Jonathan Adams

FUREE Wins, Saves Historic Brooklyn Home

Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) announced at a press conference in Brooklyn yesterday that the city will not use eminent domain to destroy 227 Duffield Street, a house widely believed to have been part of the Underground Railroad.

A couple of months ago, we posted that the housee was still in jeopardy after FUREE won the eminent domain hearing. But now, the city has settled the lawsuit that began in 2004 and the home on Duffield St. will not become an underground parking lot.

A coalition of people organized with FUREE in the name of justice: Joy Chatel (who wants to turn her home into a historical and cultural center) and another Duffield Street homeowner Lew Greenstein, the South Brooklyn Legal Services and the Four Boroughs Neighborhood Preservation Alliance, all worked together during this multi-year battle.

This is a huge victory for an organization fighting for families of color, many of whom are immigrants and low-income.

Posted at 11:18 AM, Dec 03, 2007 in Gentrification | Permalink | View Comments