October 10, 2006
Oh No! Broken Angel is Burning!
Oh damn! The beautiful and strange Broken Angel building in Clinton Hill seems to be on fire! Brooklyn Record has the first shot-- is anyone in the area available to snap a few pictures of the damage? The building is on the corner of Downing and Quincy-- we're not going to be able to bike down there for at least a few hours.
Update: according to the Gothamist Newsmap, it's an all-hands call for the FDNY. Not surprising, given the all wood materials used in the top part of the building. The only question is how the firefighters are going to get in to fight the fire-- the building can't be safe to enter with heavy equipment.
Update: via Gothamist Contribute: "I called in to report the fire when I saw a little flame there at about 1:00. By the time the FD showed up, one of the top towers was pretty much engulfed in flame. They got a ladder truck up and sprayed it down and it's been out for about half an hour now. Photos on flickr momentarily."
Update, as promised, the photos have begun to arrive-- damage looks confined to the upper turrets of the tower. This one is by Reidab:
Update: Reidab also posted an account of the fire-- sounds like the FDNY saved the day:
The FD turnout was impressive. I think there were seven engines on surrounding streets within five minutes. By the time they arrived, the flames had grown to engulf the entirety of the upper tower. Soon, a bucket truck was up and they hosed down the tower continuously for several minutes, mostly extinguishing the fire.There was still a small bit of the tower burning after the initial spray was shut off, but it remained tiny and didn’t spread. Some firefighters entered the structure and, after they emerged, a second round of spraying took care of the last bits of smoldering.
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i hope nobody was trapped in there, nor the damage too extensive.
Who cares, it's in Brooklyn.
I smell a condo conversion.
My Account of the Fire
Any word on how it started? Seems like a strange place for a fire.
That is the location that Dave Chappell used for his block party, correct? It is right next to a day care center so they probably had to evacuate.
Berry, Broken Angel is on the block of Dave Chappelle's Block Party.
I hope the damage is minimal so the cute old hippie couple that live there can continue to do so!
maybe a block party fundraiser with chappell?
did somebody say Burning Angel?
I think this will be the incident that gets the Building Department to condemn the place. From what I saw in "...Block Party", that place was barely structurally standing.
oh David, I can't wait for another highrise either.
Sadly today at 1pm Broken Angel caught fire by natural causes. No one was hurt minimal damage was done. Many thanks to the FDNY for quicky putting out the fire. Any contributions are welcome addressed to Arthur Wood, 4 Downing St, Brooklyn NY 11238, to help us rebuild. Thank you Brooklyn for all of your support. photo of fire at http://www.flickr.com/photos/onebadapple/sets/
yes, drunkatnyu, anyone who points out that this building is obviously unsafe is supporting condo development. you fucking twit.
they have been inspected over and over, it is all good! BUILD ON BROKEN ANGEL!
I am Christopher Wood, son of Arthur (age 75)and Cindy Wood (age 65) the owners and creators of Broken Angel, . The New York City Building department is attempting to remove my parents from their home of 30 years, unless we immediatly get an architect or engineer to bring the building to NYC codes. We do not have the money to do this. If there is anyone out there who is qualified and willing to work Pro Bono we desperately need the help, contributions are also welcome. You can contact my father. Arthur Wood
4 Downing St, Brooklyn, NY 11238. Also we appeal to David Chappelle and Michel Gondry.Our home became the backdrop for your wonderful concert film, please help us to save it now.
Christopher, please post a phone number as we would like to contact you to see if we can help. Thank you.
We had a meeting on Friday with the Department of Buildings. We were told that they would begin demolition on the building in 3 weeks from now, if we do not submit plans by an architect/engineer to bring the building to code. The city would do the work and then place a lean on the property. To have the city do the work would zero out the value of the property and leave my parents with nothing. We understand that the Department of Buildings is in a difficult situation, as there are some safety concerns with the building. We are attempting to comply with the Department of Buildings, and would like to submit plans as soon as we can get an architect/ engineer on board. If any qualified individuals are willing to work with us in this short time frame we would very much appreciate it. I can be contacted at chriswood718@yahoo.com.