Decrepit former Sunset Park precinct house will make room for school
The School Construction Authority has submitted an application to demolish the decrepit 19th-century building that once housed the Sunset Park police precinct to make way for a new school — later clarifying that it will shore up some of the walls, which are slated to be preserved as part of the new structure.
The SCA bought the castle-like precinct house at 4302 Fourth Ave., which has been vacant since 1970, from Yosef Streicher for $7.999 million in November, according to Brownstoner.
Because the site is listed on the National Register and the new school would use state funds, the state Historic Preservation Office needed to OK the plans. Last year, the two agencies reached a compromise and agreed that the main building’s street facade would be preserved, but the building’s former stable would be demolished. The building, formerly the 18th Precinct, was built in 1890-92. It was ravaged by fire in 1980 and has been decaying ever since, Brownstoner said.
