Broken Angel Update 3/13/2008
For Immediate Release
City uses unethical tactics to dismiss BROKEN ANGEL case (pending since
11/01/06)
PRESS CONFERENCE:
360 Adams Street in front of Brooklyn Supreme Court
11:30 AM FRIDAY MARCH 13th
After struggling for a year and a half to get their grievances heard
before a jury, Arthur and Cynthia Wood were blind sided by a motion to
dismiss on the day that their jury trial was scheduled to begin. In
order to have this happen both the judge and the city attorney acted
in an unethical manner. They may have assumed that this
elderly couple would just walk away. They were mistaken.
On March 12th the city of New York unceremoniously dismissed Arthur and
Cynthia Wood's Case against the city calling for damages resulting from
an illegal arrest and seizure of residence.
On October 18 2006 the department of Buildings of New York city seized
the home of Arthur and Cynthia Wood,without a legal court order, claiming that it was an unsafe structure. The Woods were denied any chance to challenge these claims. They were informed by the city that
since they owned a property they were to be denied access to any part
of the city's shelter system. Subsequently they were forced to spend
the majority of the winter in a broken down VW van. Even the Red Cross
was instructed to deny them shelter.
According to Arthur Wood, “I spent the last year and a half diligently
following the letter of the law in an effort to get my grievances heard
by a jury of my peers. At the thirteenth hour a judge accepted an
illegal motion to dismiss the case”. The defendants are not
allowed to introduce any motion to dismiss without prior service and
allowing sufficient time to answer. Somehow, this motion was not only
allowed to be entered but was approved by the judge. This is a
travesty of justice. Not only did the lawyer for the city act in an
illegal manner but this action was approved by the sitting judge. The
city must answer "How was this allowed to happen?".
Mr. Wood submitted formal complaints on March 12th against the Hon.
Lawrence Knipel the judge in this matter and Carolyn M. Planas the city
attorney in this matter.
As a final note the City of New York has stopped all progress on the construction of Broken Angel.
Questions can be directed to Mr. Wood or his son Christopher Wood via email at chriswood718@yahoo.com
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Uploaded on Mar 13, 2008
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Broken Angel 7/10/07
It has been a while since I have posted any information about Broken Angel. I wanted to put out a public statement about the removal of the top of the building.
Prior to any court orders we removed all burnt and dangerous structures from Broken Angel. However this was not enough for the Department of Buildings, we were brought back to court repeatedly so that they could attempt to get us to remove as much of the building as possible. Initially we were hesitant to remove the entire top of the structure because we were afraid that they would not allow us to re-build up to the height in the Brooklyn skyline that Broken Angel has occupied for the last 20 years. Our fears have been realized and the DOB has so far successfully blocked any plans to rebuild the structure to its original height. What follows is a description of the events leading up to the demolition of the top structure of Broken Angel.
On May 2, 2007 Judge Sylvia Hinds-Radix ordered the removal of the fire damaged portion of Broken Angel. The order was loosely termed and left it up to the city to determine the extent of the demolition. Prior to this order the Department of buildings had signed a court agreement to require demolition of the wooden structure down to the fifth floor. We felt it was in the best interest of Broken Angel to comply with the new order thus keeping the city from demolishing at their whim the irreplaceable artistic structures which give the building its unique character. We were only given 10 days to finish all demolition and comply with the order. Thanks to Action Construction we were able to meet this deadline on such short notice. We were then brought back to court by the DOB because they accused us of not complying as they wanted all masonry created by my father removed and the building returned to its original plain box like structure. The Judge ruled against them because the original plans on which they had signed off included preserving all additional masonry incorporated into the building during the past 27 years. Now the DOB has blocked additional work on the building because again they are accusing us of not complying with the original plans. In this particular case the “dangerous” offense was that we filled in an arch with concrete and replaced part of an existing fire escape. Suspiciously, this recent stop work order was placed on the building shortly after my father refused to drop a pending law suit that he has against the city of NY for abusing his civil rights. Through out this entire process we have attempted to comply with the DOBs demands. Originally the DOB spokesperson Jennifer Givner made statements to Brooklyn Review on BCAT and the Daily News that my parents would be allowed to occupy the building once the structural dangers were dealt with. Now the very look of the building is being dictated by the DOB and no willingness has been shown to lift the vacate order even though the building has been deemed structurally sound.
With the help of a growing community of architects, activists, politicians and engineers we have worked hard to meet the demands of the Department of Buildings. These people have generously donated their time and energy to this cause because they were all in some way touched by the creativity and beauty of this unusual Brooklyn landmark. The department of Buildings and the City of New York should drop their campaign of harassment and recognize that Brooklyn wants the building that Arthur Wood envisioned, not another boring box of bricks. Why is our building under such scrutiny while other buildings in NY have actually collapsed? To this day people from all over the world still come to view the shell that was once Broken Angel. We are returning to court on July 18th with a new Judge. Broken Angel needs public support more than ever. Hopefully in court we can get the Department of Buildings to allow us to rebuild our home, if so someday there will really be something there for people to see. If you are interested in viewing pictures of Broken Angel you can see them at: www.flickr.com/photos/onebadapple/ . In addition you may want to check out the developers blog: www.brownstoner.com/anangelrises/ . Finally my father has also released a statement you can view this and a trailer for a film about what has been occurring at Broken Angel at: www.rumur.tv/brokenangelletter trailer at: www.rumur.tv/brokenangel
Sincerely, Christopher Wood
chriswood718@yahoo.com
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Uploaded on Jul 27, 2007
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