Court Order Temporarily Pauses Demolition of Bklyn’s Grand Prospect Hall

Edited by: TJVNews.com

For those growing up in Brooklyn, a wedding and event space venue that always represented the County of Kings with such palpable ardor was none other than the Grand Prospect Hall in the Park Slope section of the borough. The 118-year-old building is considered a historic landmark by many as countless couple said their wedding vows there and celebrated in style at the luxurious receptions that the hall was famous for.

Founded in 1892 by Bertha and John Kolle, German immigrants to the US, the couple raised their seven children at Prospect Hall from 1892 to the 1940s, according to Glenn Palmedo-Smith, the great-great-grandson of John Kolle. The Gothamist reported that Palmedo-Smith said, “It was always a loving home first and an active public house second.”

Having been sold to a developer in July, it was reported that the building was to be demolished but now it has been revealed that all demolition has been temporarily paused due to a court order issued on Wednesday, according to a report in The Gothamist.

The Gothamist reported that it has reviewed the court stipulation and reported that Gowanus Cubes, the new owner of Grand Prospect Hall “cannot do any further demolition work on the exterior property, except for removing hazardous materials or shoring, until at least September 16th.” Additionally, the owner must also “take all appropriate precautions to preserve the facade and to not further damage the facade or character of the building” until that date, according to The Gothamist report.

This decision by the court affords new optimism to those who are seeking to preserve the historic site on Prospect Expressway.

CBS2 News reported that the hall was sold in July after owner Michael Halkias died from COVID-19 complications last year.

Behind the campaign to save the hall from the wrecking ball is 16-year-old community activist Solya Spiegel, as was reported by CBS2. Speigel started a petition that’s approaching 8,500 signatures to preserve the building’s facade or its function as a gathering place for the community.

“We need to have a space where we can learn, where we can educate, where we can have music, where we can have dancing,” she told CBS2 News.

The report also indicated that the new owners have already gutted the inside and filed an application for a full demolition. The New York City Department of Buildings has yet to approve the application.

“We need help now and we need to take action now and we need to do that as soon as possible,” Speigel said, according to the CBS2 report.