Historic Gravesend House, Once Home To Infamous Judge, Hits Market For $1.2 Million

The turret-equipped home at 2064 West 6th Street has hit the market with a slightly above market-value price tag of $1.2 million.

It’s a stucco-covered affair, with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, being sold as a “one of a kind property.”

Here’s how it’s described in the listing:

Upon entering you will find exquisite imported Italian marble & granite floors spreading across the living room and formal dining area. If you enjoy cooking, then you will love the chef’s kitchen. It offers an open and airy layout with plenty of cabinets and counter space.

According to the listing info, it was built in 1925.

Absent from the description, though, is that it was actually moved prior to 1925, a not so uncommon practice back then that has skewed Department of Buildings records ever since. This particular home dates back to approximately the 1880s, and was moved about 1914.

Not only was it moved, but when it sat in its original location on the east side of Van Sicklen Street, north of Gravesend Neck Road, it was the home of Anthony Waring, a judge in the village of Gravesend before incorporation with Brooklyn, who was a close lieutenant to the village’s own Tweed-like political boss, John McKane.

The home is often mistaken to be the former residence of another historic family, the Donlys (commonly misstated as Donnelly), one of the original residents of Gravesend. But, since we’re no historians, we turned to someone who is: Joseph Ditta, a local historian who literally wrote the book on Gravesend.

According to Ditta, this home originally stood where the main entrance to P.S. 95 is located today. Documents from the era showed it belonged to “A. Waring” until it was sold around 1898 to be used as an annex of the school.

Here you can see it in a photo from approximately 1913, right before it was moved to its current spot:

And here it is, in 1923, on West 6th Street:

Despite the numerous aesthetic “improvements,” Ditta notes, its owners have failed to mask its unique shape.

So who was Waring? Here’s his obit from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s May 8, 1912, issue:

He was a school teacher, and during his time in Gravesend, rose to power under John McKane’s wing to become a judge. McKane was like the Nucky Thompson of his day, a political boss who amassed power, becoming town supervisor, tax collector, chief of police, top health official, and chief of the water board.

McKane received kickbacks from public projects and utility services. He doled out patronage jobs earned through the rigging of elections. And he rallied his thugs to support projects throughout Southern Brooklyn, helping shape it to this very day. It’s in large part because of McKane that Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay became resort communities, and then amusement areas, developments which shaped the landscape long after he passed.

After a long, fierce rule, McKane eventually ran afoul of more powerful interests in New York and was prosecuted. Waring took to the wind, resettling further out in Long Island. Draw your own conclusion from that turn of events.

And now, more than 100 years after he lived, a top lieutenant’s home hits the market, with nary a mention in the listing. And the inside of that home looks like this:

With huge thanks to Joseph Ditta for his help and permission to use the photos. To learn more about Gravesend’s history, you can purchase his book here.

Also, thanks to Linda Dalton, who inadvertently tipped us off to this on Facebook.