Facade Fell on a Family's Home; DOB Cited the Building Owner
A five-year-old, 11-unit Brooklyn building lost a 45-by-45-foot section of stucco in a nor'easter and DOB demanded an engineer's report.
The owner of 61 Clarkson Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens was cited by the Department of Buildings after a roughly 45-foot-by-45-foot section of stucco fell from the six-story, 11-unit building onto the house next door during the Sept. 26 nor’easter, per DOB records and Gothamist.
Why it matters
The building was finished in 2021, so this was a five-year-old facade, not an aging one. DOB wrote two violations against it on Sept. 26: 26-02306 says the stucco fell onto the public walkway and the roof, driveway and front yard of 63 Clarkson Avenue, and 26-02305 requests an engineering report on the dislodged facade. Both were still active in the open data extract. Gothamist reported on Sept. 29 that the homeowners at 63 Clarkson were out of the house with a toddler and tenants and that their car was totaled. Homeowner Thema Hepburn told the outlet: “It’s been a nightmare. My anxiety’s through the roof.”
The numbers
DOB’s third violation, 26-02307, put 63 Clarkson in the collapse zone and carries a disposition dated Oct. 2 reading “vacate rescinded,” so the order appears to have been lifted eight days after the facade fell. We could not confirm from records whether the family has moved back. We found no penalty on the Sept. 26 events in the ECB dataset yet, and no facade-inspection filing for the building. Records show the owner as Clarkson Parnasa LLC, which bought the lot in a March 2019 deed for $995,000 and built the current structure. Gothamist reported the property management firm Cobella Realty said it was treating the issue with “the highest level of seriousness,” and that the property is listed for sale.
What’s next
Watch for the engineer’s facade report, a sidewalk shed permit, any ECB penalty on the Sept. 26 violations, and whether a sale closes with the violations open. For another Brooklyn-and-Manhattan record tracked this week, see 86 University Place, or browse the New York market.
On the record
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordDOB BIS violations 26-02305 and 26-02306, both issued Sept. 26, 2026 against 61 Clarkson Avenue (block 5055, lot 81), record a roughly 45-foot-high by 45-foot-wide section of stucco that dislodged onto the public walkway and the roof, driveway and front yard of 63 Clarkson Avenue. One requests an engineering report; the other says the structure was rendered non-compliant by high winds. Both were still active in the Open Data extract.View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us
- Public recordDOB violation 26-02307, issued Sept. 26 against 63 Clarkson Avenue, places that house in the collapse zone of the adjacent property. Its record shows a disposition date of Oct. 2, 2026 with the comment 'vacate rescinded' and a dismissed status, so the vacate appears to have been lifted eight days after it was issued.View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us
- Our dataPluto lists 61 Clarkson Avenue as a six-story, 11-unit building completed in 2021, owned of record by Clarkson Parnasa LLC, which bought the lot by ACRIS deed 2019040300916001 (March 22, 2019) for $995,000. The DOB facade-inspection dataset (xubg-57si) has no filing for the building's BIN, and the ECB dataset shows no penalty yet for the Sept. 26 events.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
Sources
- NYC DOB violations, 26-02306DOB violation, Sept. 26, 2026, 61 Clarkson Ave: 45-foot by 45-foot section of stucco dislodged onto 63 Clarkson Ave
- NYC DOB violations, 26-02305DOB violation, Sept. 26, 2026, engineering report requested for the dislodged facade
- NYC DOB violations, 26-02307DOB violation, Sept. 26, 2026, 63 Clarkson Ave in the collapse zone; vacate rescinded Oct. 2
- NYC ACRIS, deed document 2019040300916001Deed, March 22, 2019, 61 Clarkson Ave to Clarkson Parnasa LLC, amount $995,000
- Gothamist, Sept. 29, 2026Brooklyn residents displaced after facade falls off neighboring building amid nor'easter