One of the last abandoned structures in western Crown Heights: 448 Park Place.

whynot_31 · June 2015

Who owns you, little house?

Who is paying taxes on you, to keep you from being sold by the city at auction?

How many developers have made your owner a cash offer?

When people throw garbage over your fence, someone cleans it up. Who?

Screen shot 2015-06-12 at 12.35.15 AM

You are so decrepit and so little, that you look like you were built in the 1860s.

The last activity about you on the DOB site was a demolition permit, filed in 1988.   Why didn't they tear you down then?

You appear as if you were last occupied in the late 1970s.

You predate the DOB's records, which I believe start to get accurate in the 1890s.

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ActionsByLocationServlet?requestid=1&allbin=3322584

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=3&houseno=448&street=park+place&go2=+GO+&requestid=0

Street view:   https://goo.gl/maps/tSG38

data=RfCSdfNZ0LFPrHSm0ublXdzhdrDFhtmHhN1u-gM,em8bieIiD-QSbwdLnlbwPr_MWXmoVK07pb9rb5Zi9ov2kDfdQk9G6-GoI_hIUTnSyqxRNMjoCf53UQuFcYkf3U9jE21z7VfJz8AgpUueu2baXI30c0xzgY4p04I

data=RfCSdfNZ0LFPrHSm0ublXdzhdrDFhtmHhN1u-gM,em8bieIiD-QSbwdLnlbwPr_MWXmoVK07pb9rb5Zi9ov2kDfdQk9G6-GoI_hIUTnSyqxRNMjoCf53UQuFcYkf3U9jE21z7VfJz8AgpUueu2baXI30c0xzgY4p04I

suppleknuckles · June 2015

i have to say, i've walked down this block countless times and i never noticed this little guy

eastbloc · June 2015

I believe the structure in the picture is a rear extension of one of the properties facing Washington Ave.

The property that was actually on the lot pictured was likely demolished as per the permit.

whynot_31 · June 2015

The Park Pl lot is 25' x 102', so I think it includes the old house.

http://nycparcels.com/property/3/01167/0012
It is weird that they might have demolished another structure on the site, but left this one.

Was this the better of the two structures?

eastbloc · June 2015

That thing is definitely an extension to one of the buildings on Washington. It doesn't have a door, for starters. Look at the satellite view, and the Apple Maps 3D view if you have an Apple device.

Now, that doesn't mean it's not legally on the parcel of land belonging to 448 Park. I've certainly seen weirder things. But that would explain why it wasn't demolished along with whatever structure was remaining. These demos sometimes happen because the structure is unsound, often because of a fire. If the rear structure was unscathed, there would be no reason to touch it.

whynot_31 · June 2015

Yes, maybe the city was the force behind the demolition permit for a now-gone front structure, and didn't have the authority to have the back structure removed.

I see what you mean about the no door thing.

My present theory is that there is a door on the left side of the structure, and that it was in the backyard of something. Whatever it was, it looks like it was lived in until a few decades ago. It seems to have received electricity via overhead power lines.

ehgee · June 2015

I, too, had assumed that the the open part of the parcel was the 'backyard' to the Half Court Sports Bar building, and that this backhouse was associated with the shops on Washington, or the vacant lot currently being built on at 727 Washington.

However, the city's property maps show the Half Court building and the stores beside it are all on one parcel, and wedge at 727 Washington is a distinct lot:

This situation also makes it seem likely to me that this was once a backhouse attached to the fronthouse that was demolished for whatever reason in 1988. If the owner is this patient with the piece of land, I'd guess they'd be patient enough to wait until the property values top out at values more-or-less equal to Park Slope.

I'd guess the mechanic who loves to park cars on the sidewalk and leave razor wire at face level across Park Place is playing the same game.

ehgee · June 2015

And when the lot is sold, something that looks approximately like this will be built:

One of the last abandoned structures in western Crown Heights: 448 Park Place.

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