One way to get to know a neighborhood is by exploring its buildings. So we did. This story is part of a series in The Brooklyn Ink on some of the structures in the borough, and what they tell us about the life in and around them.
The building at 497 Third St., a decrepit brownstone in Park Slope, has been abandoned for decades. It is a surprising sight on a quaint Brooklyn block that is lined with trees and renovated spaces. But if the city complies, the old property could finally be getting a facelift.
The “No Trespassing” sign and the padlocked fence are clear warnings: Stay away. The dark, wooden gate is so tall that the remnants of the multi-story brownstone are barely visible. But pedestrians can peek through the gaps of the buckling fence and see overgrown weeds and the shattered glass that once made up the door.
“It has been this way for as long as I’ve lived here,” said Ted Hannan, who moved to the neighborhood more than ten years ago. “It’s outrageous. I want to know what the story is.”
The story may take a turn for the better soon. City documents show that a Brooklyn-based developer, Carlos Hernandez Trust, filed an application for a $500 thousand dollar renovation earlier this year. A representative for the company told DNAinfo that the lot will be transformed into luxury condos. The plan proposes a new, “mix-used building” and construction of two additional floors. The filing says it will also house a “commercial store.”
So far the plans have not been approved by the NYC Department of Buildings, but such a renovation could also repair the building’s reputation. According to city records, the brownstone has received more than 30 complaints dating back to 1991. Residents have reported a “vacant, unguarded” building with conditions that “harborage vermin and pigeons.” The most recent filing, from last year, warns that the grass on the lot had grown so tall that it was “housing raccoons and other wildlife.” (That complaint was disposed because controlling wildlife is not within the Department of Building’s jurisdiction.)
The city has also taken notice. The house has collected more than ten city violations on record, including an “unsafe building designation” and failure to maintain the fallen barricade in front of the property.
“Looters came in and there were once homeless people living there,” said Marjorie “Mama” Jules. She has lived across the street from the brownstone for 40 years. Jules has not depended on the city to keep the property to the block’s standards. Over the years, she has teamed up with a group of her neighbors to paint the house and maintain the sidewalk.
The first contract of sale on the building dates back to 1984. Carlos Hernandez bought the house for $115 thousand dollars, according to city archives. Nearly 30 years later, it remains under the ownership of the Hernandez family.
People who live on the block have different backstories about the rundown brownstone. Some said that there were disputes between the family members and that is why it has been empty for so long. Others speculate that the building is a tax write-off. “Someone is getting paid for this,” Hannan speculated.
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