NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A grassroots effort is underway to save Brooklyn's Grand Prospect Hall from the wrecking ball.
The storied event space in Park Slope was the star of some famously low-budget local TV ads dating back to the 1980s with owners Michael and Alice Halkias always promising, "We'll make your dreams come true."
Michael Halkias passed away from COVID-19 at the age of 82 last year.
The lavish building dating back to 1892 went dark during the pandemic and was recently sold to a local developer looking to build apartments.
"We're all heartbroken because there's really nothing like it in New York that I know of," said Jim Glaser, a local artist among many activists in Park Slope hoping to save the historic building. "Grand Prospect Hall is a real gem in the South Park Slope area."
Though, there may not be much left to save.
The famously ornate ballroom has already been gutted and stripped down to its bare walls, leaving just the façade.
"The beautiful awning that is iconic, it's in all the photos, that is shredded in the dumpster around back," Glaser said. "How did this happen without major alarm bells going off and a conversation?"
The effort to save the iconic venue gained an important new backer Monday — Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"I think it's a great question whether the façade can be saved. I certainly would love to see that happen. I'm going to see what the city can do to make that happen," de Blasio said during his Monday morning briefing.
That's music to the ears of 16-year-old Solya Spiegel, who after attending several events at the hall has started a petition to save the structure. It now has over 8,000 signatures.
"That's amazing. From the mayor, that's absolutely amazing," Spiegel said. "We need to have a space where we can learn, where we can educate, where we can have music, where we can have dancing, where we can have food, where we can have families come together."
An application to the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission is under consideration.