In the nearly two years since a massive six alarm fire destroyed all but the facade of the Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue in the East Village, church officials have spent more than $4 million to prepare the area for possible construction to rebuild the neighborhood church.
However, Rev. Jacqui Lewis, who has been with Middle Collegiate Church since 2004, said that while the facade appears to be in good shape, her church may be forced to find a new home if the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission rules that the facade must stay.
What You Need To Know
- The facade of historic Middle Collegiate Church was the only part that wasn’t destroyed by a massive fire on Dec. 5, 2020
- Church officiasl have tried to preserve the facade but were informed by engineers it is not structurally safe
- The church is waiting on a decision by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to decide whether it will approve its request to rebuild from scratch
“We can’t do it, we can’t make it work, our engineers say it’s dangerous,” Rev. Lewis said. “We’re not going to do something unsafe to save bricks. We want to do something safe that saves the lives of the people in the community who need our love and support.”
Since the plot of land where the church has been located since the 1890s is part of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, church officials hope when the commission reconvenes a week from Tuesday that it will review and approve the church’s application to rebuild from scratch.
“On Dec. 6, the Landmarks Commission will have a chance to determine the next part of our story,” Rev. Lewis said. “Because our story can not happen on this site with that facade deteriorating and devolving.”
At a virtual hearing last week for the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, commissioners heard public comment from the church’s architect and engineers
Commissioners also heard comments from organizations like the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, which said while it is certainly sympathetic to the challenges that the church has faced since the fire on Dec. 5, 2020, it hopes every Avenue is explored to preserve the facade of the historic church.
“The demolition of the church, which has served as both an architectural and spiritual Beacon for over a century would have a huge impact on the community as well as the special character of this very important historic district,” said Richard Moses of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative.
Church officials said due to the high cost of real estate, it is unlikely that they could rebuild their church at another location in the East Village.