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Strolling past the row of houses on Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights, you might notice something is a little off. Take a close look at the red brick brownstone at number 58; the windows, you’ll see, are completely black. Suspicious, isn’t it? As it turns out, building at number 58 is not what it seems; it is a fake brownstone, behind which lies a hidden subway ventilator.
The fake brownstone on Joralemon Street is also rumored to serve as a secret passageway to the 4/5 trains running in the tunnel below. A writer for the Brooklyn Heights Blog swears that he saw a glimpse of the 4/5 station when he peered inside the metal door marked “Exit 1.”
What would it be like to live next to an active subway ventilator, you might wonder? Judy Scofield Miller, who lived next door to the fake brownstone with her husband and two kids, said they grew accustomed to the buzz and hum of whirling ventilator blades that disrupt their quiet living room every few weeks (Daily News). The sometimes noisy neighbor doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent; in 2022, the home next door at 60 Joralemon hit the market for nearly $6 million.
Joralemon Street; number 58, the faux facade, is in the middle.
The fake Joralemon Street townhouse has become such a popular piece of New York City lore that it even inspired an online video game. In the game titled 58 Joralemon, you must enter the mysterious building to fix a major emergency that is affecting the entire subway system.
