Here is the Church, and There Go the Steeples
Yesterday Sheepshead Bites had a post on a story it’s been tracking concerning how the current congregation of the church at 3087 Ocean Avenue intends to tear down the steeples on its 142-year-old building. An organization called the Bay Improvement Group (BIG) is advocating for their retention and tried at one point to convince the…
Yesterday Sheepshead Bites had a post on a story it’s been tracking concerning how the current congregation of the church at 3087 Ocean Avenue intends to tear down the steeples on its 142-year-old building. An organization called the Bay Improvement Group (BIG) is advocating for their retention and tried at one point to convince the church’s owners to pursue landmark status: “We at BIG tried in the early 1990′s pleading with their Board of Directors/Trustees to Landmark the Church and they were sadly, ignorantly afraid of ‘Landmark status’ even though we tried to persuade them with experts in Church preservation, Engineers & Architects and myself, as an Attorney, to explain the great help they would have in obtaining Landmark status. They could have received State, City, Federal and private grants to restore the Church!” Today The Daily News picks up on the story, and has a quote from the church’s pastor about how the steeples are unsafe and the congregation can’t afford to renovate them: “‘We are concerned really about safety,’ said Pastor Jay Kyung Kim, who said the spires are cracked and leaning precariously. ‘If it falls down, it’s a tragedy.’ He hopes to eventually raise the cash to build new steeples, but has no idea how long that will take.” Sad stuff.
BIG Pleads For Savior Of Methodist Church [Sheepshead Bites]
Historic Steeples of 142-Year-Old United Methodist Church Will be Torn Down [NY Daily News]
Photo from Sheepshead Bites.
infinite jester, your posts make it sound like you have never even belonged to a church. Here’s a newsflash: pastors and rectors and priests lie (or wildly exaggerate) to their flocks all the time in order to get their way.
Repairing the mini-steeples would cost probably about $40,000. Building a new church/parsonage probably 4 million.
He wants the latter. It is pretty obvious.
Minard, that is a terrible thing to say. How dare you write something like that? Based on what do you say he is lying and that he wants to raze the place? Your longtime intuition? Do you know anything about church finances and this type of thing? I am totally shocked because you are normally a rational poster. Clearly you have a grudge against churches or something. What part of the pastor’s statement sounds fishy?
Minard–You said it! I wouldn’t dare be so bold! Heh.
There are some larger grants. But yes, it is just one part of the puzzle. Additional grants from other orgs, loans, fundraising, etc. would be needed. Still think Sacred Sites is a good program because they also provide technical know-how and other forms of support and have lots of experience in this area…
“Robert W. Wilson-Sacred Sites Challenge Grants are awarded for large, comprehensive, state-of-the-art restoration projects. Our 8 most recent grantees were awarded a total of $235,000:
* Church of the Most Precious Blood, Long Island City, $40,000 for Masonry Restoration and Roof Replacement
* Trinity Lutheran Church, Long Island City, $30,000 for Roof & Masonry Restoration
* Presbyterian Church of Rensselaerville, Rensselaerville, $35,000 for Stabilization and Restoration of Steeple”
etc…
My bet is that the pastor is lying. The little steeples could probably be stabilized for 30 to 40 thousand dollars. They are not large or scary. He wants a new concrete church, I’m telling you. Check back next year as see if a) the steeples are fine and pastor is gone. b) the whole church is demolished and the pastor is raising money for the new church.
From the New York Landmarks Conservancy site:
“The maximum grant amount for the Sacred Sites Fund is $10,000. In the most recent, January 2010 grant round, Sacred Sites grants averaged about $3,000, and we project similar grant averages through 2011. No grant shall exceed half the project cost.”
How far would $3,000 (or $6,000, assuming the congregation would supply half the project cost) go toward restoring those steeples?
The sangria MUST have been watered down!
Unlimited Salad Bar Food fight!
Yes, Beefsteak Charlie’s! If it were still around, I’d suggest that we all convene there for further conversation over sangria.