Broken Angel News: Wood Says It's On Sale, Very Threatened

Possibly you've been reading all the Broken Angel coverage. The situation has been quite confused since Brownstoner scored a scoop by reporting the Clinton Hill landmark was on the market. Then, Friday, the Brooklyn Paper quoted the agent handling the sale that Broken Angel is a "development site." In any case, Chris Wood, son of creator Arthur Wood has finally sent out an update to clarify things. As we read it, we concluded the situation is both very sad and very discouraging, but hopefully, someone will step in to save and preserve this treasure before Brooklyn loses another unique landmark. We will probably move this item up tomorrow so that weekday readers see it, but for now, here is the Wood email, in its entirety.

I hope that everyone has had a good beginning to the New Year. I would like to address certain questions and statements that have been posted online as to the fate of Broken Angel. It is true that Broken Angel is for sale. The only financial donation that my parents received was a check for $10.00 and this was never cashed. In addition a small amount of money has been generated from the sale of a few photographs, this money covered the costs of copying the plans for the architects and engineers. The help that we have received has been in the form of various people’s time and expertise and we really do appreciate their efforts. My family and I are very sorry if these generous people feel that their time has been wasted by this experience. We are still trying through the courts to save the building.

Our current understanding of the situation is that my father has been given a month to remove the entire wooden structure from the top of the building. If he does not, then the Department of Buildings will move in, do the work and zero out the value of the property. This point was driven home when we received a phone call from a member of the Department of Buildings to this effect the morning after Christmas. My father has never been given any indication that he will be allowed to reside in the building if the work is completed by the Department of Buildings. One month is not enough time to get a contractor, much less to have them complete the work. From the beginning we have been asking for a clear statement of what work needs to be done, and a reasonable time in which to accomplish that work, we have still not received this from the City.

My parents are senior citizens, they have a small fixed income and since they have been evicted from their home, no permanent residence. It is a hard situation for anyone to be in. They don’t want to sell their home, a building that was their dream, and labor for 28 years, but at this point they don’t see many alternatives.

Ugh. More to come.

(Note: We posted this at 9AM on Sunday, but wanted to move it up so that those who don't visit on weekend might have a chance to read it. We think Mr. Wood's explanation is important enough to emphasize.)

Related Post:
Holy Crap: Broken Angel is a "Development Site"?