Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims Joins Underground RR Heritage Trail

Historic Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims on Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights has become an official site on the Underground Railroad Heritage Trail with the installation of this sign in the Orange Street yard.

The sign discusses Henry Ward Beecher's role in the abolitionist movement -- for example, holding mock slave auctions to raise money to buy slaves' freedom.

The trail is part of "In Pursuit of Freedom," a joint project of the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Weeksville Heritage Center and Irondale Ensemble Project. In Pursuit of Freedom will provide resources for understanding Brooklyn’s role in the abolitionist movement through exhibitions, a website, historic markers, walking tours and more, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

A Duffield Street Underground Railroad Home Escapes the Wrecking Ball!

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the city has pledged that it will not use eminent domain to condemn 227 Duffield Street, one of the seven sites on Duffield said to be part of the historic Underground Railroad .

The city, in a settlement filed on Friday, agreed to allow Joy Chatel to retain ownership of her home on Duffield Street. Sources told the Eagle that the city most likely wants to avoid a long, messy legal battle that would delay the construction of a public plaza and parking garage planned there as part of the Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment Plan.

Oddly enough, one hand of the City recently co-named Duffield Street "Abolitionist Place" in honor of its Underground Railroad past, while the other hand had been steadfastly trying to demolish many of the homes thought to be part of this past.

According to Develop, Don't Destroy Brooklyn, a press conference -- to be attended by a slew of representatives, advocates and others -- is slated to be held Monday at noon in front of the Chatel home.

UPDATE: Monday's toast here.

More here.

- Second Hearing on Underground Railroad Properties in Downtown Brooklyn
- Second Chance for Duffield Street Underground Railroad Homes
- Buildings Shooting Up in Downtown Brooklyn, Why Offer Incentives?
- City to Commemorate Underground RR in Brooklyn -- At Site Where It Wants to Demolish Alleged Underground RR Safehouse
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photos by MK Metz

City to Commemorate Underground RR in Brooklyn -- At Site Where It Wants to Demolish Alleged Underground RR Safehouse

The city is looking for a non-profit to commemorate Underground Railroad activity in Brooklyn, possibly using the planned Willoughby Square Park as a central orientation point, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

The move comes on the heels of last month’s eminent domain hearing, which included a home on Duffield Street -- allegedly itself once a safe house along the Underground Railroad -- that the city wants to knock down to build the one-acre park.

More here.

Previous posts on this topic:
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz

Yankees Persevere in Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn's 14th Civil War Regiment established an encampment, complete with drills, at Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims' Yankee Fair Saturday.

It was an excellent neighborhood event (taking into account that the neighborhood is historical Brooklyn Heights, i.e. George Washington Slept Here), with a lot of stuff for the kids -- a petting zoo, pony rides, bouncies -- and satisfying amusements for adults, including a book fair (50 cents for paperbacks, a dollar for current hardcovers, carried away bags-full) and holiday shopping galore. Nice food too -- chili, sandwiches and sweets, served by church elders. Neighbors chatted with neighbors at the tables. All in all, a relaxing and fun gathering, in the heart of Yankee Country.

BTW, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims was the “Grand Central Depot” (via NY Times) of the Underground Railroad in New York City. If you ever get a chance to take a tour of its basement -- a honeycomb of interconnected rooms and tunnels to freedom -- jump on it. (Ask for church historian Lois Rosebrooks.)

From Plymouth Church, it’s a quick walk to the corner of Fulton and Duffield Streets, where the new "Abolitionist Place" sign hangs. But the city will likely soon demolish other reputed sites of the Underground Railroad here, in order to build an underground parking garage as part of the grand Downtown Brooklyn Plan.

- Second Hearing on Underground Railroad Properties in Downtown Brooklyn
- Second Chance for Duffield Street Underground Railroad Homes
- Buildings Shooting Up in Downtown Brooklyn, Why Offer Incentives?
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz

Second Hearing on Underground Railroad Properties in Downtown Brooklyn

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development heard two hours of testimony Monday opposing the use of eminent domain to seize almost two dozen Downtown Brooklyn properties so a parking garage, open space, an arts space and housing could be built.

Duffield Street homes allegedly once part of the Underground Railroad, along with rent-stabilized apartments, a financial services firm and other organizations would be displaced, reports the Brooklyn Eagle.

The hearing was the second on the issue -- the HPD said the department mistakenly did not enter a blight study into the public record during the first hearing last May, requiring a new public hearing.

More here.

- Second Chance for Duffield Street Underground Railroad Homes
- Buildings Shooting Up in Downtown Brooklyn, Why Offer Incentives?
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz

Duffield Street Underground RR, Norman Mailer and More Brooklyn in Brief, Tuesday

- The city last week withdrew eminent domain findings concerning three blocks in Downtown Brooklyn, which include homes allegedly once involved in the Underground Railroad, a financial firm with 150 employees, a rent-stabilized apartment building that houses 40 families, a handful of parking lots and an arts venue. The question is -- why? Brooklyn Eagle

- Norman Mailer has written thirteen novels, nineteen works of nonfiction, two poetry collections, and one play... In a new book, On God, he lays out his personal vision of what the universe’s higher truths might look like ... New York Magazine

- Why does "Gossip Girl" film in Brooklyn, pretend it's the upper East Side, then put down Brooklyn as a lower class suburb? Brooklyn Enthusiast

- Still no takers for Gage & Tollner space. (Or should we move to Portland and open a restaurant?) Brownstoner

- BARC’s Dog Parade is next weekend! NewYorkShitty

- Brooklyn Heights was the scene of a terrible tragedy on Saturday night, when the shooting of the new Coen brothers movie with George Clooney and Brad Pitt at Clinton and State streets somehow took out the cable T.V. in local buildings ... Gawker

Second Chance for Duffield Street Underground Railroad Homes, and More Brooklyn in Brief, Weekend Edition

- The city is withdrawing Duffield Street eminent domain findings and will be holding a new hearing. According to Duffield Street Underground, this "gives Duffield advocates a chance to use political pressure to change the footprint of properties threatened with governmental confiscation."

UPDATE: Raul Rothblatt sent us this statement about the eminent domain findings:
"In response to the Eminent Domain Procedure Law Petition filed by advocates for the residents and businesses of Downtown Brooklyn, the City is withdrawing its eminent domain findings and holding a new hearing. This does not mean the City is starting over on the issue of historic preservation, but it gives Duffield advocates a chance to use political pressure to change the footprint of properties threatened with governmental confiscation. This is pretty unprecedented in the world of New York eminent domain law. This appears to be an important victory to those challenging the Downtown Brooklyn rezoning. Please stay posted as the situation develops."

- Some people are robbing bars in Brooklyn in broad daylight -- at gunpoint. The bars that have been robbed are Bait and Tackle on Van Brunt Street, Floyd on Atlantic Avenue and Moonshine on Columbia Street. Gowanus Lounge

- The city's plan to dump the last working port in Brooklyn and turn it into a "trendy brew pub and marina" now appears all but dead in the water. NY Daily News

- It was supposed to be the "exclusive" East Side, but this week's episode of "Gossip Girls" was filmed mainly at in Brooklyn Heights, at venues like the hallowed halls of Packer Collegiate Institute and Brooklyn Bridge Park. Oh -- and nobody rides in stretch limos anymore, Chucky boy. Gothamist

- Bring back the Bay Ridge ferry! Green Brooklyn

- Excellent ratter in Bay Ridge: four rats in two/three weeks, one of which was eight inches long, not including the tail! Bay Ridge Eagle In related news, New York was named on Thursday "the U.S. city most vulnerable to a rat attack!" Reuters

- Long-time Brooklyn tenants band together to fight displacement. NY1

- New York Magazine swears off Britney Spears. For good. This time. Really. NY Magazine

- Is it any surprise that sexually transmitted diseases were found in the Gowanus Canal? (We didn't know canals could even -- you know -- do it.) Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn prosecutors apparently have mounted a criminal investigation into two Bear Stearns hedge funds that collapsed during the sub-prime crisis. It's a tough case. London Times

- Buildings Shooting Up in Downtown Brooklyn, Why Offer Incentives?
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz

Buildings Shooting Up in Downtown Brooklyn, Why Offer Incentives?

The Duffield Street Underground comments on a recent article in the Brooklyn Eagle (Forest City Plans New Highrise East of Flatbush) :

"The fact that massive buildings are shooting up suggest that big developers don't need extra incentive. And it's a mighty strange incentive that EDC is offering on Duffield– an underground parking lot instead of Abolitionist homes that have promising links to the Underground Railroad."

- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes

The City giveth and the City taketh: After a valiant struggle on the part of homeowners (see all the posts listed below), the Department of Housing Preservation and Development ruled Monday that the city should use its powers of eminent domain to seize 21 properties on three blocks in Downtown Brooklyn, plus a financial services firm that employs 150 people, reports the Brooklyn Eagle. Several of these properties are thought to have been part of the historical Underground Railroad.

Weirdly, this comes on top of an announcement this week of the city's plan to spend $2 million to commemorate abolitionist activity in Downtown Brooklyn. Except that the actual spots where the abolitionist activity took place are, uh, about to be razed.

More here.

Previous posts on this topic:
Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz

KeySpan Cleanup, and More Brooklyn Thursday News

- The state Department of Environmental Conservation and Keyspan have reached an expanded agreement on cleaning up several highly contaminated sites in Brooklyn, including two in Gowanus and one in Williamsburg. The most prominent of the sites is the one known as Public Place in Gowanus. Gowanus Lounge

- The city announced this week a $2 million project to commemorate abolitionist activity in Downtown Brooklyn -- but still plans to raze Duffield Street homes, which may actually have been stops on the Underground Railroad. Brooklyn Eagle

- A Bob Dylan video was shot Tuesday in Williamsburg. Dylan wasn't there, but a look-a-like was there along with "a ton of faux-hippies." Gothamist

- Rapper Foxy Brown has been charged with felony assault for allegedly attacking her Brooklyn neighbor last month. PR Inside

- More Atlantic Yards demolitions, one around the base of the future Miss Brooklyn. Brownstoner

Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses

You missed the tour and didn't have time for the book: Here's an intriguing video that sheds light onto the Duffield Street Underground Railroad controversy.

This 28-minute documentary (by Freddy's Brooklyn Roundhouse) provides an in-depth look at the Duffield Street houses and provides some creditable scholarship that bolsters the claim that they were part of the Underground Railroad.

With context provided by Robert Swan, PhD, and interviews with a variety of Duffield Street homeowners and historians, you may soon question consulting firm AKRF's claim that no evidence exists to link the houses to the hotbed of liberation that existed in the area.

Past posts on this topic here.

Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan

A lawsuit has been filed against the city which aims to save the seven houses on and near Duffield Street that may have been part of the Underground Railroad, amNewYork reports.

These houses are in the footprint of parts of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan, and slated for demolition.

"There is no debate at this point that prominent abolitionists lived at 227 Duffield St.," said Jennifer Levy, a lawyer with South Brooklyn Legal Services, which filed the suit Friday.

In May, City Council members criticized a $500,000 report commissioned by the city’s Economic Development Corporation that found "no conclusive evidence to support claims that seven houses along Duffield and Gold streets in Downtown Brooklyn were involved in Underground Railroad activities."

Councilman Charles Barron blasted city consulting firm/lapdog AKRF for not hiring an archeologist to investigate claims that the homes were connected by tunnels and had other unusual features, such as extra stoves, escape chutes etc.

Underground Railroad Consultants Try to Pull Another Fast One
Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
Council: Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

All previous post on this topic here.

Photo by MK Metz

'Artsy' Hotels Underway on Duffield Street

Across the Street from Underground Railroad Houses, a Sheraton and a 'Hip' Hotel Bloom

In spite of the Underground Railroad scandal right across the street, construction is ongoing at the site of two new upscale, artsy and “hip” hotels in Downtown Brooklyn, on the now infamous Duffield Street.

We know that a Sheraton and another hotel are planned for the site, because the developer, John Lam of The Lam Group, told the Brooklyn Eagle all about it last year.

But we didn't know just how artsy the hotels were going to be. A recent walk-through revealed that even in this early stage, the developer has chosen the high road: a poster by Degas graces the construction fencing.

In spite of the good feelings produced by the Degas, a rendering posted by Brownstoner shows the hotels may not have the desired artsy effect. One Brownstoner correspondent went so far as to say the planned twins looked like "a Hostess factory, maybe Crackerjacks."

Not quite up to Degas.

Photos by MK Metz

Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million

Oh what a convoluted tale is being told about one of the famous Duffield Street Underground Railroad homes, caught up in eminent domain proceedings. According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the home is on the market for $4.5 million -- and nobody knows exactly who put it up for sale.

It's possible, though, that attorney Angelyn Johnson, who has some murky connection with the tenant, has something to do with it. Johnson was charged in February by the Queens District Attorney’s Office as part of a six-person deed fraud ring, says the Eagle.

Listed as having a “Downtown Brooklyn Prime Location,” the eight-bedroom, four-bathroom, semi-detached home with a store happens to also have 20 stories worth of air rights.

Eagle story here.

Photo by MK Metz

Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One

It seems that the consultants --AKRF -- who determined that there were no links to the Underground Railroad at several houses on Duffield Street and vicinity (without even bothering to hire an archaeologist) were caught in flagrante delicto with the city's Economic Development corporation.

In this latest twist, Brownstoner reports that AKRF claimed that the New York State Historic Preservation Office had ruled that the houses were not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, when in fact the Office had never been asked to make determination. City Council Member Letitia James blew AKRF's cover, Brownstoner says.

Earlier this month, City Council Menbers slammed AKRF's report. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, Councilman Charles Barron said, “For you to get paid a half a million to conclude what the EDC wanted you to conclude, I think that is despicable."

Past posts on this subject here.

Photo by MK Metz

Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million

Same Firm Paid by City for Duffield Street/Underground RR StudyConsulting firm AKRF will receive $630,000 more for work it has done related to the Atlantic Yards project after a state development corporation vote Thursday, bringing the firm’s total contract for project-related work in the last 20 months to $4.8 million, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

The same firm was paid $500,000 by the city’s Economic Development Corporation for its three-year study on the relationship between 19th century houses on Duffield Street and the Underground Railroad -- a study criticized by City Council members for, among other things, not hiring an archaeologist.

For the latest story, see here.
Past Atlantic Yards posts here.

Photos by MK Metz

Council: Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

City Council members Monday criticized a $500,000 report commissioned by the city’s Economic Development Corporation that found "no conclusive evidence to support claims that seven houses along Duffield and Gold streets in Downtown Brooklyn were involved in Underground Railroad activities," according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. These houses are in the footprint of parts of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan. An eminent domain hearing is scheduled for May 22.

Several council members questioned whether consulting firm AKRF was qualified to do the research, and if the job was subject to competitive bidding. Councilman Charles Barron criticized AKRF for not hiring an archeologist to investigate claims that the homes were connected by tunnels and had other unusual features, such as extra stoves, escape chutes etc.

Eagle story has many more details here.

Photo of 233 Duffield Street by Brooklyn photojournalist MK Metz.