Community activists need more than prayer to save a historic Queens site – they also need money.
The former site of St. Saviour’s Church in Maspeth might be turned into a warehouse if a deal is struck between Maspeth Development LLC, which owns the 1.5-acre property, and the city.
Supporters have been busy pooling together funds to buy the site, which the owner bought for $6 million. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley have set aside a combined $2 million in funds for the site.
The city’s Parks Department said that they are interested in working with local organizations, residents and elected officials to secure the appropriate funds to acquire at least a portion of the site. They also said that they would need to complete the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and environmental review process, which would authorize the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to negotiate the acquisition of the property on the city’s behalf with the owner.
“We believe that the St. Saviour’s site presents an opportunity for the development of neighborhood park in the Maspeth community,” said a spokesperson for the Parks Department.
The land had been home to an Episcopalian Church until the mid-1990s, when poor attendance caused the congregation to disband and sell the property to a Korean Methodist Church. The Methodists worshipped on the land until 2005, when they sold the property to a development company that intended to demolish the church and build housing on the site. Residents rallied against this plan and, through an agreement with the developer, the church was dismantled and placed in storage in 2008 for future reassembly.
Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said that the ideal outcome would be for the church to be reassembled on the site and used as a museum. He would also like to see a portion of the land be utilized as a community park.
“That property is probably the most historic in all of Queens. It is where settlers first landed in 1642,” said Holden. “Imagine how we would look to future generations if we allowed a warehouse to be built on this historic property.”
Civic activist Christina Wilkinson, who has led the charge to help preserve the site, said that negotiations are ongoing and she remains hopeful the property will be saved.
“The people in the vicinity of the site don’t have any park land,” she said. “It would be better to have something green there than concrete. Green space doesn’t degrade a neighborhood, it only enhances it.”
