Tear Down Starts At Historic Bed-Stuy Mansion Awaiting Landmarks Vote

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A crane crumbling the roof of a historic Bed-Stuy mansion — and the hopes of neighbors watching from the sidewalk — continued its tear-down despite a last-ditch effort to save the 120-year-old building on Thursday, according to city officials.

City Hall confirmed Thursday afternoon that demolition permits issued earlier this week for the 441 Willoughby Ave. building are valid given that they were issued before the city's landmarks board voted on the property.

"As the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered this building for potential designation as a landmark, the developer was able to legally obtain demolition permits," said a spokesperson with the mayor's office, where all press inquiries were directed. "We will continue listening to and working with the community to help address any concerns about the future of this site.”

The confirmation comes after shocked neighbors and elected officials spent hours at the Willoughby and Nostrand avenue street corner Thursday morning trying to reach city higher-ups as construction crews tore down the building overhead.

"Our hope right now is trying to reach LPC and trying to put as much pressure on [DOB] and the mayor to do something," said Councilmember Chi Ossé, one of several elected officials who planned to write a letter urging the mayor to halt demolition.

The demonstrators were able to briefly pause construction by making 311 complaints, sending a Department of Buildings inspector to the building. But the inspector found "no illegal or dangerous conditions" at the site, officials said.

Many of the neighbors watching Thursday have spent more than six months fighting to save the building, known as the Jacob Dangler House, which has been used as a community meeting spot for decades.

A brief flash of hope in the effort came last month when the landmarks board added the property to their agenda. More than a dozen neighbors — and Hollywood star Edward Norton — then spoke at a hearing held by the board last week, but a 40-day deadline for the commission to vote ended on Wednesday, according to neighbors and reports.

"We did everything right, we showed up above and beyond," said Lauren Cawdrey, one of the neighbors leading the charge. "It was a race against the clock and then they didn’t make it efficient … they let the time run out."

For some neighbors, watching the demolition start Thursday was akin to seeing memories disappear.

Michael Williams, who has lived on Willoughby Avenue for 60 years, said he remembered attending Cub Scout meetings at the Jacob Dangler House in the 1960s.

Williams was one of the first to spot the construction Thursday and spread the word, he said.

“This could have been a community center for young kids, for seniors…why keep building new buildings when we have a gorgeous building here?” Williams said.

The building owners, a masonic group known as the Oriental Grand Chapter of the Eastern Star, have said $2 million of debt largely accumulated when events halted during the pandemic was their main reason for selling the property to developers Brooklyn 360.

The developers have not yet submitted plans, but have said they plan to build housing on the site.

An attorney for the developer on site Thursday morning refused to answer Patch's questions except to say the city gave his client a permit to demolish the building.

"We don't even know what they're building," State Sen. Jabari Brisport said Thursday. "We have an opportunity to preserve history and gain a community space and then that gets taken away from us."