Brooklyn Brownstone Abandoned for Decades Hits the Market for $15 Million

A long-abandoned 1860s Italianate brownstone on one of Brooklyn's most coveted streets has hit the market for $15 million.

"This is one of the most beautiful streets in all of New York," listing agent Vicki V. Negron of Corcoran tells Realtor.com® of the home at 194 Columbia Heights. "The views are absolutely incomparable."

Snuggled in a row of 22 Civil War-era brownstones overlooking the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the address boasts breathtaking, unobstructed views of the East River, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and One World Trade Center.

The elegant brownstone-flanked street, once home to writers Walt Whitman and Norman Mailer, eventually lured movie stars like Matt Damon, Jennifer Connelly, and Michelle Williams.

But for such rare and valuable property, the home has been a gloomy enigma for decades, fascinating—and infuriating—well-heeled locals with its boarded up windows, padlocked doors, broken gas lamps, and general blight.

The home sat neglected for decades, racking up fines, violations, and theories about why the owner—a man named Austin Moore—let such prime real estate deteriorate.

The listing agent Negron, who lives nearby, says she walked by the boarded-up brownstone every day for 25 years, and "prayed to get that listing—literally and figuratively."

One day, her prayers were answered when it turned out a friend knew the absentee owner and was willing to make a connection for her.

The brownstone's curious history

While a small plaque on the exterior dates the house to 1858, the brownstone probably was built in 1860, according to the Brownstoner.

The home was likely constructed by a wool trader named Henry Dike, who then sold it to his brother, Camden Dike, and his sister-in-law, Jeannie Dike, in 1862, for a mere $23,000.

Then in 1969, local psychiatrist Austin Moore bought it for $140,000, or about $1.27 million in today's dollars, according to Brooklyn Magazine. Negron confirms that Moore, now in his 90s, is still the owner.

It's unclear when the brownstone was abandoned. In 2024, a neighbor told Curbed that it had been empty since 1968, when he moved into the neighborhood. But city records put the date around 1983.

What is clear is that the home was an eyesore on its leafy block of meticulously maintained multimillion-dollar historical homes.

"Sometimes, we look away from things," Negron says of the owner's puzzling abandonment. "It wasn't a priority [for him]."

Over the decades, the deteriorating brownstone was issued dozens of violations by the Department of Housing Preservation and the Department of Buildings. The Brooklyn Heights Association was in a permanent tizzy about the blemish on the otherwise postcard-worthy street.

Moore owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes, but kept ahead of them enough that he was never forced into foreclosure.

In 2009, he issued his one public statement about the house, saying he would "probably surprise everybody by doing some improvements this spring."

However, other than repairs to the roof, reports say the brownstone remained in the same condition.

Finally selling 194 Columbia Heights

After Negron was able to contact the owner, she says it "wasn't a struggle" to convince him to sell.

"I have the listing, don't I?" she asks. "It's a wonderful, prestigious position to be in."

Based on items she found inside, the broker believes Moore's intent was to renovate the home and then occupy it. But, for whatever reason, that never happened.

"In my mind, he's a pretty smart guy to have waited until the values are in the teens of millions," she continues. "It's an asset, but not one you have to take advantage of instantly, because its value will just continue to grow.

"Nothing is going to change that view. Nothing is going to change the values of those homes along the western border of Columbia Heights, except the fact that they will continue to go up."

With a median list price of $1.95 million, values in Brooklyn Heights have risen 14.74% since last year. However, prices in the brownstone's ZIP code—11201—have essentially remained flat over a decade, according to Realtor.com data.

Beyond the view and location, the brownstone has other key selling points—a rare 25-foot-wide by 60-foot-deep footprint, a 100-foot lot, 12- to 16-foot ceiling heights on each of the six floors, eight marble fireplaces, and room for nine or 10 bedrooms.

Negron cleaned up the inside, salvaging many original details for the future owner to sift through.

While there had long been accusations that the house was a rat magnet, she says the home contained no rats or even bugs. She did find evidence that squatters had once taken up residence, but they too had long ago moved on.

The only living creature was a lone pigeon. "He flew west," she says.

Reimagining the brownstone

Now the home awaits a deep-pocketed, cash-flush buyer who will either fix it up and sell it, or fix it up and move in.

James Schaefer, a Brooklyn-based architect who specializes in custom renovations of townhouses, including historic district residences, says the long-neglected house will likely cost about $10 million to $16 million to whip into living condition.

"That's the sad part of these old houses," he tells Realtor.com. "Even if it hadn't been abandoned, you can almost never save the flooring. Sometimes you can save the paneling. You can’t really save the doors, except maybe for the front door. They're 150-year-old doors, they’re warped, cracked, and split. The electrical has to go, the plumbing has to go.

"Once it's been abandoned, water gets in," he adds. "Once water gets in, everything warps. They’ll probably even take out the floor joists and take it down to the brick walls and do all new steel framing, get it insulated, and all new windows. I’d expect it to be gutted."

While the original landmarked facade will remain untouched, anything done to the back will have to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, says Schaefer, because it overlooks the public promenade.

While he says a common upgrade buyers make to old buildings is adding larger windows, that might not be feasible with this brownstone because the backside has a bay window that could be landmarked.

However, if the new owner doesn't try to make the back look too different from the rest of the row, he explains there may be "leeway" with upgrades.

"It's a great location," he says. "I think it could turn out really well in the right hands with the right budget."

Negron may have already found those right hands. There have been several offers on the brownstone and she says she'll be discussing them with the owner.

"For a person to get to have their life in this house is an incredible opportunity," she says.