By: Charles MacGuire
New York City has paid $3.2 million to purchase the former home of two Brooklyn abolitionists who harbored slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. As reported by Crain’s NY, the home purchased at 227 Duffield St. in Downtown Brooklyn was once owned by Harriet and Thomas Truesdell from 1851 to 1863. The Truesdells were well-known abolitionists who aided slaves who escaped from the South. The couple had befriended illustrious personalities including Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Lloyd Garrison. Harriet Truesdell had died in the home in 1862. This 4-story building, originally built in 1847-50, has long been the subject of controversy. There have been at least two major efforts to develop the site.
Last month, the city officially changed the status of the address, marking it as a landmark, to prevent developers from turning it into a high-rise apartment building. Duffield Street has also been renamed Abolitionist Place. As yet, specific plans for the property have not been announced, however, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city will be “doing something special” to honor its role in the abolitionist efforts.
“It’s a place where abolitionists risked their livelihoods and lives so that African people who were enslaved could travel safely to freedom,” said Chirlane McCray, NYC’s first lady.
The redone three-unit Greek Revival–style building was almost demolished back in 2007 with plans to develop a public park, but protesters had put up a good fight, leaving the plan in the dust. City officials did end up making Willoughby Square Park, a rare piece of greenery amidst the office and apartment buildings now towering through the neighborhood. Look-alike buildings at 223 and 225 met with the wrecking ball to make way for the park in the south east corner of Willoughby and Duffield.
As per Crain’s, in 2015, Samiel Hanasab had purchased a share in the property at 227 Duffield St for $439,000, then completed the purchase in 2017 for another $149,000. The building was approved for a 13-story, 21-unit development which would have included a 34-car garage. Demolition was slated to be done in 2019, but those efforts too were thwarted.
Activists have argued that the home, which was once part of a hub of African-American culture, is among the only houses left in the area after an aggressive rezoning effort in 2004. This house is being touted as the last remaining connection to the dedicated Abolitionist community active in the area in the mid-19th century.
