by Bea Peterson
Yucel Erdogan lives in Brooklyn and has a weekend place in East Nassau. While up for a weekend three years ago he was exploring the area and discovered Hoosick Falls. “I liked the area, the architecture,” he said. He came back several times, did other things, then got in touch with Herb Loretan about the Ruditis building. [private]Recently they came to terms and now Erdogan owns the building. He has already invested more than $30,000 in a new roof for the structure. New windows are next in his long term plans. “I’m just one man,” he said. “I have a full time job, and I’m a single father.”
Erdogan is well known in the field of advertising, “But my passion is painting,” he said. He is also well known as an accomplished illustrator and photographer. Born in Turkey, he came to the U.S. for college. “My plan was to return to Istanbul,” he said. “But I had job offers here, and I stayed.”
His idea for the large John Street building is “to do what Herb has done, only more.” His first order of business is to rent the space that houses the John Street Gallery as soon as possible. Realtor Gale Leva of Denim and Deeds is handling the rental. Then he wants to renovate the rest of the first floor and make it an art gallery and antique shop. He will be looking for someone to run the gallery for him. The second floor will eventually become art studios and offices. “And some day the third floor will be living space for me,” he said.
His plan for the art gallery and antique shop “will reflect my own taste and creations; my own brand,” he said. Erdogan knows there are many great artists already living in the community, and he believes that with the establishment of his new business venture the area has the potential to be an artist’s Mecca. “We’ll have to see what happens,” he said.[/private]