no. 491-495 Dean Street

The buildings shown in the above picture (from left to right) are 491-495 Dean Street. While documenting the structures along Dean Street, 493 & 495 stood out to me because of their use of wood materials (neither brick nor brownstone which is prevalent along the majority of the other building facades in the area). I also noted that 495 is significantly misaligned among the other street-facing facades. This seems minor, however, I think that it is highly likely that it pre-dated the establishment of the boundary lines of the sidewalk, street, building lot or the construction of the surrounding buildings. It also is significantly shorter than all of the other short buildings.

It is difficult to see, but up until recently, there had been a building to the left of 491 which has since been demolished for FCR. These three structures fall within the lines of the Atlantic Yard plan. They are currently privately owned by one individual whose family has collectively owned it for approximately 50 years. In order for the lots to be transferred to Bruce Ratner, the area had to be deemed blighted. The owner however, has informed me that the condition of the interiors is perfect.

During my interview, I asked the owner also whether there has been any attempt to have these structures landmarked or researched the history behind 495. He informed me that he has been told that No 495 is from 1825 and 493 is from 1827. He admitted that he did not have information on the history behind the properties aside from knowing that there was a stoop or staircase in the front of one of them. He also believed that over the years, owners added to the facade, rather than removing the initial old facade layer and replacing it. So its history may be intact. I mentioned that tax photos from the 40s could be found from the Department of Records if indeed he wanted to restore the facades to be granted landmark status. He informed me, however, that it would be pointless to go through the effort of restoring the facades if the city is going to demolish them anway.