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What about THESE old houses?

What about THESE old houses?
The Brooklyn Paper / Liza Eckert

It’s nice that “This Old House” is doing much-needed repairs to a townhouse on Sterling Place in Prospect Heights, but what about THESE old houses? Brooklyn Paper staffers Sarah Portlock, Ben Muessig and Mike McLaughlin found several properties in more need of a sprucing up:

497 Third St. near Seventh Avenue, Park Slope
Residents call this dilapidated brownstone a “total blight” on the neighborhood. Abandoned for nearly 50 years, work crews come by every so often giving the appearance of impending renovations, but nothing ever happens, neighbors say. In the meantime, it sits behind a 10-foot, graffiti-covered fence.
The Brooklyn Paper / Liza Eckert

215 Gates Ave. between Classon and Franklin avenues, Clinton Hill
The glory days are long gone from this abandoned 1899 stalwart, which has become the bane of the block for surrounding homeowners, and a crash pad for squatters. The Department of Buildings, after numerous complaints for unguarded windows and vagrants, flagged the four-story manse for “unsafe conditions” in July. Freeloaders beware!
The Brooklyn Paper / Mike McLaughlin

59 Orient Ave.
between Metro-poli-tan Avenue and Olive Street, Williamsburg
The Williamsburg house that starred in the Michel Gondry’s 2004 film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is an eternal nightmare for neighbors. The once-regal mansion became a haven for squatters, druggies and prostitutes, though after prodding from The Brooklyn Paper, the owners put up stronger fencing and boarded up the windows and doors. But vagrants once again found their way into the house last week, neighbors said.
The Brooklyn Paper / Allison Bosworth