It sounds like prototypical gentrification: Long-time neighborhood resident and artist evicted, condos anticipated. But the story of artist Arthur Wood, who purchased what would become Brooklyn's Broken Angel house in 1971 for $2,000, was never so clean-cut. After a fire took out much of the local landmark in 2006, Arthur and his wife Cynthia fought a long legal battle with the City, which deemed the building unfit for human habitation soon after the fire. In the following years, the house had a number of futures: first they were bringing it up to code, then it was for sale, soon it would be condos and then, some thought perhaps a museum.
Now, Broken Angel's fate may finally have been decided, Wood has been evicted before—after which he and Cynthia lived in a car outside the house for a time. Cynthia passed away in 2010, leaving Arthur as the sole resident of the building. Now at 82-years-old, it looks like he'll be evicted for the last time, ending Broken Angel's 40-year run. On Friday night, dozens of artists, neighbors and friends gathered for a party at the house to both support Wood—after being evicted, he will be homeless—and celebrate his life's work.
"He built something that was psychologically valuable for people," said artist Kara Blossom, who once lived down the street. "It made you think, 'I can make my dreams come true … I can make my dreams come to life." Blossom helped organize the party, where musician after musician took the makeshift stage in Broken Angel's backyard, each with their own Arthur story. "Every time I walk down the street, Arthur grabs people and says 'Hey! Listen to her sing!'" said one ukulele-strumming crooner. Wood stood to the side in an oversized red hoodie, beaming.
As guests enjoyed the music and chowed down on donated corn bread, BBQ and other comfort foods, they spoke of the inspiration the building provided, but also the more sober realities. "It's sad, he's been here a long time," said longtime neighborhood resident Diane Rayboy. "But he didn't have the money to keep it up and it's a hazard, he could get hurt."
Wood's son Chris had bittersweet feelings about the eviction. "It sucks, but I have mixed feelings. Growing up here kind of sucked too at times, and it was really cool at times." Growing up in Broken Angel was not always easy. "Cops were always getting called because they saw a five-year-old kid running around the building," he said. "We had to hide every time the fire department responded to our wood stove … We hid in the closet with my sister."
Now, he's glad to see his family's long struggle to decide the houses fate come to an end. "It's been going on for so long. At least it's coming to some type of conclusion. At least you have a point to move on from."
As for Arthur, where he'll go next is uncertain. "I have an old girlfriend in Texas that has a lovely house and would welcome me to come back anytime I want" he joked. A minor court victory gave Wood two more weeks in Broken Angel. After that, his destination is uncertain.
"I won't be in New York," he told us, "but I might go to China. There's a housing boom over there that's about to collapse, the government has built whole cities, empty. There's one outside of every major city in China." There, Wood suggested, he might put his architectural experience to use on a slightly larger project: "A building a mile and a quarter tall. It's the tallest building that's ever existed, and I have a plan for it," he said. "Although it's a mile and a quarter tall, it does not have every floor level. It has levels at approximately two-hundred thirty feet up, and those sections are sealed up from each other." That way, he explained, if a fire catches in one section, all the others would be safe.
Wood proceeded to lay out his vision for this superstructure, explaining how each level would be like a little city block: "Within each level, there are streets. Like this street here … We could be in the building now." Keeping the building from swaying, it would be covered "all the way to the bottom with bridge cable. With those cables going up, that protects the building from aircraft because they're going to hit those cables first. The building will not sway, at all."
And as he explained his vision for this superstructure in the sky, it sounded almost like a lament for Broken Angel. This mile high building sounded something like his heaven, a building which would be as beautiful, artistic, and communal as Broken Angel, but unlike this creation, would never fall prey to fire, uncertainty or destructive forces from the outside. It would not sway.
While he dreams of mile-high buildings in Chinese ghost towns, Wood is—for the next two weeks, at least—staying right here in Brooklyn, at 4 Downing Street. There are still some practical matters to resolve: more court dates are down the line. And Wood's dog needs a new home, as he won't be able to care for her after leaving the house (If you or someone you know could adopt her, more information is here).
Luckily, the house was immortalized as a prominent player in the film Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Chappelle and director Michel Gondry caught the house before the fire and ensuing turmoil—early on we see Cynthia Wood joke with Chappelle about the house's "seven dogs, fourteen cats, two doves, and a parakeet. And a cheetah!"
Chris Wood imagines gentrification will soon tear down the house he grew up in. "He'll probably be kicked out, Broken Angel will disappear, You'll have an urban professional condo here with overpriced units," he said. But he remains hopeful for the future: "They'll all leave and it'll become a slum again, someone else will buy it, they'll find the plans we'll probably bury in the basement somewhere and they'll think 'Hey, let's build this thing!'"
