Rat-Squirrel House Loses Its Cornice

The Rat-Squirrel House—once the decrepit, derelict, haunted wonder of Cobble Hill, now just another fixer-upper—is getting some work done.

The landmarked, but distressed, red brick home has been covered in scaffolding and netting for more than a year now. Every now and then the newly installed metal door (which replaced the old wooden one after the joint was raided by official like a crack den in 2009 and the crazy owner sent packing) is opened and some workers could be seen bustling about. But other than gutting the rotted interior, the building's look didn't change much. It looked, as it always has, like it was about to fall down.

But this week, workers have been up to serious business. Bit by bit, they removed the ancient cornice. In past posts, I've wondered aloud when the dropping wooden cornice would finally fall and kill someone. It never did, though it hung lower and lower with each passing season. Now its gone. Will the workers continue on down, brightening and sprucing up the facade? Wait and watch.