Joy Chatel (right) and other property owners on Duffield Street are asking the city to cancel plans to demolish their homes for a development, saying the buildings were part of the Underground Railroad that African American slaves traversed to freedom.
The homes could be seized by eminent domain and turned into an underground parking lot and public open space as part of the Downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan. City Council Members Letitia James (above) and Charles Barron have joined the preservationists fight, along with the activist organization Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE).
Chatel says sub-basement structures, described in a press release as “several unexplainable architectural abnormalities in the sub-basements” prove that her building, which is between Willoughby and Fulton streets, was part of the Underground Railroad.
Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)
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