The ghosts of past RedHouse residents remain as silhouettes painted on the walls, but the current members will be looking for a new place to live at the end of this year.

Residents of the RedHouse and Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity President Cory Crosland met last night to discuss an agreement between the fraternity and Roy Pinsky, the landlord, to transfer ownership of the building June 1.

‘Due to factors beyond our control, it appears our time at 747 Comstock – at least for now – has come to an end,’ said Carl Cowan, president of the RedHouse and a senior information management and technology major, in an address to the house members. ‘No matter what new color of paint adorns 747 Comstock, its roots will always be Red.’

Residents of the house had been suspicious since early this year that it might be their last, after Pinsky gave tours of the property and told them that empty housing would be filled with TKE fraternity brothers, said Tasha King, a junior magazine and sociology major and spokeswoman for the residents.

‘We knew there was a risk of us losing the house,’ King said, adding that current and future residents had signed leases and paid for summer and next year’s housing. ‘But when he gave us the leases, we saw that as a sign that we’d get to keep the house.’

King said that Pinsky called Wednesday and asked how many rooms had been filled. After being told that 10 residents agreed to live in the house next year, Pinsky said he would sell the house.

In an October interview, Pinsky said that despite receiving offers in the past, there was no way that he would transfer ownership of the RedHouse to a fraternity in the near future.

Robert Miller, a past RedHouse president and treasurer, said that Pinsky had explained the property tours as a courtesy policy to inquirers.

Crosland said they approached Pinsky and began negotiating to acquire the house in December or January of this year.

‘We’ve been working with (the residents) and we’re going to preserve what current members think should stay,’ Crosland said. ‘We’re going to be working with them as closely as we can.’

Crosland suggested the residents move into TKE’s three adjacent houses on Ostrom Avenue, but RedHouse residents did not support the idea.

‘The RedHouse just isn’t going to take those three houses and be itself,’ said Russell Chou, a junior philosophy major. ‘People will probably filter out and find new things.’

The RedHouse – named for its color – was bought about 30 years ago by Pinsky, a former resident, when it served as a fraternity house.

Originally, architecture and art students occupied the four-story house, but residents said that membership had diversified over the years until the only requirement for candidates was approval from the current residents.

The house was best known to students for its monthly parties featuring live music and an accepting atmosphere, as well as the art exhibited throughout the house.

The flamingos adorning the front of the house are no longer there, and residents considered removing the tire swing last night after painting a variety of images and the word ‘$OLD’ across the front doors.

‘It’s all about the relationship they have with their landlord,’ Crosland said. ‘It has nothing to do with problems they have with our fraternity.’

Residents said that relations with Pinsky had become increasingly strained over the condition of the house, and the future of their lease.

Residents, though, emphasized the house’s tradition – not its future.

‘It’s just so sad because this house meant so much to so many people,’ said Jason Benati, a junior in the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. ‘It’s been a magnet for everyone – there’s not just one mold.’

The residents’ greatest attachment was to the silhouettes of past residents that they refer to as ‘ghosts’ and the rest of the artwork that winds up and down the interior walls.

‘It’ll never be the same,’ said Cat Olech, a senior illustration major. ‘I feel really glad that I didn’t paint mine, so they couldn’t just paint over it. Let’s just paint the house black.’

King was more concerned about their presence being erased from the house.

‘People just don’t want to have it covered up. They don’t want people to come in here and paint it all white,’ King said. ‘It’s not pretty. It’s not a place that’s gorgeous. It’s cool because you get to do whatever you want to.’

Cowan was optimistic about the house’s legacy: ‘Our tradition is ending, but the spirit that imbued it will live on – as it must. It’s written in the hearts and minds that made it possible and nobody can ever take that from us, or Syracuse University.’

Published on April 21, 2004 at 12:00 pm