Mamdani’s NYC Moves To Quickly Demolish Historic Church Burned In Suspected Arson Attack

The FDNY believes the fire that burned a Brooklyn church built in 1853 was intentionally set, and New York City officials began the demolition of the building on Tuesday despite the congregation’s objections.

After flames engulfed the South Bushwick Reformed Church, an active congregation, on June 19, church engineers said that the building required only a partial demolition, but the NYC Department of Buildings pushed for a full demolition, originally scheduling it for August. Now, the Department of Buildings, headed by Ahmed Tigani — a practicing Muslim — is demolishing the historic building this week, according to Brownstoner.

During a Zoom meeting on Monday, which included representatives from the Department of Buildings, the church, and others, the city said demolition would begin this week. City officials have maintained that the church’s engineers never provided a plan to “safely stabilize the structure” that would allow a partial demolition instead of a full teardown. Dina Alfano of the Bushwick Historic Preservation Association, who has worked with the church to save the historic landmark, said the new deadline was impossible to meet.

“That left us basically less than half a day to try to get a team in there to get them the remaining information they needed,” Alfano said. “The long and the short of it is that it just wasn’t possible with the time constraints to get them what they wanted.”

In a statement on Tuesday, the church’s pastor, James Steward, lamented: “It is with extremely heavy hearts that the South Bushwick Church reports that, despite its best efforts, we have been informed that demolition of the remaining structures at 855 Bushwick will commence tomorrow.”

Steward was told that a full demolition would likely strip the property of its landmark status. Without that protection, the cleared lot could be sold to a developer — and because the cost of the teardown is expected to exceed the $15,000 raised through the church’s GoFundMe, the congregation may be left unable to rebuild and forced to sell. The fundraiser was originally started to save and rebuild the building.

Upon hearing that the FDNY was investigating arson, Steward said that the church has “no known enemies” and that learning the fire was intentionally set has deepened the community’s grief. Until the fire, the church community met weekly in the historic building, which was also used as an event space and food pantry. 

The church building was prized for its combination of the Greek Revival style and Georgian-inspired tower and steeple. Its first congregation was made up of 20 families from neighboring farms. The building also anchored the community that grew around it. As one of only eight “wooden landmarked houses of worship in New York City,” the church hosted community events, such as “youth performing arts classes, vocal academies, open mic nights, and an art expo.”

The loss of an influential building that had fostered a strong community has left residents heartbroken and confused. 

“I think it’s messed up. This church has been here forever. My aunt got married in this church,” local resident Marcel Sanabria told CBS News.

Helena Munoz, another community member, said the tragedy was “incredibly upsetting.”

“If it is arson then that would be really shocking and upsetting because, like you said, it’s an historic landmark and it means a lot to people,” Munoz added.