Final Prayers for the Green Church?
The battle to save the 109-year-old Bay Ridge United Methodist Church, otherwise known as the Green Church, may be lost. Though 1,179 signatures were gathered supporting the church’s preservation and delivered to State Senator Martin Golden in June, his office told the Brooklyn Paper, “Sen. Golden believes it will take a financial angel to save…
The battle to save the 109-year-old Bay Ridge United Methodist Church, otherwise known as the Green Church, may be lost. Though 1,179 signatures were gathered supporting the church’s preservation and delivered to State Senator Martin Golden in June, his office told the Brooklyn Paper, “Sen. Golden believes it will take a financial angel to save [it].” No angels have appeared. Instead, a Brooklyn Paper photographer spied folks whisking away architectural salvage items from the church in an Olde Good Things (a Flea vendor) truck in August. It is the pastor himself, Robert Emerick, who wants to see the building demolished, in favor of a smaller building (this one is in need of repairs and difficult and expensive to maintain, he says) and condos. Already, a demolition request has been filed with the DOB, though they rejected plans for a seven-story, 72-unit apartment building, 42-car parking lot and smaller church on the site. Still, the feeling among both sides is that it’s a temporary stay. One politician still willing to fight for it is Councilman Vincent Gentile. Kathy Walker, a member of the Committee to Save the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church, told us, “There isn’t much folks can do at this point except contacting Councilman Gentile and telling him he has their support and vote.” In the meantime, some spirit of cooperation persists; the 30 members of the church are worshiping nearby, at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd on the corner of 74th Street and 4th.
Salvage Crews Move in on Green Church [Brooklyn Paper]
There’s a similar situation (or two) in Queens. The difference is that the pastor is not involved in the pillaging.
The community tried to get it landmarked, serveral years ago, and tried again recently, but it was never calandered.
Something is not right, because the Church is still the owner of the property. They’re the ones that filed the demo application, not the developer. HHHMMMMM. Maybe, the developer doesn’t want to be known for demolishing a church??
There was a crypt there with bodies dating to the early 1800’s..that was dug up and moved monthes ago.
I’m very saddened by this, not because it’s a church, but because it’s architecture. It has such a great facade of green ashlar stone.
I am also sorry to see it go. It is on a National Historic Register list but not on the NYC landmarks list so there is no protection. I understand there it is on the list to get the protection but due to red tape it never happened in time. I think Vincent Gentile tried to get it moved up in the list to no avail. What shame such a treasure will be lost. There is so much potential as a community venue.
there was an offer to purchase this for an adaptable re-use…commuity center, theater, etc. The offer was refused. There is a lot of dirty things going on with this property. The developer is…never mind, before I get into trouble.
The best way to preserve historic buildings is to buy them. If you want to save something, you need to put your money where your mouth is. Judging from its appearance, this building was once owned by a thriving congregation that either died out or went away. Unless another church group purchases it as a place of worship, it really has no future.
why isn’t there landmarking? not enough people care about it?
I have watched this unfold. It’s a very dire situation at this point. After many years of fighting to save this historic church from demolition, the days are numbered.
It’s a shame what’s going on in Bay Ridge with the demolition of great architectural houses for brick buildings. We need landmarking.