October 18, 2006
Bad News for Broken Angel
Well, that was probably inevitable-- after the October 10th fire, the city inspected Broken Angel and declared the building unfit for human habitation. The Times says a lot of work is necessary to bring the building up to code:
In conducting last week’s inspection, Bryan Winter, the department’s deputy borough commissioner, found a "50-foot vertical extension” and a “15-foot vertical extension" at the top of the building, Ms. Givner said. "That means no permits, that means no plans; that is illegal," Ms. Givner said.The building has no interior staircase; "there are wood planks that are not even attached," Ms. Givner said. Basic weight-bearing structures are missing. "A lot of the building is open to the elements," she said. "The walls are not complete, the floors are not there. Beams are charred from previous fires."
These city is concerned that if another fire starts, responding FDNY personnel could be hurt-- and if they weren't able to bring a fire under control, it could endanger neighboring buildings. The Wood family is disputing the extent of the problems, and asking for help from the public to bring the building into compliance. Christopher Wood sent out a letter yesterday:
Sadly 10/10/06 at 1pm Broken Angel caught fire by natural causes. No one was hurt and 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.
We've reprinted the rest after the jump:
UPDATE: I am Christopher Wood, son of Arthur (age 75)and Cindy Wood (age 65) the owners and creators of Broken Angel, . The New Yor City Building department is attempting to remove my parents from their home of 30 years, unless we immediately 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 at 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.
My parents, Arthur and Cynthia Wood have been living in fear of the building department after a threat this week to throw them out on to the street without even their family possessions or artwork, and destroy their home of 30 years "Broken Angel".
Last night someone placed a broken angel statue in front of my parent’s door at 4 Downing Street . Thank you to the anonymous donor, it meant the world to me and my parents as it gave us a spark of hope.
Many of you wonder what the hell my parents are doing with that building. They always were building an outline of a dream, a building that was different from the usual architecture of today. They did this while never having enough money to complete their dream. But that didn't stop them from using found or discarded objects that we throw away ever day like the glass bottles that they used to create a stained glass windows. This is the interior and exterior of Broken Angel.
My name is Christopher Wood, I have worked for B&H Art in Architecture (web site here) for the past 4 years. I am a stone carver and have restored such landmarks such as the Cloisters Museum , Metropolitan Museum of Art , and Grace Church in Manhattan
My parents and I would love to give back to the community of Brooklyn and turn Broken Angel into a nonprofit foundation for music and the arts which would include a school and museum. There are also complete building plans drawn up by my father in which the first page can viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/onebadapple/168044712/in/set-127493/ But we need help from you, the residents of New York City .
All of your comments and ideas are welcome
Donations can be sent to Arthur Wood at
4 Downing street Brooklyn , New York 11238
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn is also working with the Woods to get a Paypal page set up.
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What the hell is "fire by natural causes"? Did lightning strike it? Spontaneous combustion?
I may be going out on a limb here, but I'd suspect faulty wiring or some other unsafe building condition.
Hey -- I liked the movie, the Woods seem like nice people, but building codes do exist for a reason, like them or not. I'm glad the post pointed out that the FDNY's safety is at risk -- it's not just themselves that the Woods are endangering with this thing.
If the building can be repaired and brought up to code, great. If not, Tear it down.
The life of a firefighter is more important than some stupid building that can be replaced. There are too many memorial plaques on firehouses as it is, we don't need any more.
some stupid building that can be replaced? what are you talking about? it's one of a kind. a landmark, really. quit being a dick.
This is a landmark building. These nice old hippies deserve some help from us, especially those of us who enjoy looking at their funny building. It just caught on fire and no firefighter died, so why do you assume you have to equate this building with firefighters's lives -- how stupidly didactic.
I keep thinking that if they had spent time over the years maintaining the codes, and working to create as safe a space as possible I would be behind preserving it. But the fact is that they aren't taking care of it, yet they want others to? I am all for preservation of landmarks, and I agree this is a landmark. But at one point does community and personal safety trump preservation?
If someone were to come forward and help preserve it, I would be all for it. If I read correctly, they do not live in the building but behind it. Why not get it up to code and let people pay to enter and support it's maintenance?
Why did they not spend time maintaining it and following codes? I am all for preservation and maintaining a landmarked building, but it does not appear they had even tried to preserve it themselves. I am thinking if some time was spent adhering to codes, these problems would not be of any concern.
At one point does the community safety (and personal safety) trump building preservation?
If they do live behind the building, why not fix it up and charge admission so they can cover maintenance and repairs as they arise (because it is obvious they will as they always do)?
Call me sappy but the bizarrely romantic tale of someone buying an unused building in the ghetto in 1979 (a time when people were leaving the city) and turning it into a work of art is what this city is, or at least used to be, all about. It's just one more thing that makes this city an interesting place to be, and not some generic white washed sh*thole.
I hope the Woods family finds some way to preserve it/finish it/make it a safer structure than it currently is. They'd need a lot of help to do it from the looks of things, as I would suspect they have next to no means of doing it themselves.
"Why did they not spend time maintaining it and following codes?..."
Simple, lack of money. If you read about Broken Angel, the owners bought it when the neighborhood was characterized by rows of abandoned, boarded-up & burn't out buildings (& lots of crack-heads). The owners put all they had into purchasing the building. The "modifications" they made were done with material they found, not material they purchased. Proper building materials were too expensive. City permits were too expensive. And, at the time they started, nobody cared what they were doing the ghetto anyway. It's only now that gentrification has hit Clinton Hill / Bed-Stuy that people are now starting to complain. I personally love the place & would hate to see it go!
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.
After reading my Brother's posting on what may happen to Broken Angel I know that I cannot just sit and watch anything like that happen. This is the house I grew up in and where I was taught to be resourceful by my Father and Mother. Heaven forbid losing this would be like losing a Family member; even my 12-year old Son and 4-year old Daughter have connections to this house. I met my Husband while living here. This is a circumstance where one must look beyond face value to see the true inner beauty of such a place. In the 29 years my Parents have owned this building not one "hazardous" thing has happened before the fire of 2 weeks ago, which was no fault of theirs. There is a statement that holds true to this situation "Remember, the Titanic was built by professionals, and Noah's Arc by an amateur." Not that my Father is an amateur. Like many of us, he's more like a brilliant mind living at the wrong time. (What if the Wright Brother's planes were ruled hazardous?) Something to think about, I'd say. I pray the tides will change in the next 3 weeks. We want to comply with the Department of Buildings; as I mentioned I could not stand to lose Broken Angel. If anyone would like to reply, I can be contacted at chocolatesilver@hotmail.com. Thank you.