The Friends of Abraham Manee-Seguine Homestead started a petition this month asking Mayor Bill de Blasio to buy the home — which has a large hole in its roof and a crumbling chimney — from owner, Leonard Tallo, in order to restore it.
"It's in relatively good condition, it just needs some work," said Nick Matranga, 43, who started the group and petition. "It needs somebody to invest money to shore up the structure."
Tallo was sued in April by the Landmarks Preservation Commission because he failed to repair the historic home at 509 Seguine Ave., which was built in the 1670s. He blamed part of the damage on Hurricane Sandy, according to court papers.
Tallo said several engineers have told him that the house cannot be repaired and would need to be demolished, and the majority of the damage happened before he bought the structure in 2009.
"The damage didn't happen on my clock," he said. "They really put the whole burden on me."
Tallo's lawyer, Anthony Lenza, found an emergency declaration filed in 2008 by the Department of Buildings that said the house needed to be demolished. That was later rescinded.
Tallo said that was hidden from him when he bought the home.
"I bought it with a set of plans and it was to restore that house and build three houses," Tallo said.
1 comment:
Tallo's explanation is laughable. He had no idea the house needed a lot of work before he bought it? Who on earth buys a 300 year old house without having an engineer thoroughly inspect it before signing a contract. Especially a real estate developer who had plans to build 3 other houses on the property? What a joke.
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