Exclusive | Park Slope neighborhood hates this building but theyre fighting the city from tearing it down

A war veteran’s historic, but crumbling, Brooklyn brownstone could face the wrecking ball if city building officials get their way.But a group of preservationists are trying to save the property constructed the same year the Brooklyn Bridge opened.Neighbors and members of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission will ask a judge Thursday to save 44 Berkeley Place in Park Slope, where similar homes in better condition fetch millions of dollars in one of the city’s most coveted neighborhoods.City building officials say the rat-infested, graffiti-strewn, dilapidated structure needs to come down as soon as possible.

The cost of the demolition will be handed down to the owner, said Nicholas Paolucci, a city Law Department spokesman.(That owner, 77-year-old Yves Calvin, could not be reached for comment.

He served in the Vietnam War, according to New York State Department of Veterans’ Services records.)“The city is carefully balancing public safety needs with efforts to save this historic building,” said Paolucci.“An absent estate administrator has neglected this property for decades, and the city has taken both enforcement action to keep people safe and at the same time has initiated a court process to try to have someone take control of the building before demolition occurs.

While we will continue with that court process, the Department of Buildings will take all necessary actions to ensure New Yorkers remain safe.”Last fall, the Department of Buildings issued an emergency demolition order that could be carried out at any moment due to “significant deterioration,” an email from the city’s building department details.The roof has partially collapsed, floor joists have rotted and the third floor has detached in places from the exterior load-bearing walls.

Interior walls inside the rowhouse have collapsed, the inside staircase is structurally unstable and the masonry facade exhibits signs of severe disrepair.Building inspectors began visiting t...