House of the Day: 280 Henry Street

I know this is an old thread, but maybe someone will read this. I’m late to the party.

I used to live in this building from 2004-2006. Here is the scoop: it was purchased by a man and woman in 1962 likely for $15,000. It was boarded up and had holes in the floors, as most brownstones did then. It’s prior use was a boarding house/opium den. The couple lived on Henry and Remsen (northwest corner house) and bought this at 280 Henry because it was larger and they could have a project. They gutted everything down to the exterior walls. Not an original floorboard or fixture remains. As it was in 1962, modern was better. The idea of restoration and preservation wasn’t even a thought, which is very sad. He cut the curb and built the garage right before the landmark commission was formed. While it is an eyesore and takes away from curb appeal, it’s a convenience to have, as we all know. The stoop was taken away in the 1930s.

The owner made 6 apartments. One owner’s duplex, 4 1-bedroom apartments (2 on the top and next to top floor each, front and rear) and then a small ground floor apartment behind the garage with garden access. He rented them all out over the years. He treated everything he had in that building like it was gold, yet it was all crap. The building was clean, however. The floors were crap parquet, the doors junk pressboard. Very 1960s. Once the building was done in 1964, that was the last the owner touched it. He felt it was all gold and it was the best. He likely died a wealthy man after being a typical landlord all those years.

His 2 kids inherited the building after he passed away in 2011. His wife died a few years earlier. His kids had their own lives and wanted nothing to do with it. Someone paid $3.5 million for it. I dont think it makes money at that price with a mortgage. I look forward to seeing what they do with it. There’s little that can be done since nothing can be restored since any semblance of 1800s grandeur was taken away in a dumpster in 1962.

When I lived there, I moved out and my apartment went market rate over $2k in 2006. The one behind the garage went market soon after. The two women on the top floor paid a few hundred dollars in rent, when they paid him. Good luck getting them out. It was a good starter apartment for me, but I moved out because I could do better and because I needed a new air conditioner that rattled a lot less and he refused to put one in without pulling the 1/40th of the cost b.s. on me. Oh well, penny wise, pound foolish.