City Buys Newly-Landmarked Abolitionist Home In Brooklyn: Report

BROOKLYN, NY — A newly-landmarked Brooklyn home that was once home to prominent abolitionists has been purchased by the city, according to reports.

The city's Department of Citywide Administrative Services bought the 227 Duffield St. building for $3.2 million this week, one month after it was finally designated as a landmark following a decade-long fight, the Brooklyn Paper reported.

The Duffield Street home was owned by Samiel Hasanab, who had planned to build a 10-story apartment building on the property with a museum dedicated to its Black history. The plans, which would demolish the home, had created a resurgence among advocates who had pushed for its landmark status for years in 2019.

Hasanab's attorney told the Paper this week that the landmark status plummeted the value of the home and left "no choice" but to sell the property, according to the outlet.

It is unclear what the city plans to do with the house, which was once home to abolitionists Harriet and Thomas Truesdell and is thought to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Both Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray have previously said they hope to see the property preserved as a memorial to the abolitionist movement, the Paper noted.

The fight to save the Duffield Street home dates back to at least 2007, when the city settled a lawsuit Chatel had filed to protect the house from being taken by eminent domain as part of a redevelopment plan for Downtown Brooklyn.

A petition started two years ago to save the home has garnered more than 17,000 signatures.

Read the full Brooklyn Paper story about the purchase here.