Juniper Park Civic Association members are fighting to halt the construction of apartment buildings at the site of a 159-year-old Maspeth church, citing
concerns that a number of historic properties in the area have recently been
demolished or are slated for demolition.
Juniper Park President Robert Holden said the association hopes to prevent the razing of the building at the former St. Savior's Church site, located at the intersection of 57th Drive and Rust Street in Maspeth, where a demolition permit has been issued by the city Department of Buildings. A spokeswoman for property owner Tomer Dafna said apartments will be built at the site, though developers do not know whether the area will house condominiums or three-family houses.
The property owner met with Community Board 5 Monday to ask for a variance for more dense zoning at the site, which would allow for more housing units. Holden said the association has written a complaint to the Department of Buildings about construction at the site.
In the past year, neighborhoods covered by Community Board 5 have lost a number of historic sites, including Middle Village German eatery Niederstein's on Metropolitan Avenue, Glendale catering hall Durow's on Myrtle Avenue and the 287-year-old Morrell House on Juniper Valley Road in Middle Village. In a related move, the city Landmarks Commission denied landmark status to the historic Trylon Theater on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park.
"We've lost a tremendous amount of homes and buildings that are part of our
past," Holden said. "When they are gone, they are gone forever. The Landmarks
Commission seems to be centered around Manhattan."
The association filed a landmark status request for St. Savior's, which was
previously owned and sold by a Korean congregation, on Jan. 16, but Landmarks
denied the request because the current building has been significantly altered from the original 1847 building, Landmarks spokeswoman Diane Jackier said. The current building was constructed in 1970 after vandals set the church on fire.
A spokeswoman for the city Department of Buildings confirmed that demolition and demolition fence permits were issued for the site on March 22 and that both expire May 24. She said opponents of the demolition project can prevent the church's destruction only by appealing to the property owner.
Holden said the civic association will put pressure on elected officials and
Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help save the historic church. On Monday, the Juniper Park Civic Association urged City Councilman Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village) to obtain an order to show cause in State Supreme Court, which can stop work on a property while further investigation is conducted. Gallagher said he has spoken with an attorney about obtaining the order.
Community members said they are especially upset that historic community buildings are being torn down to accommodate apartment buildings. "Not only are we losing historic sites, but we are losing them to people who
want to overdevelop the area," said Juniper Park member Christina Wilkinson, a correspondent for the Forgotten New York Web site. "They are going to knock down the church to put hundreds of people into a small square. It's really a slap in the face to the community."