A Profitale Vestige of Cold War Precaution.docVIP

A Profitable Vestige of Cold War Precaution Victor J. Blue for The New York Times The previous owner of Maria Lagoss and her husbands house built a bomb shelter underground at a time when fears of an atomic bomb attack were widespread. Today, the Lagoses use the room as a workshop. By SAM ROBERTS and NOAH ROSENBERG Published: June 13, 2012 Facebook Twitter Google+ Email Share Print Single Page Reprints The owner of a home in Queens has not given much thought about the origin of the concrete and steel room buried beneath his basement. “When I bought this house, nobody came to see this,” said Francisco Lago, who purchased his two-story home about 30 years ago. “It was in ruins.” Connect with NYTMetro Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for news and conversation. Enlarge This Image William Eckenberg/The New York Times This model shelter was displayed in 1960 at New York Civil Defense headquarters in Manhattan. It looks better today, but not by much: cluttered with tools and echoing with the rumble of a dehumidifier working overtime to keep the 300-square-foot room from devolving into the mold-infested, subterranean cave it was before. Yet this unimpressive cramped space hidden away on a quiet block is a surprising link to a momentous period in American history: It is the only stand-alone private space remaining in the city to qualify as a bomb shelter, according to city records, a vestige of the cold war era when underground sanctuaries were promoted as offering refuge from a mushroom cloud. To the Lagos, however, the shelter was just another part of their home they had to worry about and maintain. “We never come in here,” said Mr. Lago’s wife, Maria. Besides being a historical curiosity, this forgotten room carries a tangible benefit — a tax break that has saved the Lagos thousands of dollars over the years. They are one of the few remaining beneficiaries of a bill passed by the state’s Legislature in 1961 that provides exemptions for shelters design