The former home of African-American journalist T. Thomas Fortune is safe for now, that is.
There’s demolition work underway at the historic Fortune house property on Drs. James Parker Boulevard, but no reason to be alarmed, says unofficial Red Bank historian George Bowden, who’s been fighting to preserve the place.
The structures being torn down, including a garage once used to house a fleet of trucks for the former Vaccarelli bakery that was located at the site for most of the 20th century, have no no historical value, says the chairman of the borough Historic Preservation Commission.
“If they did, I’d be foaming at the mouth and jumping over your house,” the 80-year-old Bowden tells redbankgreen. “But you’re safe for another 24.”
A proposed sale that would have put the property in the hands of a developer fell apart last September.
A call to a member of the Vaccarelli family wasn’t immediately returned.
