A former boyhood home of rock n' roll royalty Lenny Kravitz is slated for a thorough makeover. The existing two-story, two-unit building at 368 Throop Avenue at Kosciuszko Street is poised to become a six-apartment building after a front, rear, and third story addition that will "probably render it unrecognizable inside and out." 'Stoner chats the home's history,
The two-family frame house looks Italianate, which means it was likely built sometime between 1850 and 1880. It belonged to Al and Bessie Roker, the parents of Roxie Roker, a journalist and actress best known for playing Helen Willis on the sitcom The Jeffersons. She was the mother of musician Lenny Kravitz, who was born in New York City and lived at the house on weekends until his family moved to Los Angeles in 1974 when he was 10, according to The New York Times and IMDB. The senior Rokers sold the house in 1987, according to public records. News of the old building's alteration comes right after a demolition announcement of the similarly-aged original wood frame home at nearby 330 Throop Avenue. "This is so sad," laments a 'Stoner reader of the home's update, "We are losing our neighborhood building by building." A Google Street View look at 368 Throop Avenue's block shows just how quickly the neighborhood is transforming.
· Lenny Kravitz' Bed Stuy Boyhood Home to Become Six-Family Apartment Building ['Stoner]
· 1870s Wood Bed Stuy House Is Not Long For This World [Curbed]