Lisa and Lenny have been having a hard time lately fighting city hall to be allowed to tear down their 7 million dollar home on Star Island. The local historical society wants the home to be designated a historical landmark which would cause the couple to abandon plans to tear down the existing home and rebuild a newer swankier model.
So what does a Barbie girl, living in a Barbie world do? Well, she throws a fabulous Scarface party on the property! A Party by Bravo that is. The Bravo film crew for RHOM was on hand last week to film the made for TV event. The house, which according to the Hochsteins is structurally unsound, was splattered with fake blood and chalk body outlines adorned the floors as the ladies from RHOM drank and likely had a catfight or six among all the mobster decorations. It seems somehow fitting, yes?
BTW, is it even legal to declare someone’s private property a historic site and keep them from restoring or rebuilding it? There has to be more to making someplace a historic landmark than it just being really old, right? This seems worse than eminent domain to me.
Usually people WANT their homes to be considered historical landmarks, right? I thought that meant money from the state to keep it up.
Places i’ve seen that got that status didn’t receive money from the state HOWEVER it extremely limits what the owner can do to it as we see with Lisa unable to destroy it. Unless the building is something special I’ll just say the Historical Landmark distinction is a pain in the ass.
On Fort Bragg there are warehouses (yes, warehouses) that were given HL status. These buildings are extremely outdated, around 70yrs old. They’re taking up valuable space but they can’t be torn down, they can’t be remodeled really, they can’t do anything to them that would make them usable by today’s standards. Same with some houses on post though those are usable but nothing you’d want to live in. Painting has to be approved by committee and only with certain period colors allowed. Again, just a pain in the ass.
Well the outside of Lisa’s house is very beautiful. Can’t the hochsteins just gut it? I am with the historical society on this one.
Like in the French Quarter in New Orleans, per the Historical Society… you cannot change the edifice, but can remodel the interior..
The gist from just watching the video that I got was the historical society made a mistake in waiting to declare it protected as such wasn’t made known until the Holchstiens put in permits to demolish it? Did I get that right in my paragraph long sentence? They may not have bought the property if they didn’t think they could tear down and rebuild something bigger and grander. They say they want it bigger for their family. So far that is just two of them. I guess they plan on becoming the Duggers and having fifty kids. I feel mixed about this one as I see both sides.
Hey just send it to Portland OR I will gladly live in it! Just pay to move it here, lol!
Come to Seattle where a Jack-in-the-Box could get landmark status based not on age but on “architectural significance”. Guess it is because nothing is really that old here. Except maybe our crusty politicians. I think Tt’s favorite hotel is treated as a landmark but only because members of Led Zeppelin or the Stones (can’t remember) jumped in the Sound from a balcony way back when. 🙂
That’s funny Pura..my brother in law lives in Seattle, and the conversation about him always turns to the music scene. I think the Stones jumped from the Edgewater, Led Zeppelin just fished out the windows?..lol.
Actually, look up the Led Zeppelin “shark” story on wikipedia and you’ll see that Led Zep did more than “fish”. Ugh…. 🙂
Ya, eeek. My hubby just confirmed that one for me… I guess that really is a historical landmark after all. Lol
Look. I live in one of the oldest cities in the US and one decent thing our local government has always done is preserve the old houses & historic parts of town. They aren’t doing it for artistic or cultural reasons, but because tourism drives our economy. For whatever reason, it’s been done. While I think Lisa is a nice girl and a good person, I am on Star Island’s side on this. Not sure why a party as opposed to tearing down the house is such a problem, but if city councils did not do this the whole USA would be one big hideous subdivision by now. My house is 110 years old an like a rock, the art of construction has been lost. Maybe Lisa isn’t educated enough to realize this. If I sound elitist so be it.
Here is the problem. This house has been a dump for years. the people who owned it before were “eccentric” and didnt do the necessary upkeep.. it sits right on the water (in one of the most flood prone areas of the country) it sits BELOW flood level (current codes wouldnt allow it to be built today) and has major salt water damage to the facade and even structures… Its plumbing, electricity systems are hopelessly out of date and it sat empty and ON THE MARKET for years before the Hochsteins bought it…. Where was the historical preservationists THEN when it was sitting there rotting?
I am all for saving old homes, if they can be saved, but this old lady is a goner, for many reasons… and these “preservationist” arent going to be coughing up the dough to fix it..
Didn’t know it was a Gray Gardens situation. Yeah they are “gray” areas. Why buy it without checking out demolition rules first then. Was it just dirt cheap?
worst thing happened, there were no rules against demo…they were APPROVED for tearing it down and building a new one.. but the publicity attracted the “preservationists” and so they retroactively blocked them…
Not to mention… it JUST ISN’T THE SCARFACE HOUSE AT ALL!! The true Scarface historical house is in Santa Barbara NOT Miami and much less on Star Island…… for pete’s sake!!
Well said Nonny – I’ve lived in old cities as well. The historical society in Savannah & in NYC are the worst. You can’t do anything without having your architect submit ANY plans, changes, etc. and sit in front of a review board (usually made up of unreasonable people) who judge everything from window placement to façade colors, decorative pieces being replaced even if you didn’t know what they looked like originally! Atlanta has one has one as well. I’ve only heard one story about them, so not sure how they work. So, yes, a historical group can dictate what they can do to that house.
Re: the tourism angle. I’ve always thought that Star Island is closed to anyone who doesn’t live/work there.
by the way folks. with the house sitting under sea level. The hochsteins havent got a hope in hell of insuring it.. So are they supposed to spend more money fixing it up (than it would cost to tear it down and build new) and then not even be able to insure it?
Why would they want to build a new house then? Wouldn’t the property still be below sea level? I don’t know why they wouldn’y just sell it and go elsewhere..
they can put the house up on a type of piling support, essentially lifting it above sea level (other homes on the island are built this way. It doesnt look like the houses that sit on stilts, because they can pile dirt up around it, but essentially the house is built similiarly…
It makes me sad to lose this house, but this house was in the news before, when the owners son was murdered at sea (on a boat called Joe cool)… The house even then in the early 2000s was rat infested and the plumbing didnt work half the time..
here is an except from a story about the murder mystery… I dont want to post links here in deference to Tamara, but you can google Mystery solved, Joe cool crew to read the whole story..
excerpt….As Jake and some relatives prepared to launch the charter boat business, Kelley worked part-time at a veterinary hospital in Miami Beach. Her life was seemingly blessed: a small-town girl living in a waterfront mansion with her dashing sea captain boyfriend.
But it wasn’t that simple. What Jake had called “the beach house” was really an apartment above the garage. It was mildewy and moldy, and the toilet rarely worked. Even what the family called “the big house” — the huge white mansion that looked so elegant from afar — had electrical problems, plumbing issues, and rats scurrying around the foundation. Property records showed the family had bought the place for only $250,000 in 1976, and Kelley would often joke that she lived at the “Star Island Trailer Park” or the “Star Island Ghetto,” family members later recalled.
Even it is below sea level, insurance can be bought for a significant price… Otherwise all of New Orleans (my hometown) would not be insured and that is not the case… My sister lives there and she definitely has both regular and flood insurance. And after Katrina… rates sky-rocketed, as to be expected.
That house is way more significant than these people. They should move somewhere else, and build a new house. They suck trying to tear this house down. Make it a Scarface museum and let the public visit. No one cares about the snot living on that island just the landmark. This is what Miami wants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are late to the party and need to read other comments.
It is NOT then scarface house, which is in California.
Learn the facts before you comment on an OLD post