Gothamist: Bad News for Broken Angel

Elizabeth Wood-Ramirez

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:43:17 -0500

After reading my Brother's posting on what may happen to Broken Angel I know that I cannot just sit and watch anything like that happen. This is the house I grew up in and where I was taught to be resourceful by my Father and Mother. Heaven forbid losing this would be like losing a Family member; even my 12-year old Son and 4-year old Daughter have connections to this house. I met my Husband while living here. This is a circumstance where one must look beyond face value to see the true inner beauty of such a place. In the 29 years my Parents have owned this building not one "hazardous" thing has happened before the fire of 2 weeks ago, which was no fault of theirs. There is a statement that holds true to this situation "Remember, the Titanic was built by professionals, and Noah's Arc by an amateur." Not that my Father is an amateur. Like many of us, he's more like a brilliant mind living at the wrong time. (What if the Wright Brother's planes were ruled hazardous?) Something to think about, I'd say. I pray the tides will change in the next 3 weeks. We want to comply with the Department of Buildings; as I mentioned I could not stand to lose Broken Angel. If anyone would like to reply, I can be contacted at chocolatesilver@hotmail.com. Thank you.

christopher wood

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 22:44:33 -0500

We had a meeting on Friday with the Department of Buildings. We were told that they would begin demolition on the building in 3 weeks from now, if we do not submit plans by an architect/engineer to bring the building to code. The city would do the work and then place a lean on the property. To have the city do the work would zero out the value of the property and leave my parents with nothing. We understand that the Department of Buildings is in a difficult situation, as there are some safety concerns with the building. We are attempting to comply with the Department of Buildings, and would like to submit plans as soon as we can get an architect/ engineer on board. If any qualified individuals are willing to work with us in this short time frame we would very much appreciate it. I can be contacted at chriswood718@yahoo.com.

Brooklyn Mike

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 13:15:31 -0500

"Why did they not spend time maintaining it and following codes?..." Simple, lack of money. If you read about Broken Angel, the owners bought it when the neighborhood was characterized by rows of abandoned, boarded-up & burn't out buildings (& lots of crack-heads). The owners put all they had into purchasing the building. The "modifications" they made were done with material they found, not material they purchased. Proper building materials were too expensive. City permits were too expensive. And, at the time they started, nobody cared what they were doing the ghetto anyway. It's only now that gentrification has hit Clinton Hill / Bed-Stuy that people are now starting to complain. I personally love the place & would hate to see it go!

Bob Dole

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:11:53 -0500

Call me sappy but the bizarrely romantic tale of someone buying an unused building in the ghetto in 1979 (a time when people were leaving the city) and turning it into a work of art is what this city is, or at least used to be, all about. It's just one more thing that makes this city an interesting place to be, and not some generic white washed sh*thole. I hope the Woods family finds some way to preserve it/finish it/make it a safer structure than it currently is. They'd need a lot of help to do it from the looks of things, as I would suspect they have next to no means of doing it themselves.

thinking

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:11:42 -0500

Why did they not spend time maintaining it and following codes? I am all for preservation and maintaining a landmarked building, but it does not appear they had even tried to preserve it themselves. I am thinking if some time was spent adhering to codes, these problems would not be of any concern. At one point does the community safety (and personal safety) trump building preservation? If they do live behind the building, why not fix it up and charge admission so they can cover maintenance and repairs as they arise (because it is obvious they will as they always do)?

Thinking

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:06:54 -0500

I keep thinking that if they had spent time over the years maintaining the codes, and working to create as safe a space as possible I would be behind preserving it. But the fact is that they aren't taking care of it, yet they want others to? I am all for preservation of landmarks, and I agree this is a landmark. But at one point does community and personal safety trump preservation? If someone were to come forward and help preserve it, I would be all for it. If I read correctly, they do not live in the building but behind it. Why not get it up to code and let people pay to enter and support it's maintenance?

land

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:30:06 -0500

This is a landmark building. These nice old hippies deserve some help from us, especially those of us who enjoy looking at their funny building. It just caught on fire and no firefighter died, so why do you assume you have to equate this building with firefighters's lives -- how stupidly didactic.

_^^_

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:40:09 -0500

some stupid building that can be replaced? what are you talking about? it's one of a kind. a landmark, really. quit being a dick.

Toby

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:56:50 -0500

If the building can be repaired and brought up to code, great. If not, Tear it down. The life of a firefighter is more important than some stupid building that can be replaced. There are too many memorial plaques on firehouses as it is, we don't need any more.

S

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:13:04 -0500

What the hell is "fire by natural causes"? Did lightning strike it? Spontaneous combustion? I may be going out on a limb here, but I'd suspect faulty wiring or some other unsafe building condition. Hey -- I liked the movie, the Woods seem like nice people, but building codes do exist for a reason, like them or not. I'm glad the post pointed out that the FDNY's safety is at risk -- it's not just themselves that the Woods are endangering with this thing.