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Owner Of Brooklyn's Broken Angel House Evicted, Block Party Friday
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 13, 2013
Modified Mar 13, 2013
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 13, 2013
Modified Mar 13, 2013
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Photo by jameswolberg's flickr
Artist Arthur Wood is losing his Clinton Hill home, which he purchased in the 1970s with his late wife, and the neighborhood will send him off with a block party this Friday. The 84-year-old has been struggling to keep his unique living space—known as the Broken Angel house and highlighted in the 2005 documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party—for years. Throughout his time there he has turned the building into a livable sculpture.
"This beautiful artistic landmark has inspired many people with it's intricate arches, stunning, gravity defying angles and it's sheer asymmetry in a landscape which is all too dull and predictable. Much of the material it was built from was sourced from the garbage and dumps of NYC."
When the structure caught fire in 2006, the Department of Buildings came snooping around and deemed it unsafe—the order to vacate led to arrests and a long foreclosure battle, and now Wood is being evicted. It's unclear what will happen to the building, but last year a failed Kickstarter aimed to turn it into a museum.
Organizers promise bands, BBQ, and plenty of art at this Friday's send-off, which will be held outside of the home at 4-8 Downing Street between 4 and 9 p.m. More details can be found here.
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arthur wood
block party
broken angel
clinton hill
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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