Ornate brownstone at Number 241 Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens in an old 1940 tax photo
241 Carroll Street on July 2nd, 2012, the day a sidewall collapsed
Demolition of the building during the summer of 2012
And the beginning of construction on a new building in September 2012
At around 1:30 Am on July 2nd, 2012, the side wall pulled away from the building and collapsed into the driveway of Public School 58, right next door.
Luckily, no one was hurt, though there were occupants inside the residence at the time of the collapse.
Number 241 was once part of a row of brownstones between Smith and Court Streets, and was framed by two buildings. The houses closest to Smith Street were demolished a long time ago, when the subway was built and the rest was taken down to make room for PS 58 in the late 1950's (as you can see in the 1940s photograph above). Obviously, the building's integrity had suffered and weakened the exposed side wall.
Demolition of the brownstone started almost immediately and continued for several weeks during the summer of 2012. The empty lot served as a sad reminder of the collapse.
However, just in the last few days, there has been some activity on the site and it would appear that a brand new brick townhouse will replace the old home is about to start.
The N.Y.C. Department of Building has just approved permits for the "reconstruction of a four story building with cellar and penthouse." The permit and a rendering of the future building have been posted on the construction fence and yesterday, a crew began excavating the site.
Douglas Pulaski of Bricolage Architecture & Design is listed as the applicant of record, which would explain the rather generic design of the new building. Bricolage Deign and Pulaski's partner Henry Radusky have a rather checkered past.
Of course, reconstructing the original building exactly the way it was would be prohibitively expensive, but it is a bit disappointing to see that the old majestic brownstone will be replaced by a rather plain building with a brick façade and no stoop. At least there will be a cornice.
Since the paperwork lists an L.L.C. partnership, it has not yet been confirmed if the original owners are behind the project. But if they are, it will be great having them and their children back in the neighborhood.
***UPDATE***
I received an email from owners Howard and Sisi with the good news that the new building will be very much in keeping with the brownstone that stood at the site.They write:
"The rebuilding will not be the same as the rendering on the permit sign. The rebuilt building will of course have a stoop, and brownstone facade as well. The sign is only for elevation information.
We are going to make the building as similar as possible to what we had before. Please reassure your readers that it will not be a Boro park special ;)"
Thanks for the clarification, Howard and Sisi. So glad you will be back on your block soon.
