Big blue house

Places in Peril

The Ryer House or the "Big blue house" as it is known locally. Sits adjacent to the First Baptist Church in Matawan, New Jersey. This beautiful Victorian home was built in 1873 for David G. Ryer, a prosperous New York produce merchant. Ryer relocated his family to Matawan in 1873 and later became mayor. He lived in the house until his death in 1899.

The 3751 square foot home has seven bedrooms and three bathrooms. It is a fine example of the Second Empire style, featuring characteristic details such as a Mansard roof, a central tower, an elaborate front porch, ornate molded cornices, and bay windows.

In more recent years, the home was purchased on January 18, 2001 for $200,000 by Dr. Michael Ambrosio. After he died, the house passed hands to his wife, Anne who sold the home on July 6, 2004 for $555,000. With the new owner unable to make payments on the mansion, the property fell into foreclosure. The home’s interior “standout features” such as Tiffany chandeliers and marble mantels were “pillaged and sold at auction” during foreclosure proceedings involving the previous owner. The home has remained vacant since 2007.

The current owner, Andrew Scibor purchased the on home April 9, 2007 for 450,000 and wanted to turn it into an office building. The borough rejected his plan in 2009. After which he said, "It is not worth it for me to put $300,000 to $400,000 worth of work into a house that can't be used as an office building." It was subsequently listed for sale in May of 2010 for $779,000. In November 2010, the listing price was decreased to $715,000 and in January of 2010 the price was again reduced to $699,000. The listing was removed in February of 2011. The house was left in limbo, until 2019 when negotiations began to reemerge. Scibor proposed to convert the house into 8 apartments.

His proposal is the width of the driveway, from Main Street to the rear of a bay window, would be increased by 15 feet. He said the driveway would be widened to 24 feet to accommodate an area where emergency vehicles would be able to make turns. 19 parking spaces are proposed and he said future tenants could use the existing garage and one-story building as storage space for their belongings. Landscape buffers are proposed between the parking lot and the adjacent properties. One of two window wells – a window large enough for entry or exit in case of an emergency – would be removed on the east side of the home to accommodate the width of the expanded driveway.

His plea was "All the doors are missing and the Tiffany lights are all gone... The walls and ceilings are crumbling and the floors are buckling due to a lack of heat. The heating system is destroyed due to flooding in the house and the pipes have burst as a result of that lacking system." Proponents of the house say that is highly exaggerated.

He followed up with if the application is denied, he would demolish the home.

It was approved. However, to date no work has been done. Noticeable by a brief once-over from the sidewalk is the flaking paint, deteriorating window frames and torn curtains. Multiple windows have also been boarded up.

It was listed as one of the 10 most endangered historic sites for 2015 by Preservation New Jersey. The town folks are left wondering and the house remains in peril.

https://www.zillow.com/.../226-Main-St.../39315011_zpid/

https://archive.centraljersey.com/.../matawans-historic.../