Funeral Held for Brooklyn Woman Who Led Fight Against City’s Use of Eminent Domain
“Tubman’s picture is still displayed in the window of Chatel’s home on Duffield Street. It was one of several houses on the street that the city wanted to demolish back in 2004 to make way for a park with underground parking in what was a newly rezoned area, but it was where Chatel lived and home schooled her grandchildren.
NY1 first reported on Chatel’s plight in 2004.
“I don’t want to leave my home. They don’t want to leave their home. We’re comfortable here,” Chatel said at the time. “I can’t understand why we have to.”
Chatel, her neighbors, community groups and preservationists united. They researched the houses on the block. Chatel’s dates back to 1848. Another one was built in 1847. They turned up what they said was evidence that their houses were an important part of the abolitionist movement, serving as stops on the Underground Railroad.
“This was sacred ground,” said neighbor Lewis Greenstein. “We found a lot of artifacts and things on the block over time that showed that there was a movement of slaves up and down the block.””
Ramirez, Jeanine. News 1 NY 16 January 2014.