stsaviors

(7/1/09) $2M SECURED FOR RESTORATION OF ST. SAVIOUR'S CHURCH IN ALL-FAITHS CEMETERY
City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) has allocated $500,000 and Borough President Helen Marshall has pledged to provide $1.5 million from her budget for the first phase of the reconstruction of the 162-year-old St. Saviour's Church on the property of All Faiths Cemetery.

When the reconstruction is finished, the historic structure will be called the Richard Upjohn Educational Center and Amphitheatre, after the famed architect who designed the church in 1847. [Times-Ledger]

(5/15/08) JPCA WINS HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL GRASSROOTS PRESERVATION AWARD
"When I received word that HDC had chosen Juniper Civic for a Grassroots Award, the fate of St. Saviour's seemed sealed - it was on the fast track toward demolition. But, after a last ditch agreement with the owner had been made, St. Saviour's was carefully dismantled piece by piece and was sent to storage earlier this month. There is a plan in the works to restore the materials, rebuild it at another location and open it as a non-denominational chapel and museum. This will no doubt take many months, if not years to accomplish, and during that time, the Juniper Park Civic Association plans to continue to fight to save the church's original site as open space for our community. "--Christina Wilkinson, Chair of JPCA's Committee to Save St. Saviour's [Juniper Park Civic Association]

(4/12/08) PREPARATIONS BEGIN...
...to move the church to All-Faiths Lutheran Cemetery [Christina's Flickr page]

(4/7/08) WHERE THINGS STAND
Preservationists and community activists alike are rushing against the clock to move St. Saviour's church so they may honor the deadline for relocating the building. In yet one more turn in the story of the little church that could, the Juniper Park Civic Association, which has led the effort, is pulling out all stops to get the Maspeth church safely to its final resting place, including the equivalent of a preservation SWAT team, which has started its assessment of the building. [AMNY]

(4/6/08) A LAST MINUTE MIRACLE
For the past few weeks, a large excavator with tanklike wheels has stood a few ominous feet from St. Saviour's, an old Gothic-style church atop a small hill in Maspeth, Queens. At 11 a.m. on March 24, the machine was just hours from turning the rickety structure, built in 1847 for the Episcopal Church, to rubble. But St. Saviour's got a stay of execution, thanks to a last-minute agreement between the developer of the property and Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association. [New York Times]

(4/2/08) SITE EYED FOR RELOCATION
This is the spot at All Faiths Cemetery where St. Saviour's will eventually be relocated. The church will be moved intact and stored temporarily at a site in West Maspeth, where it will be thoroughly documented and the individual pieces of the structure numbered while the site at All Faiths is prepared to host it. The church will then carefully be dismantled and reassembled at its permanent home, with necessary repairs made during this process. An entrance will be created on 69th Street for access to the public. [Queens Crap]

(4/2/08) ST. SAVIOUR'S SAVED
Paul Graziano, president of the Historic Districts Council, hailed the preservation campaign as "the heart [and] soul of grass-roots preservation efforts in New York." [New York Daily News]

(3/28/08) AGREEMENT REACHED
There will be a press conference Monday, March 31st at 1pm to announce the agreement between Maspeth Development, LLC and JPCA to move St. Saviour's to All Faiths Cemetery. [JPCA]

(3/27/08) A POSSIBLE SALVATION
...The developer has set aside his housing plans and has given the Juniper Park Civic Association, which has fought to save it, until late April to move the church off the property.

And in a heaven-sent development, a nearby cemetery, All Faiths in Middle Village, has agreed to give it a home. As the clock ticks, the biggest challenge now is who will pay to move it. The group had been counting on a $1 million in city funding that never materialized. [AM New York]

(3/17/08) CONTRACTOR THREATENS ST. SAVIOUR'S NEIGHBOR
A neighbor of St. Saviour's, Tom, was standing on the corner of 57th Road [at St. Saviour's Church] Friday when a man that probably was the owner of TC Inc. (why a 718 phone #?) rushed out of his van yelling at him. "What the f!@# is your problem? F!@# this piece of s$%t church, it's history; it will be gone and you can go f!@# yourself! Why didn't you buy this property if this church was so important? F!@# this piece of crap and this neighborhood!" [Queens Crap]

(3/3/08) JPCA, AVELLA PROTEST DEMOLITION
On February 29th, JPCA held a protest at the site featuring speakers Councilman Tony Avella, Historic Districts Council President Paul Graziano, Secretary of the Society for the Architecture of the City Christabel Gough, Chair of the Committee to Save the RKO Keith's Theater Jerry Rotondi, Henry Euler of the Queens Preservation Council and Tony Nunziato, Chair of the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force, and of course, members of the Juniper Park Civic Association. It was attended by 35 protesters, 6 police officers and the Queens press corps. No elected officials outside of Avella attended the rally. [Juniper Park Civic Association]

(3/3/08) FALSE FUNDING PROMISE MAY DOOM ST. SAVIOUR'S
...[M]ore striking about the Gallagher statements is that he insisted that the Parks Department has the money. To quote an e-mail from Parks' Assistant Commissioner for Planning Joshua Laird dated November 2nd, 2007, "While it would be desirable to have more open space in the area, we have no funding whatsoever to advance the acquisition of this site, let alone future development and maintenance funding." [Juniper Park Civic Association]

(3/1/08) PROTESTORS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST IMPENDING DEMOLITION
February 28 [Christina on Flickr]

(2/28/08) DEP SHUTS DOWN DEMOLITION, FOR NOW
The Department of Environmental Protection has temporarily shut down the worksite while they test for asbestos. [Queens Crap]

(2/28/08) DEMOLITION OF ST. SAVIOUR'S RESUMES
As reported by a neighbor of the church, workers are taking out the windows and pulling tiles off of the roof. [Queens Crap]

(2/28/08) COUNCILMAN'S $1M ST. SAVIOUR'S PARKS DEPT. NEVER EXISTED
Well, folks, we all knew it was coming. The $1 million Dennis Gallagher claimed to have secured in the 2008 Parks budget never existed. [Queens Crap]

(2/28/08) DEMOLITION PERMIT REISSUED FOR ST. SAVIOUR'S
The owners of St. Saviour's have been reissued a demolition permit. Sano Demolition of College Point will handle the demolition. Here's a snippet of their illustrious history...[Queens Crap]

(2/4/08) THE CASE FOR LANDMARKING
The time has come for the City to act to save this important landmark before it is torn down and lost forever. [Historic Districts Council]

(2/3/08) "BE A SAVIOR OF ST. SAVIOUR'S"
Open letter to Robert Tierney, Landmarks Preservation Commission Chairman, from Michael Perlman of the Rego-Forest Preservation Council:

Dear Chairman Tierney, Ms. Betts, & LPC:

I am speaking on behalf of Rego-Forest Preservation Council, as chairman & founder, and as a NYC citizen. We are once again reaching out beyond our immediate neighborhoods of Forest Hills & Rego Park, since we not only share common cause, but value & empathize the sentiments of those who are fighting a noble battle in the history of Maspeth, Queens, the City of NY, and our nation. Since 2006, the battle to save St. Saviour's is unique, as a result of the following:

1. It judges the effectiveness of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has the power to embrace the democratic ideal & calendar a public hearing in the utmost;
2. Questions Mayor Bloomberg's dedication, when he has the authority to utilize positive eminent domain to secure the land, and adapt it into a museum, community center, and a public park, which ideally coincides with PLANYC 2030;
3. And also calls into question Councilman Gallagher's productivity in the eyes of his constituency.

In 2008, you have to admit that pristine land with ties to early settlers of Queens, does not come everyday; not to mention a work of one of our country's most prominent 19th century architects, Richard Upjohn. There are cases where our history goes to hell. St. Saviour's Church & its accompanying parcel is a gift from the heavens, and does not have to meet that fate.

This is judgement day, so please think twice about ridiculing & discarding 161 years of our architectural, cultural, & archaeological history, and our environmental attributes, into a landfill. Is this the ideal of progress? Leave something for this generation to cherish, pay tribute to our ancestors, and inform, inspire, & set an example for our children to come. A landmark is in the eyes of the majority, and not acting on behalf of your constituents "does not meet our criteria."

Will this be a Penn Station, 2 Columbus Circle, or a case where Corona's Tifereth Israel is heard despite being altered with stucco & its original wooden porch long gone (not that it doesn't deserve a designation)? The wrecking ball is in the offspring for St. Saviour's and its pristine land, so respect the Landmarks Law as initially conceived, and calendar a public hearing in the utmost. Restore our faith while being remembered as heroic. Will you be a savior of St. Saviour's?

(1/30/08) BEGINNING OF THE END?
Looks like a demo company located around the corner from St. Saviour's is planning to knock the place down. [Queens Crap]

(1/13/08) PARSONAGE DEMOLISHED ILLEGALLY
No real shock here. And no real punishment will be handed down. [Queens Crap]

(12/19/07) MASPETH DEVELOPMENT LLC USING ST. SAVIOUR'S GROUNDS AS DUMPSITE
Neighbors of St. Saviour's claim that the property is once again being used as a waste transfer station, with dumpsters of debris being hauled INTO the property and left there. [Queens Crap]

(12/14/07) ST. SAVIOUR'S PARSONAGE DEMOLISHED
St. Saviour's parsonage building, constructed in 1849, two years after the church, was destroyed by Maspeth Development LLC on Wednesday, December 12 as these photos taken a day later by JPCA President Bob Holden show:

(12/14/07) CHURCH FOR SALE
An online listing informs deep-pocketed prospective buyers they "can build up to 85,000 [square feet] of residential" on the "vacant land." [NY Daily News]

(11/30/07) ST. SAVIOUR'S PLAN WITHDRAWN
Maspeth Development, LLC, has withdrawn their application for a zoning change for the St. Saviour's property. [Queens Crap]

(11/14/07) QUEENS ARBOR SLAY CONTROVERSY WIDENS
"Maspeth's St. Saviour's church, so brutally stripped of its trees and greens as a big "F-you!" to area residents who were fighting like mad to save the property and turn it into a park, appears finally headed for—wait for it—residential development." [curbed]

(11/14/07) DAILY NEWS EXPOSES GALLAGHER
"The embattled Councilman has been quietly lobbying city planners and Borough President Helen Marshall on behalf of a foreign developer who wants to build houses on the grounds of the historic St. Savior's Episcopal Church in Maspeth." [via Queens Crap]

(11/8/07) ST. SAVIOUR'S PRESERVATIONISTS ACCUSE GALLAGHER
Some Maspeth activists involved in the fight to save the St. Saviour’s Church property are accusing Councilman Dennis Gallagher of lobbying on behalf of a developer seeking to build a housing development.

(7/26/07) NEIGHBOR DECRIES TREE DESTRUCTION
"I live diagonally across from St. Saviour's and have watched the systematic annihilation of one of nature's most beautiful gifts. The destruction of the trees can never be reversed..."

(7/12/07) ST. SAVIOUR'S DEVELOPER BEGINS RAZING TREES
Today, Councilman Tony Avella joined JPCA in criticizing the developer of the St. Saviour’s Church site in Maspeth, Queens for removing several of the 185 mature/aged trees on the property.

Yesterday, the developer began cutting down healthy trees on the site, much to the dismay of local community residents. Avella subsequently contacted the property owner by fax on behalf of the JPCA requesting “the developer immediately halt any and all actions, including the removal of trees, as it relates to this property.”

Community Board 5 silences Christina W. as she decries the tree razing [Queens Crap]
Going, Going, Gone [Queens Tribune]

The Juniper Park Civic Association and Councilman Tony Avella will hold two rallies this weekend aimed at curbing overdevelopment and preserving history in Maspeth & Middle Village, Queens.

On Saturday, June 30th at 12 noon on the steps of city hall, the Councilman Avella and JPCA will rally against notorious developer, Tommy Huang, who has been erecting non-conforming buildings all over the borough of Queens. The civic association and councilman are calling for the city’s Department of Buildings to take action and force Mr. Huang to demolish an illegally constructed building on Mazeau Street in Maspeth along with all other illegally constructed buildings he owns throughout Queens.

On Sunday, July 1st at 1pm, the Councilman Avella and JPCA will hold a rally outside of St. Saviour’s Church, at 58th Street and 57th Road in Maspeth, Queens. The church was designed in 1847 by master architect, Richard Upjohn, and was founded by pioneers of Maspeth. The church was sold to developers in 2005 and demolition work has been halted since last Spring. The developers of the property are now looking to sell it. The councilman and civic organization are calling on the city to either purchase the property or swap city-owned land with the owners in order to acquire it.

“This would make a perfect community center and public park for the people in the surrounding neighborhood who don’t have either nearby,” said Christina Wilkinson, chair of JPCA’s Committee to Save St. Saviour’s. “The 185 trees present on the property are vital to the area’s health, and since Mayor Bloomberg has been talking about ‘greening’ the city, saving this parcel and converting it into a park should be a no-brainer.”

“Artifacts dating back to the Revolutionary War have been found on the property. We simply must save St. Saviour’s,” said JPCA President Robert Holden. “To not do so would mean the city is turning its back on our history.”

June 18, 2007

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn

224 West 30th St (Suite 1206)
New York, NY 10001

Via fax and e-mail

Fax: (212) 564-7347

E-mail: quinn@council.nyc.ny.us

Dear Council Speaker Quinn,

On April 13, 2006, I wrote a letter to you regarding historic St. Saviour’s Church in Maspeth, Queens that was threatened with demolition. In the letter, I pleaded with you to intervene. You failed to even acknowledge receipt of this letter.

I therefore found it quite interesting that you would not only attend a rally to save St. Brigid’s Church & P.S. 64 in lower Manhattan, but that you were quoted as saying that the city could not afford to “lose this important religious resource and this important bit of history.” Well, guess what? Queens has history and religion, too!

The Villager quoted you as saying, “I am confident we will win the battle to save St. Brigid’s.” Why weren’t you present at the two rallies we had here in Maspeth proclaiming the same thing about St. Saviour’s?

According to The Villager, you “pledged ‘the full resources of the City Council’ — going so far as to offer to file an amicus brief in support of the parishioners’ lawsuit to block the church’s demolition.” Why didn’t you file an amicus brief during the lawsuit that we brought to block the demolition of St. Saviour’s?

Finally, you said, “I’ve had conversations with Deputy Mayor Doctoroff and the Mayor’s Office, and they are really as angry at the [P.S. 64] landlord as we are.” This is fantastic. What did they tell you when you called them about St. Saviour’s?

St. Saviour’s remains standing today and there is still time for you to respond positively to our requests for your intervention.

Eagerly awaiting your reply,

Christina Wilkinson

Chair of the Committee to Save St. Saviour’s

and lifelong resident of Queens (part of the City of New York)

CC: Kevin Walsh, Forgotten-NY.com

(4/28/07) ST. SAVIOUR'S PLANS UNVEILED
The Juniper Park Civic Association has unveiled an architectural rendering of what the St. Saviour’s Church and Parsonage will look like after both they and the historical grounds upon which they sit are saved and fully restored. The rendering, by Marcelo Orihuela of Todocad, is based on the original design of the church. It is the only known representation of the buildings that shows them in their previous state in full color...

(2/12/07) "HIGH ARCHEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL"
In two shocking revelations, both the NYS Office of Historic Preservation and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) have admitted that the St. Saviour's site contains the potential for recovery of archaeologically significant materials, including human remains.

Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA) has long argued that the St. Saviourís site is likely to contain historical artifacts and possibly burials. Both LPC and SHPO ignored those claims and quickly rejected the property.

Archaeologist Linda Stone recently uncovered 2 key pieces of information during her research that prove that the LPC & SHPO knew that our claims were valid, yet withheld this evidence while repeatedly rejecting our applications for landmark designation and listing on the state historic register.

Amanda Sutphin, an archaeologist for LPC, wrote in an Environmental Review letter dated August 3, 2006: LPC review of archeological sensitivity models and historic maps indicates that there is potential for the recovery of remains from 19th Century occupation for the borough, block and lot locations within the study area. Also, the question of the presence or absence of human burials on this portion of the property needs further investigation and resolution.

A map obtained by Ms. Stone from the New York State Historic Preservation Office shows that the St. Saviour's site sits within an area deemed by the state to have high archaeological potential.

Ms. Stone stated in a recent report to JPCA: With the currently available information, it is not possible to eliminate the possibility of finding human remains. In addition to the previously mentioned potential buried resources, the property may also contain remains associated with Revolutionary War activity.

This information further supports JPCA's belief that St. Saviour's and its surrounding land embodies the history of Queens' oldest settlement, and therefore must be saved from development. Two questions remain: Why did these 2 governmental agencies withhold this information from the public and why did they reject applications for designation when the case is clear that the buildings and land together comprise an intact cultural landscape that must be preserved for future generations?

In addition, a photo recently given to JPCA by a former parishioner shows that the site was used for recreation back in the 19th century. A group of tennis players dressed in white sits in the foreground, with a priest believed to be Father Griffin standing to their left. A tennis net is set up to their right. And behind them is St. Saviour's Church, designed by Richard Upjohn, before any alterations had taken place.

This photo shows all that this property once was, and the potential it has to be a crown jewel of Maspeth once again, said Christina Wilkinson, Chair of JPCA's Committee to Save St. Saviour's.

JPCA has asked the city to take over the entire site and convert the buildings into a community center and museum and the grounds into a park as part of the Mayor's 2030 plan. Last month, at a meeting held at the Clinton Diner, 30 immediate neighbors of St. Saviour's were unanimous in their sentiments, and signed a petition asking for the city to save the entire site. Additionally, more than 1000 signatures now appear on JPCA's online petition asking the mayor to do the same thing. http://www.petitiononline.com/Juniper1/

As of now, the church and land are for sale, and this is the perfect opportunity for Mayor Bloomberg to show that he is serious about having every city resident within 10 minutes walking distance of a park, said Robert Holden, JPCA President. Every year the city finds it has billions of dollars in income it didnít expect. It's time to spend some of that money in Maspeth and save a piece of our rapidly disappearing history. Juniper Park Civic Association

(1/19/07) CITY COUNCILMAN, SON OF COMMUNITY BOARD CHAIRMAN DISAGREE
Last week via a letter, Lee Principe asked the Community Board, the Juniper Park Civic Association and the councilman to work together to save the entire St. Saviour's parcel for the Maspeth community. The Queens Ledger reports that not only has Councilman Dennis Gallagher not responded positively, but he has also now involved the current chairman of the Community Board in negotiations with the developer...

(1/10/07) PARK PLAN FOR ST. SAVIOUR'S
Tonight at the Community Board 5 meeting, a letter was read by Edward Kampermann at the request of Lee Principe, son of the late Maspeth community activist and former CB5 chairman, Frank Principe. The letter asked for more cooperation between members of the community board, JPCA and local elected officials and called on them to work together to save St. Saviour's Church...

(12/20/06) CAN THE ST. SAVIOURS SITE BECOME A PARK/MUSEUM?
Last week, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled his goals for the future of NYC. One of these was that every city resident would live within 10 minutes walking distance of a park. The St. Saviour's grounds are a ready-made park, containing 185 trees, many of which are of the old-growth variety, and a beautiful 1.5-acre landscape...

(12/9/06) STOP WORK ORDER VIOLATED AGAIN
JPCA received a phone call from a neighbor of St. Saviour’s Church on the morning of December 9th. He stated that there were workers on the property who were ripping out the windows in the rear...Tony Nunziato was hard at work at Enchanted Florist, but when he was called upon to help, he didn’t hesitate for a second. He looked up the stop work order on the Department of Buildings’ website, printed it out and soon arrived at St. Saviour's with his son, Anthony. He turned the printout over to the officers. They claimed that since the fences were locked, they could not enter the premises, and called their sergeant...

GOT $10 MILLION?

(7/10/06) The developer put the property up for sale, with an asking price of $10 million. The Juniper Park Civic Association is asking Mayor Michael Bloomberg to allocate city funds toward purchase of the property or to use eminent domain to save it, as was done for other historic properties.

(6/29/06) The appellate division has denied Maspeth Development, LLC's request to overturn the temporary restraining order that prohibits demolition of St. Saviour's Church until a ruling is made by the lower court.

(6/10/06) Juniper Park Civic Association was successful in court on Wednesday, June 7th, 2006, and the temporary restraining order halting the demolition of St. Saviour's Church complex has been extended until the next hearing scheduled for June 28th, 2006.

JPCA OBTAINS TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST ST. SAVIOUR'S OWNER

(5/17/06) On Monday, May 15th, 2006, Juniper Park Civic Association, West Maspeth Local Development Corporation, former St. Saviour's parishioners and adjacent property owners obtained a temporary restraining order from New York State Supreme Court against Maspeth Development LLC which prevents them from proceeding with their planned demolition of St. Saviour's Church.

Also on Monday, the developer's attorney, Patrick Jones, met with Councilman Tony Avella to discuss a solution, but according to the Councilman, "they did not bring anything to the table."

Support for saving St. Saviour's continues to grow, with Assemblywoman Audrey Pfeffer added to the list of people calling on the Landmarks Preservation Commission to calendar the property.

(5/8/06) The Juniper Park Civic Association and Four Borough Neighborhood Alliance held a joint press conference on Saturday, May 6th 2006, which was attended by more than 100 neighborhood residents. Councilman Tony Avella was the featured speaker, and he issued a warning to the developer who wants to tear down Maspeth’s historic St. Saviour’s Church in order to build 70 or more housing units.

Contact: Robert Holden, President, Juniper Park Civic Association
Tel: 718-651-5865
Email: rholden@junipercivic.com

Contact: Christina Wilkinson, Chair, JPCA Committee to Save St. Saviour’s
Tel: 718-909-3831
Email: nutrichris@rcn.com

St. Saviour’s Church was founded in 1847 atop a hill in Maspeth, Queens, on land donated by U.S. Congressman and Maspeth pioneer, James Maurice. Renowned architect, Richard Upjohn, who designed the landmark Trinity Church in Manhattan, also designed St. Saviour’s in a style copied from a church the Maurice family saw while on a trip to Europe.

Christabel Gough of the Society for Architecture of the City stated that she will be resubmitting a request for evaluation to the Landmarks Preservation Commission based on the fact that the church and parsonage are unique Upjohn works. (The JPCA’s original application was rejected by landmarks in March because the church was altered after a 1970 fire.) She showed the crowd a book written by Upjohn that detailed the proper way to build a wooden country church and parsonage in his signature Gothic Revivalist style. The sketches in the book show designs almost exactly like those of the St. Saviour’s building complex.

There is a stipulation in the original deed stating that the land may only be used for the purposes of a church. Councilman Avella last year introduced a bill to the City Council that would allow deeds to be registered with the Department of Buildings, who would have the authority to enforce any restrictive covenants. Currently, civic associations must bring expensive lawsuits in order to ensure that deed restrictions are enforced. The Juniper Park Civic Association is contemplating legal action to save the church.

“If we have to file a lawsuit to save St. Saviour’s, we will,” said Juniper Park Civic Association President Robert Holden.

Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi also attended the press conference to lend his support toward saving the church. Councilman Dennis Gallagher, who represents the district, did not attend and did not send a representative.

Robert Furman, President of the Four Borough Neighborhood Alliance, advised the crowd, “Take note of which of your elected representatives did not turn out today and send them a message next time they run for office by not voting for them.”

St. Saviour’s Church is located at 57-40 58th Street in Maspeth, Queens.

St. Savior's Church (in center in the photo) was built in 1847 on Rust Street and 57th Drive in Maspeth and is surrounded by the remnants of a large undeveloped tract known as the Maurice Woods after a prominent colonial-era Queens family. It is imminently scheduled to be torn down, and the woods razed, to make way for 35 to 40 3-family houses, which will no doubt be of cheap, utilitarian construction with exposed air conditioners and water meters.

Such houses are now deemed more desirable in our neighborhoods, as the last traces of our history are obliterated while officials do nothing.

Despite inclement weather, members of the communities of Maspeth and Middle Village came out to rally to save St. Savior's Church in West Maspeth. The protest was directed primarily at Maspeth Federal Savings, the bank which holds the mortgage on the St. Savior's property, and whose president, Kenneth Rudzewick, recently called the 1847 church "decrepit" and not worthy of landmarking.

Members of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, Queens Preservation Council and Committee to Save the RKO Keith's Theater joined the protest in solidarity. Councilman Tony Avella, a traditional ally of historic preservation and downzoning and foe of overdevelopment, was on hand to lend his support. Unfortunately, Councilman Dennis Gallagher, Assemblywoman Marge Markey, State Senator Serphin Maltese and U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez, who actually represent the district, were all no-shows. The rally started in front of Maspeth Federal Savings, where protesters chanted, "SAVE ST. SAVIOR'S! STOP OVERDEVELOPMENT!"

A former parishioner, holding a crucifix that once belonged to St. Savior's, led the marchers down Grand and Maspeth Avenues to the site of the church. Once there, the group discovered that frustrated neighborhood residents had spray-painted pleas for help on the construction fence asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Maspeth Federal Savings and Councilman Dennis Gallagher to help save part of their history. FNY's Christina Wilkinson, a lifelong Maspeth resident, pointed out that St. Savior's founder, James Maurice, a politician who represented the area in Congress, gave much to his community, while today's politicians accept campaign contributions from unscrupulous developers and then sit by and allow them to ruin their neighborhoods.

Juniper Park Civic Association has obtained a copy of the mortgage issued to Maspeth Development LLC by Maspeth Federal Savings. The following language is in the document:

"No buildings, fixtures or personal property covered by this mortgage shall be removed or demolished without the written consent of the lender."

Simply stated, Maspeth Federal has to approve of the demolition of the buildings on the property in writing. There is no proof that they have done so. They need to be asked.

Also, there is this:

"The real property is not principally improved or to be improved by one or more structures containing in the aggregate more than six residential dwelling units, each dwelling unit having its own separate cooking facilities."

This means that the property can only be used for a total of 6 housing units. So how the developer has been able to publicly propose building 35-40 homes, containing a total of 71 units, in violation of the mortgage agreement, with no one at Maspeth Federal so much as batting an eyelash is a very good question.

After reviewing the mortgage documents, two attorneys have verified that the information I have written above is correct.

MFS's slogan is, "we treat you like family," so I can't imagine that they would hurt the citizens of Maspeth, many of whom are their customers, by allowing the demolition of one of our most beloved landmarks followed by overdevelopment of the land. The borrower agreed to the terms listed in the mortgage; all Maspeth Federal has to do is enforce them.

MASPETH FEDERAL SAVINGS CAN PUT AN END TO THE DEMOLITION IMMEDIATELY.

I will be alerting the media, but as MFS takes out full page ads in many of the local papers, it is a safe bet that you will see little to no coverage of this revelation.

It is therefore completely up to us to take action. Give Maspeth Federal's president, Kenneth Rudzewick, a call and let him know that you expect him to make sure that the rules in the mortgage agreement are enforced. Tell him that if he doesn't, you will be closing your accounts and taking your business elsewhere. If you don't have an account there, tell him that you will advise all of your friends and associates to avoid doing business with Maspeth Federal Savings. The number is (718) 335-1300. If you cannot get through to him, leave a message with whoever answers the phone. Trust me, it will get back to him. Even if permission to demolish was granted by the bank, the bank can rescind it, and should do so based on the fact that the owner plans to put more houses on the property than is allowed. Also send e-mails to mipal@maspethfederal.com, krudzewick@maspethfederal.com or gfilip@maspethfederal.com and CC me at nutrichris@rcn.com.

Please pass this on to others who want to save St. Savior's. You may have heard, there is nothing more we can do, from other "community leaders." These same people also said that there was no doubt that we were going to have a Home Depot instead of a park on Grand Avenue and that we wouldn't be able to stop the Cross Harbor Tunnel, so please ignore the naysayers. This fight is far from over, but we need your unwavering support in order to achieve a successful outcome.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

Christina Wilkinson

Chairperson

Juniper Park Civic Association

Committee to Save St. Saviorís

A landmark status request for the St. Savior's property was filed by the Juniper Park Civic Association on January 16, 2006. To date we have not received a response from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Robert Tierney, Commissioner.

We now understand that a demolition permit was issued on the property.

St. Savior's (Gothic style church), constructed out of redwood, was copied from an old English country church that the Maurice family (Maspeth pioneers) had seen on their European trip. The building was designed for St. Savior's by the architect of Trinity Church, Manhattan, Richard Upjohn, and the cornerstone was laid on November 1, 1847. The Bishop of Western New York, the Right Reverend William DeLancey, consecrated the new church on June 28, 1848.

The structure (and property) is rich in history and significance to the community.

Borough President Helen Marshall
Email: info@queensbp.org
Fax No: (718) 286-2876



			Christina received an award from the Juniper Park Civic Association as she leads the fight to save a 159-year-old church.
	ST. SAVIOUR'S. Christina Wilkinson chronicles the perilous predicament of this endangered 1847 classic