Bronx Basement "Chamber of Horrors"

A strange incident in the Bronx: A city inspector went to the basement of 1912 Holland Avenue to check on a hot water heater, but he ended up contacting the police because he found a bizarre laboratory. 1010 WINS says that there were "vials of acid, formaldehyde and various bones and organs being preserved." Weird! More weird: The Post reports there were also "medical equipment and rubber stalactites." And then there's the "refrigerator that was storing blood."

The building had four apartments, two of which are vacant. One resident told the Post, "If these walls could talk, they'd probably be screaming" and NY1, "I saw some stuff in jars like some embryo stuff in jars and some skulls and like a lot of, like, medical stuff like nobody shouldn't have, like a hospital."

The building is owned by Barry Greene, who is currently in prison serving time for sodomy and sex abuse charges (he abused four Bronx children). It's unclear if the basement's contents belong to Greene, but the NYPD is investigating whether the bones, organs and all belong to animals and/or humans. But the building is in disrepair and Greene does face some violations.

Photograph from 1010WINS

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By Jen Chung in News on August 21, 2007 1:39 PM

Comments [rss]

guest

I actually know this guy. I've known him all my life. This stuff has nothing to do with his penchant for little boys - it was a home museum. Frankly, everyone who toured it was pretty amazed.

Though I will grant that this in combination with his diddling children doesn't look brilliant.

guest

Quit ragging on the house.

guest

Why was the water heater hot? Was it malfunctioning? (Surely "hot water" doesn't need to be heated, so it isn't a "hot water" heater! But I suppose you probably say "ATM machine" too.)

And saying that your spelling mistakes are attributable to plagiarism isn't exactly an inspiring explanation!!

guest

Is "rubber stalactites" fancytalk for "dildos?"

guest

We don't know if the owner is Black. The house looks well kept from the outside and it looks like a nice clean block.

guest

Come on #12...the racist comments only come up if people have stereotypes to invoke...like a shooting or something

guest

Jen, #6 here -- I was just kidding. I love you and your spellchecker. : )

guest

So if the owner is in prison, do the tenants still have to pay rent?

ed_Extinct

um... i thought dahmer was dead.

guest

Where's the standard racist comment? I mean, of course black people lived here, right? Hello?

guest

Ewww... you know there are some cases of missing people in NYC area--including Chanel Petro-Nixon... this is worth looking into for in case this stuff turns out to be HUMAN.

Ewwww....

Peter

So, you were wondering where the additives in your favorite foods come from?

rarelement

"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson - sorry I don't know how to do links to amazon.com...

Jen Chung

#6, I know that my typos can be uncanny at times, but in this instance, I cannot take all the credit. I had copied-and-pasted from 1010WINS, where it does say "viles."

refuter

Oh my, BIOLOGY BOOKS in a house!!! CREEPY!!! That guy must be some sort of psycho reading biology and all.

guest

"Viles of acid" -- ah, Mrs. Malaprop, sometimes your vial spelling skills really do produce le mot juste.

guest

it's a vacant house, is he selling?

Looks like a very nice house.

guest

Hahahahaha, awesome.

"I saw some stuff in jars like some embryo stuff in jars and some skulls and like a lot of, like, medical stuff like nobody shouldn't have, like a hospital."