Monday, March 7, 2011

'The Point'

'The Point', originally built for John Alsop King, Jr. by Alexander Jackson Davis c. 1854 in Kings Point. The Village of Kings Point is named for King, who was also an attorney and NY State Senator. The estate was purchased c. 1900 by Richard N.L. Church (who gave it the name 'The Point'), partner in Church & Dwight Co., Inc., which made Arm & Hammer Baking Soda among other things. In 1951 the estate was sold to Herman Brickman, an attorney for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, who turned the property into his family compound. The 14 acre compound along with the A.J. Davis house and a number of additional buildings is for sale for $39,500,000, click HERE to see the listing on Coldwell Banker. Click HERE to see 'The Point' on google earth and HERE on bing.




Listing photos from Coldwell Banker.

21 comments:

Zach L. said...

And yes, the 4th picture is of another house on the property.

The Devoted Classicist said...

While I am sorry that the later construction on the property has varying success in complimenting the original house, that could all be fixed. The property taxes of over $25,000 a month might be a bigger obstacle, however.

Kellsboro Jack said...

Off topic from 'The Point', but Newsday cited 'Lands End' in a March 5, 2011 article with the property to be razed 'this month'. Was the approval granted for that or is it again just the desires of the owners?

http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/real-estate/gatsby-place-joins-doomed-mansions-list-1.2735426

Agreed on the heavy hit with property taxes. That constantly increasing financial burden alone ensures even a smaller sliver of people could own these offerings for any length of time.

Mix that with just a fraction of those people craving a home often quirky and difficult and it spells doom. It is certainly possible to tax privately owned historical estates out of existence.

By comparison just look at the pittance paid in property taxes for sprawling historical estates in Virginia's horse country. Just $5k for a property that could garner $7M+ property isn't uncommon.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Kellsboro Jack,

To underscore your point, I did a post comparing property taxes on several estates at Bar Harbor, 1903 and now. 'Kenarden Lodge', a very comparable property to 'The Point', with nearly twice the acreage, paid about $67,000 vs. $310,000 for the point. Even realizing that Bar Harbor is a smaller place with smaller services, what the heck are the taxes being spent on in Nassau county? If interested the link to the piece is http://thedowneastdilettante.blogspot.com/2011/02/money-used-to-further-3-bar-harbor.html

The Ancient said...

By comparison just look at the pittance paid in property taxes for sprawling historical estates in Virginia's horse country.

It doesn't feel like a pittance when you stop to consider that one receives next to no public services. If your house catches fire, it may well burn down before the volunteer firemen show up. (And so you pay ruinous insurance premiums.) If it's broken into while you're away, it may take the better part of an hour for the police to arrive. Etc., etc.

Doug Floor Plan said...

Kellsboro Jack -- when Zach last posted 'Lands End' (Feb 21, 2011) you commented that you had a copy of the 2001 Sheldon Good auction brochure. Back in 2001 I copied the pictures Sheldon Good posted on the Internet for this auction, but my copies were poor. I sent my copies to Zach, who said he appreciated them; but if you scaned your brochure & sent him clearer pictures I'm sure he'd appreciate yours a lot more -- not meaning to speak for you, Zach.

Anonymous said...

Off subject...Is there an estate on Bayville Road almost at the end named "Sunnyside" or Sunny something? I was driving that way on Sunday during the rain storm and could have sworn I saw two brick columns with that name but I cannot find anything on OLI or even on Bing.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Where on Bayville? This? -
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8962164&lon=-73.582617&z=18&l=0&m=b&show=/9194098/LIGC-Gates-from-Belair

Anonymous said...

Thanks HPHS...I noticed those gates, but they're not the ones. I'm heading that way again on Saturday....I'll take a better look. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Lands End. There were several capable people who wanted to buy and restore the house on reduced acreage. Taxes would have been comparable to the new McMansions. Problem here was Brodsky overpaying for the house and still desiring an outsized profit. Also a complete failure of the village and the DEC to protect a house under SEQRA that they both recognized as eligible for the National and State Registers. Several articles have also attributed the demise to the excessive cost of restoration, but the Brodsky's own report and their quote in the New York Times estimated the cost to be less than $2 million, a minimal amount for a house of this size. Of course, now the house was allowed to deteriorate for several years.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Google Street View runs on Bayville Road. Point me in the right direction and I'll look.

Kellsboro Jack said...

Doug Floor Plan - the brochure I have from Sheldon Good (along with the one for their auction of the Chateau Chastellux in Tuxedo Park) is unfortunately offsite with a fair amount of other archive documents. I will try to extract it and make a copy in the near future as able.

The Ancient - hopefully no malice was taken from my remark using the word "pittance" for comparisons. I wasn't trying to be dismissive. The point was more that the value of homes relative to taxes paid can be dramatically different.

pam said...

My name is Pamela Primi and I am a descendant of the King family. I have been to this property several times with my father and we met the people who were living there. We did not go inside but they were friendly and showed us some of the grounds. I still love to go for a drive around Kings point and glimpse this beautiful place. I am extremely sad to hear it is threatened and if I had 40 mil, believe me I would jump at the chance to buy it! Destruction of physical history is indeed becoming endemic of our time. Living in Manhattan, I see the constant battle between presevations and developers every day. I truly hope this irreplacable property is spared from the wrecking ball. Thanks very much for posting.

Kate Roberts said...

Pam-

I was fascinated to see your relationship to the King Family. My name is Kate Roberts & I am the great grand daughter of Richard Church who bought the estate in 1913. My grandmother grew up on the estate. How long ago was your last visit to the property?

Liz Mathewson said...

Pam and Kate, I am very interested in your comments. My name is Liz Mathewson and I currently live at The Point. I am a writer working on a book about this place and the people who have owned it. I would be very interested in talking with you if that can be arranged.

To all the others here, I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have (if I know the answers.) Also, let's do anything that we can to preserve this place. The current plans are to sell it to developers who will subdivide the property and put up McMansions.

Anonymous said...

Hello Liz. I am a decendent of the Brickman family. My entire family grew up here and know this property extremely well. Herman Brickman is my grandpa. Let me know if you want anything.

Sam

Anonymous said...

Hello Liz!. I am a decedent of the Brickman family. My grandfather, Herman Brickman, bought the estate many years ago and divided it up amongst my family. My entire family grew up here. If you have any questions, let me know.

Sam

Unknown said...

Sam,

I am sorry that I did not see your comment until now. If you are still interested in talking let me know.

Liz

Unknown said...

My name is Serge Miquel, I concord with Miss Pamela Primi, the fact of how history while being erased slowly but surely, puts ourselves as epicenters of our own fate at all times. The beauty and magnificence of these Long Island Palaces, and their visionary owners, served for Master Pieces books, such as The Great Gatsby- to give us the understanding of the beauty and power, and the robust economy where everything was happening at that particular time here in New York. I'm pretty sure there are people out there as good buyers to continue that tradition. Passion, understanding and Love, always survives. Even throughout the changes. Thanks again for the article.

Unknown said...

My name is Serge Miquel, and I concord with Miss Pamela Primi- the fact that these Long Island Landmarks are disappearing slowly but surely. It shows us also how writers such as Fitzgerald, conquered his own summit by giving us The Great Gatsby. Showing us the beauty and power of such a robust NY economy and golden lineage throughout hard work. I'am sure there are good buyers out there in the market that somehow will preserve the King's Mansion in great conditions.
Understanding the history behind it and relating to it. Even though NYC is changing in such an incredible speed, from all angles, 2016.
Passion, Understanding and Love will always Survive. So if we reach to the bottom of all things and open ourselves up- Incredible things with infinite possibilities will be the results. Nothing new to what I just said, but it feels nice to hear it once in a while. Thank you.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Demolition by neglect. Sad current condition Mar 9, 2018 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Ma-hYrj8o&app=desktop