From New York Magazine:The playground and rose garden are no more in the southeast corner of the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. They’ve been replaced by pile drivers, whose pounding drowns out the mewling of the peacocks that prowl the church’s lot, called the “close.” Construction has begun on a market-rate rental building, after the failure of a variety of preservationist salvos that included calling for the entire grounds as well as the church to be landmarked. The cathedral’s trustees have signed a 99-year lease with the developers, AvalonBay.
God Is My Landlord
Photo from New York Magazine
12 comments:
Good God! It's early in the morning....but I need "a drink".....and badly !!!!
Well......what can you expect from Episcopalians?
Profits instead of prophets.....eh? !!!!!!
This is sad.
Yet another example of how the preservation movement has lost its way, and never took the steps to convert itself from the white glove Junior League set into a strong political force with deep pockets.
A new generation needs to take over. A tough urban no nonsense crew ready to take on bruising battles with the clubhouse, media, and special interests.
Nah.....a lot of organized religious groups are quickly becoming "profit" instead of "prophet" motivated nowadays!
Many, under the guise of paying for "expensive" historic building upkeep are selling off God's real estate all over the city!
The Catholic Church, for example, has its "buggering" legal defense fund to raise....so on and so forth!
Maybe Chairman Mao was right!
Has religion become "an opiate of the people"?
It's certainly become a more trivialized rather than a transcendental eternal experience!
Nothing lasts anymore....it appears!
It's sad how often an institution's 'trustees' are the least trustworthy people kind of people. I wonder how many are wealthy and connected either politically, or to the real estate industry?
This is a fine example of short-sighted thinking that will someday be cursed by the future neighbors and members of the church.
The only addition I have here is the word "becoming..."
No offense to the few good pious people but ya'll have A LOT to answer for with regard to your scumbag brethren of ALL bullshit-- I mean different-- "faiths."
Do you remember when Trinity Church, for example, was going to sue people post 9/11 for not paying rent on their Ground Zero, unoccupiable buildings?
the tax exemption of churces-- & of evil FOR PROFIT (stop lying) schools like NYU-- is one of the greatest flaws of the system.
Otherwise, you are correct about the needs of preservation but the problem is, "we" tend to be the nice ladies & gentlemen. Once in a while a swell with some specific passion comes along but mostly we're stuck with little more than passion.
Some religious leaders have become the most greedy individuals around. Depriving children of a wonderland & a natural resource for the congested city, only for a rental, is a crime. It's sad how they're manipulating the public, and making religion into something that's strictly a business.
The Cathedral has been taken over by total bureaucrats who have no sense of anything spiritual. Dean Kowalski is barely a priest, and he would be MUCH better fit in a corporate boardroom that a pulpit.
It's a disgrace. They decided to sell sacred space for cash. Who cares about a kids' playground, or a rose garden? What? Do you think this is a CHURCH or something?
Let's clarify a difference, for a moment, between DEEP FAITH (which is truly Holy) and RELIGION (which is and probably always has been....mainly a business) !
Too many religious institutions seem to be more interested in ministering to their "bottom line" nowadays !
The odd thing is that in a country that still regards faith as important, the mainline churches are stuggling.
Yet, other denominations are thriving.
The problem is simple. The churches are going through a cycle where the are serving the needs of their own staff, not the public.
They will work things out - churches look at the cycle of long term over generations.
The shame is that by the time this happens, a good portion of the great interior spaces, one of the finest products of our civilization, will be destroyed.
That is a shame.
Funny thing is that this church is the world's largest unfinished church.
While storefront churches are prospering, giant cathedrals and temples are struggling. A lesson in humility?
Correction:
This is the world's largest (unfinished) GOTHIC STYLE cathedral!
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