sandr085

The Gage & Tollner building was once a thing a beauty—the only thing of beauty, in fact, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn for decades. Now, it is an eyesore. The interior of the 19th-century restaurant is famously landmarked. That, of course, hasn't stopped the current occupant of the building—a low rent jewelry hawker—from covering over all the elegant woodwork and gas lamps with garish purple and pink display fixtures and posters. But the exterior of the historical building also enjoys city protection. This has given the landlord and the renter any pause in letting the structure fall apart. The windows of the old revolving door are broken and have not been repaired. The plaster on the twin pillars on either side of the entrance has begun to fall apart. The hallway and stairway leading to the second floor are filthy. The carpet obviously hasn't been cleaned in years. There are ink stamps on the walls. On top of all that, the facade in general is dirty. And the damned...

Years after its short life inside the landmarked Gage & Tollner building on Fulton Avenue in downtown Brooklyn ended, Arby's has yet to take down its signage. The vertical sign advertising the roast beef chain covers an original sign reading Gage & Tollner. Meanwhile, the tacky junk jewelry shop that took over the space after Arby's exited continues to inhabit the address, covered nearly ever bit of its beautiful, 19th-century landmarked interior with hot pink displays of the most appalling array of tinsel-y rubbish imaginable. All in violation of an contempt of City landmarking laws. Restaurateur Danny Meyer brought a Shake Shack to Fulton. Can't he take over this hallowed space and save it from further ignominy?