By Nathan Duke
Community and civic leaders have been fighting to preserve the church for nearly two years. The church was close to being razed after the city approved a permit to knock down the structure earlier this year. But Maspeth Development LLC, the property's owner, has agreed to give the Juniper Park Civic Association one month to move the church's building off the property.As part of the move, demolition crews began taking down parts of the 160-year-old church's roof and interior last weekend and the complete removal of the structure is scheduled for completion in early May, said Kai Woo, the principal architect responsible for the church's transfer.Under Kaitsen Woo Architect's schedule, the church will be taken down and stored by May 6. But Woo said the transfer schedule is a “best case scenario” and that a number of factors, such as weather, would determine when the process would be completed.”We would like to try to stick to the schedule we established,” he said. “But it's wishful thinking at this point.”The Juniper Park Civic Association has been discussing a deal for several months with All Faith's Cemetery that would allow the Maspeth church, located at 57-40 58th St., to be moved to a part of its property at 69th Street and Juniper Valley Road, civic leader Robert Holden said.In the meantime, Marshall has joined several elected officials from the community in securing money for the transfer. Marshall announced in early April that she would provide $100,000 to go toward the dismantling, transporting and reassembling of the church.Holden said it would cost $140,000 to move the church and $500,000 to rebuild it. State Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) has also pledged $100,000 for the project, while state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) has secured $50,000.The civic has an agreement with a local storage facility to keep pieces of the building until the civic can raise enough money to pay for its reconstruction, Holden said.Community activists have been fighting for two years to save the church. The civic filed a lawsuit in early 2006 against the Richmond Hill-based developer, who had planned to construct apartment units at the site, on the grounds that James Maurice's 1878 deed for the property limited its usage for church or community use.Demolition appeared imminent after the city issued a permit in February to a contractor allowing it to tear down the building. But the developer agreed last month to allow the civic to remove the church building from the site.Juniper Park Secretary Christina Wilkinson, who has led the fight to preserve the church, said the civic is trying to get a state preservation loan to pay for the transfer until pledge money from elected officials comes through.”I don't have a sense of impending doom anymore, but now there are a whole other set of things to worry about,” she said. “We were at the edge of our seat. But it's less worrying now about whether the church will get knocked down.”Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
