Underground Railroad site sparks controversy
A mid-19th-century row house in New York City’s Chelsea district, a building once home to prominent abolitionists James and Abigail Hopper Gibbons, has become a battleground between the building’s owner, local preservationists, and city regulatory departments. It may be the only documented Manhattan station of the Underground Railroad still standing.
The building’s current owner received a permit in 2005 to add a fifth story, but the Buildings Department revoked that four years later, citing fire-safety codes.
