Push to make St. Savior’s a landmark

In the latest developments in the ongoing efforts to save St. Savior’s Church in Maspeth from demolition, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey has petitioned and spoken with New York City Landmarks and Preservation Commissioner Robert Tierney asking him to reexamine the case for the site to be given landmark status.
“Chairman Tierney has assured me that the Landmarks Commission will reexamine its position on the possibility of landmarking St. Savior’s Church,” said Assemblywoman Markey. “Let us hope that the Landmarks Preservation Commission now sees the historical significance of St. Savior’s Church to both Maspeth and all of Queens.”
Markey’s involvement coincides with the most recent attempt by the Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA), who organized a press conference on May 6, with a number of Queens preservation groups in order to present the case for landmarking. The JPCA has been denied twice already by Landmarks and Preservation, but they are hoping that deeds pertaining to the history of the church, which is Maspeth’s oldest standing structure built in 1847 on land donated by former Maspeth Congressman James Maurice, will strengthen the case.
The site is currently under the ownership of Maspeth Development LLC, and the developer is planning to turn the site into residential units. Currently, a bill sits in the City Council that would allow civic groups to register historical deeds with the Department of Buildings, which would prevent demolition of historical sites.
Currently, Queens is home to only 48 of more than 1,000 New York City landmarks, and Markey believes that the borough is often overlooked.
“Today’s fight to save St. Savior’s reminds me much of my struggle to save the abandoned 112th Police Precinct, better known today as Maspeth Town Hall,” Markey said.