Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Bronx Basement "Chamber of Horrors"


By

Jen Chung

Published Aug 21, 2007

Modified Mar 7, 2008


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .


By

Jen Chung

Published Aug 21, 2007

Modified Mar 7, 2008


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

A strange incident in the Bronx: A city inspector went to the basement of 1912 Holland Avenue to check on a hot water heater, but he ended up contacting the police because he found a bizarre laboratory. 1010 WINS says that there were "vials of acid, formaldehyde and various bones and organs being preserved." Weird! More weird: The Post reports there were also "medical equipment and rubber stalactites." And then there's the "refrigerator that was storing blood."

The building had four apartments, two of which are vacant. One resident told the Post, "If these walls could talk, they'd probably be screaming" and NY1, "I saw some stuff in jars like some embryo stuff in jars and some skulls and like a lot of, like, medical stuff like nobody shouldn't have, like a hospital."

The building is owned by Barry Greene, who is currently in prison serving time for sodomy and sex abuse charges (he abused four Bronx children). It's unclear if the basement's contents belong to Greene, but the NYPD is investigating whether the bones, organs and all belong to animals and/or humans. But the building is in disrepair and Greene does face some violations.

Photograph from 1010WINS

Tagged

abuse

animals

bronx

children

hospital

News: NYC

ny1

nypd

police

sex

The Police


Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE news

Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid

Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.

By

Carol Chen

Published Oct 14, 2026 at 4:51 p.m. ET


National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter

Due to higher delivery fees, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island customers will likely see their bills increase by an average of $87 this winter.

By

Rosemary Misdary

News

National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter

Due to higher delivery fees, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island customers will likely see their bills increase by an average of $87 this winter.

By

Rosemary Misdary


Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law

By

Jon Campbell

2 men accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD detective in the Bronx plead not guilty

By

Charles Lane

and

Brittany Kriegstein

Man who pushed his baby and her mother from a Bronx balcony arraigned from psych ward

By

Brittany Kriegstein


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .