149 South Fourth Street
Date of Construction: 1906
Architect: Chas M. Straub
Original Owner: Segal, Goldenberg, and Cohen
Type: Residential/tenement
Style: Beaux Arts/Italianate
Stories: 5
Structure/Materials: Brick structure with tin roof and concrete foundation
149 South Fourth Street has a documented history dating prior to 1800 when it was farmland owned by one family, the Praa/Meserole family. However, the significance of this site is derived from the history and events encapsulated in both the tenement building that stands today and those buildings that existed prior.
From the mid 1800s to 1904, two small, wood frame structures stood on the site, owned by Irish and German families. The five story tenement that stands today was constructed in 1906 and was home to many Jewish Eastern European families until the 1940s/1950s, at which time the demographic shifted to predominantly Puerto Rican inhabitants.
Architect: Chas M. Straub
Original Owner: Segal, Goldenberg, and Cohen
Type: Residential/tenement
Style: Beaux Arts/Italianate
Stories: 5
Structure/Materials: Brick structure with tin roof and concrete foundation
149 South Fourth Street has a documented history dating prior to 1800 when it was farmland owned by one family, the Praa/Meserole family. However, the significance of this site is derived from the history and events encapsulated in both the tenement building that stands today and those buildings that existed prior.
From the mid 1800s to 1904, two small, wood frame structures stood on the site, owned by Irish and German families. The five story tenement that stands today was constructed in 1906 and was home to many Jewish Eastern European families until the 1940s/1950s, at which time the demographic shifted to predominantly Puerto Rican inhabitants.
By the 1960s, the building had fallen into a horrible state of disrepair when the landlord neglected tenants and maintenance of the building. In the 1960s, in an attempt to stop the degradation of the built fabric caused by landlord neglect, the City of New York took control of many buildings as a result of unpaid taxes and abandonment. With an inability to manage and a lack of funds to repair, the city transferred management of these buildings to local community organizations.
149 South Fourth was one such building, one of the first four, in fact, to be managed and rehabilitated by a community organization (Southside United Housing Development Fund). The successful community management and rehabilitation of this building set a precedent for a program that proved to be successful citywide, especially in Williamsburg. Not only is 149 South Fourth a reminder of the improved living conditions that resulted from the Housing Receivership Program popular in the 1960s and 1970s, it is also representative of diligent community organization, affordable housing, and cultural preservation, initiatives vital to the Southside Williamsburg Puerto Rican community and its leaders.