The bloody history behind the Staten Island Kreischer Mansion
Built in 1885, the Kreischer Mansion has a gruesome past connected to it.
It was originally built by a rich German brick manufacturer called Balthasar Kreischer on Arthur Kill Road in the Charleston neighborhood.
He built the main home for his son Charles and built another identical house on the same property for his other son Edward.
When Balthasar emigrated from Germany, he brought with him an economic boom that resulted in the area being named Kreischerville.
Kresischerville, named after Baltazar Kreischer’s brick-making factory. via Wikimedia Commons
After his death, Balthazar’s brick factory burned to the ground. His children tried to rebuild it but never succeeded.
The second home had been demolished during the Great Depression due to the newly poor nature of the Kreischer family, reported SI Live.
It’s reported by Random Times, Edward Kreischer killed himself in 1895 in the standing mansion that Charles lived in. The Line Up reports his death was a result of a fight at the brick factory.
Random Times calls Kreischer Mansion “one of the most haunted places in all of New York.”
Even though the house maintains its haunted legacy, it’s never been fully abandoned. But, like Random Times reports, “no business or resident has managed to stay there for long either.”
However historical the property is, the mansion is most known for its murderous history.
In March 2005, a Bonanno crime family associate was murdered in the house by a caretaker originally hired by current owner Isaac Yomtovian.
Joseph “Joe Black” Young worked as a hitman for the Bonanno crime family in New York. The Bonanno family allegedly paid Young thousands of dollars to murder rival Robert McKelvey.
Gino Galestro hired Joseph Young to murder for his crime family. Via NYT
“Joe Black” and four other men were charged with murder via NYT
It’s reported McKelvey owed Gino Galestro, head of the Bonanno crime family, money.
Young stabbed McKelvey causing him to run from Young. The Line Up reports three other men grabbed McKelvey as he ran for the door and attempted to strangle him. Young stabbed him repeatedly.
All four of the men then drowned him in a small pond then dismembered the body and burned it in the basement furnace, according to Random Times.
In an FBI archive, it states, “During searches of the septic tank and wooded area around the mansion, the FBI and personnel from the Medical Examiner’s Office of the City of New York found bone fragments and personal effects of McKelvey, and McKelvey’s blood was recovered from the stairs leading to the mansion’s basement.”
Young was sentenced to life in prison in 2008 and Galestro was given 20 years for orchestrating the murder in 2009.
Yomtovian works developing homes and townhouses with over 200 custom-built.
Before the murder, there was once a Victorian styled restaurant which failed in 1997. Yomtovian bought the mansion two years later.
Many tenants of the home have experienced paranormal activity, unsurprisingly considering the home’s deadly past.
The Kreischer Mansion is known for its hauntings and paranormal activity.
Some people reported that “a German cook killed in the home, who still bangs his pots and pans in the kitchen” caused paranormal activity and reports of child screams are heard.
As of June 2021, the mansion is up for sale. According to SI Live, the building is being auctioned off at $7.4 million.
The city plans to build condos around the house with Yomtovian’s permission. The mansion will be preserved and serve as a place for the condo residents to gather and socialize.
