renovation inside of a brownstone..what a bunch of fools
Sam is right, this couple should have hired an srchitect to design a loft for them in some unfinished industrial building. I think they just wanted to show off to their neighbors. Dave, for one, is impressed down to his argyles.
They destroyed a house. What is there to pass on to future generations? Sheetrock and hollow-core doors? Those interiors are horrifying when you realize they are in a lovely, lovely, turn-of-the-last-century rowhouse.
I met the owners and they really wanted to live in the Stuyvesant Heights area. I really think if they wanted to move to Ft. Green or Clinton Hill they would have but they decided Stuyvesant Heights over those area much like I did. Morris tells me that something about the area makes him feel at home. I like this down to earth couple and I am glad to be there neighbor.
I am always conflicted by stories like this.
I am deep in a two year restoration and people think I’m crazy. In looking at the details of my 1880 brownstone and in studying the history I have learned that updates and changes were made to the house to follow the trends of the day early as ten years after the house was built. It seems natural for a home to have an evolution.
I do believe that some homes should be preserved for the sake of history. I suppose the LPC is designed to take care of that. In the end, it should be the most notable residences historically, either because of their owners or their architects, that get the most protection. Was there something special about this house other than the fact that it was old? I love brownstones but I don’t want to live in some time warp Disney-fied 19th century theme park. They shouldn’t all be kept in a time capsule.
On another note: With the coming crime wave, I hope these folks have a good alarm system now that they have disclosed their location and the nature of the valuables in their home.
Didn’t a Basquiat sell for $14.6 last year?