The Brooklyn Eagle reports that Alfred Palmer, long time owner of 135 Joralemon and the almost the subject of demolition by neglect accusations by the BHA died in “obscurity” last year. The home was purchased by developer Howard Haimes in 2006 for $2,400,000 and sold for $2,094,500 in December 2008.
Brooklyn Eagle: It was news to us. Alfred “Alfie” Palmer was something of an eccentric and a cantankerous sort, who refused for years to fix up 135 Joralemon Street. After it suffered damage from a New Year’s Eve fire, the Brooklyn Heights Association contemplated a demolition-though-neglect action against Palmer to force him either to restore the house or sell it. Palmer was known to say he would just as soon tear it down and build a six-story apartment house. Eventually he did sell it to a developer who, in 2007, restored it to mint condition.
Alfred Palmer’s was an interesting and curious presence in the Heights. We welcome information from anyone who knows more about his last days.