Thursday, January 24, 2008

Beginning of the end for St. Saviour's

Looks like a demo company located around the corner from St. Saviour's is planning to knock the place down. Always Fast, who illegally demolished the parsonage last month, frequently gets smacked with violations, at least once attempted to knock down the wrong building, and has a tendency to generally piss people off, has been chosen by foreign developers Scott Kushnick and Tomer Dafna to destroy the Richard Upjohn designed church, built in 1847 and founded by forefathers of Maspeth. A special thank you to Mayor Bloomberg and DOB Commissioner Patricia Lancaster for allowing them to get away with anything short of murder at this site. Oh wait, they did kill baby birds and trees. My bad.

Let's sit back and watch while our elected officials, community board 5 and all the citywide preservation groups who claim they are in favor of saving St. Saviour's rally together to save this place. I'm sure it will happen. God knows how much they care.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Duh.....uh.....
"Calling LPC, HDC, CECPP
and the rest of the alphabet soup out there" !

"Oh.....the line is busy......we'll try later operator" !

I guess they ARE BUSY elsewhere !

A pox on all your houses !

Anonymous said...

If St. Saviour's gets torn down.....
SO WILL THE LANDMARKS LAW !

Anonymous said...

St Saviour - Poster child example of cleansing the very best architectural structures of Queens. Classic case of how to advance the deterioation of the fine town character of Queens.

faster340 said...

I thought the government was for the people?

I guess not. The dollars a corporation generates for the coffers of the government is more important than a persons/neighborhoods happiness and well being.

We vote them into office, they do what they want. Something is wrong with this picture. Aren't the voters the actual people that the government is supposed to support and work for? Big business shouldn't be supported at all because money is just paper. People are living beings.

I guess that's why there are revolutions in other countries. I don't know.

Excerpt from The Declaration of Independence.

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"

"deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" -

"With the consent of the governed" - I think this phrase has been totally forgotten...

Once again we lose and big business wins. I will make sure I don't vote for any of these people come election day.

There was a movie called "Brewsters Millions" and in that movie he used his money which he had to spend on a campaign "Vote for none of the above"....

I wish someone would do that in this day and age. I would surely vote in that direction.

Anonymous said...

I bet they never piad those fines b/c Lancaster probably cut them one of her 'special deals'.

I hope her 'special deal' will involve handcuffs.

Anonymous said...

Failures in leadership:

Marge Markey
Serf Maltese
Melinda Katz
Anthony Weiner
Joe Crowley
Eliot Spitzer
Michael Bloomberg

All chose allegiance to an indicted rapist instead of to their constituents. All will pay when they run for their next election. This is not a threat. It's a promise.

Anonymous said...

I am reminded of the scene in Gangs of New York, when Bill the Butcher and his band of Know Knothings descended on the Old St. Patrick Church with the intent of burning it to the ground. They were met by the Irish and their allies at the church who were equally determined to save it at any cost.
Such symbolism. I wish it would happen here, but in my heart I know it won't.
That is why they will win. They know that all we have are words and they have the power.
I can only hope that this action will be a turning point for Queens. Rest in peace St. Saviour's.

Anonymous said...

While you are throwing blame around, why don't you blame those that torpedoed the compromise that would have saved the church and built houses around it?

Queens Crapper said...

Thanks for bringing that up again. I actually have the inside scoop on that. It will all be revealed tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I hope Gallagher's boy Patrick posts something stupid about this, because Crappy is gonna reveal the truth and kick some serious ass in a few short hours.

Anonymous said...

Nice touch.....the use of the British "U"
in the spelling of "neighbouring".....
to give the "event"some "class".....perhaps ?

The ghosts of St. Saviour's
are licking their chops in anticipation
of the revenge they'll be taking on these criminals !

Anonymous said...

Denis got off the hook about an hour after this demo permit was posted.

Tell me the two are not connected.

Time to overturn the landmarks law. This law has to be ripped open from inside out and tossed on the table.

Anonymous said...

yo, asswipes, the DOB permits were not issued "yet" to Demo the Church.
However it is not listed as a Landmark!! Druggies and Junkies go to St Saviours for some privacy. Who the f%$# wants that old, useless, deteriorated, dangerous piece of junk. Are the close neighbors serious about it? That large property will not produce any income to the city if it's converted to a park or public space. What's the point in saving what used to be a Korean church?
Get real, it's 2008, Maspeth is not a NICE place; run down, old homes, lots of warehouses, C'mon get smart, new development means higher property values for the neighborhood, more tax revenue, and less dead empty space.
Fine Town Character of Queens??????

Anonymous said...

Queens Crapper, how do you determine the demo of the Parsonage was illegal? They had all the pertinent permits approved by Landmark, DOB, DEP, DOT B.E.S.T and QC Board #5.
The fact that they got a violation does not constitute and illegal Demo.
Which that violation you posted was just written by some dumb boy and not approved by DOB.
Got to be carefull when you make statements!!!!!

Queens Crapper said...

So, I guess if you park in a bus stop and get a violation, you didn't park illegally, either.

Anonymous said...

I spoke with the expediter, actually a nice guy, said the permits were approved, should have them by Mon or Tues. Demo should commence about a week after. Maybe 10-12 days to say goodbye.....

Anonymous said...

Instead of demolishing the church, why not move it to another location in Maspeth? A perfect place would be the green space where the old gas tanks were. This way, the church would still stand with all of its historical value and would stay in the community. The developers only want the land and the politians only want the money from the developers. If the church is moved, everybody wins. Comments?

faster340 said...

"Instead of demolishing the church, why not move it to another location in Maspeth?"

Good idea. But the problem with this is that it is too easy. Something like this suggestion definitely would solve some problems but from past performance by the City of NY doesn't show that this would fly because it's too easy of a solution.

MASPETH NATIVE said...

DON'T YOU SEE THE BIG PICTURE??? Longtime residents of this county have no say as to what happens to our community. We are being pushed out by newcommers and they are taking over. St. Saviour's is just the latest theft of our history.

Anonymous said...

There are still happen to be some souls
(and their bodies)
buried in the churchyard!

Are they also to be sensitively exhumed
and respectfully re-interred elsewhere?

Anonymous said...

Taking a huge financial "bath"
(on his other projects)....
the "developer" will prbably
high tail it back to Israel....
if they'll have that "gonniff " (thief) back.....
and Pinky will ultimately get his !

I bite my thumb on it!

Anonymous said...

Instead of demolishing the church, why not move it to another location in Maspeth? A perfect place would be the green space where the old gas tanks were. This way, the church would still stand with all of its historical value and would stay in the community. The developers only want the land and the politians only want the money from the developers. If the church is moved, everybody wins. Comments?

-------------

Lets move Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian, the Washington Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial all to Maryland, and call it 'Government Park.'

Then we can free up all that land in downtown Washington for development.

Umm, nitwit, there is something about the BUILDING sited on its LOCATION.

Why in the hell does Queens attract these types?

Anonymous said...

Before the dust even settles....
there will be hell to pay!

That demonic duo "councilman/developer"
have sealed their fate in eternity!

Anonymous said...

While you are throwing blame around, why don't you blame those that torpedoed the compromise that would have saved the church and built houses around it?

----------

The clubhouse/developer complex always knows how to divide a community - have the underlings betray their insurgent leadership with 'sensible' ideas.

"Now what color can we suggest you paint the door .... sir?"

Anonymous said...

HEY GENIUS: Who torpedoed the compromise that would have saved the church and built houses around it?

No compromise was ever presented to the community.

Gallagher says he was working on his pro-developer plan and it backfired due to the housing market slump. That comes directly from the Israeli developer's mouth.

Now that crook Gallagher is going around saying the Juniper Valley Civic is responsible.

Keep talking Mr. Councilman, the more lies you spew the more the ghosts of St. Saviour's will pay you back.

Can you say re-indictment?

Anonymous said...

*URGENT*

TWO EMERGENCY MEASURES TO TAKE WHEN FACED WITH THE UPCOMING DEMOLITION OF ST.SAVIOUR'S:

1. TRANSPORT THE CHURCH ELSEWHERE AND THEN FIGHT FOR THE LAND. (THINK OF THE MOONDANCE DINER)

-OR-

2. SUE ONCR MORE ON THE BASIS OF THE ORIGINAL DEED, AND SEEK A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION PROHIBITING DEMOLITION.

EITHER DO ONE OF THE ABOVE, OR THIS WILL BE A CASE WHERE HISTORY GOES TO HELL, AND THE MAJORITY OF CITIZENS ARE RAPED BY ITS LOSS, AS WELL AS THE BIRDS & TREES WHICH HAVE POTENTIAL TO GROW BACK. LET THIS BE LAND FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY, THE DEPARTED TO REST IN THEIR GRAVES, AND FOR A BIT OF HARMONY IN QUEENS... THE POLITICIANS' & (FOREIGN) DEVELOPERS' ECONOMIC WASTELAND (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF AVELLA).

Anonymous said...

Walter Sanchez, it's 10pm, do you know where Tammy is?

Anonymous said...

She's with John's friend.

Anonymous said...

Let's fly in a voodoo priestess from New Orleans
to put a curse on all those SOBs who have a hand
in this wanton destruction of our history.

Instruct her to use rusty pins
when she fashions the effigies of the perps!

And stick it too 'em slowly !

Heh, heh, heh.......very slowly !

Anonymous said...

Don't use the "Moondance Diner"
as an example of a successful outcome.

It got moved to the mid west somewhere ....
very far away from NYC where it won't be seen.

It might have well have been demolished!

That was a big joke or somebody's vanity cause!
(And it wasn't one of the better architectural examples
of the genre either) .

Anonymous said...

I understand that Simeon Bankoff
has requested video footage of the destruction
of St. Saviour's when it occurs
to be sent to HDC so they can use it as an example
and make a big thing of it.

With all due respect......
just what will that accomplish after the fact?

Anonymous said...

Jerry,

1. This is not a correct summary of what was discussed at a private Board meeting.

2. If you were really curious and not just trying to stir up the usual anonymous HDC-bashing on the board, you could ask personally. My email is sbankoff@hdc.org, and my phone number is 212 614-9107.

Anonymous said...

As I recall, Simeon asked me to take video footage of the demolition for use as a "shame cam". I don't recall any talk of proactive action to prevent the demolition.

Anonymous said...

I wish you would have been as quick to pull out
ALL THE STOPS defending St. Saviour's......
as you do in scoping "Queens Crap" for comments
that criticize your actions or disagree with your efforts.

And since when is asking you a question
to be regarded as HDC bashing ?

So I ask you again.....
Just what will that accomplish after the fact?

Now you can be as pissed off at me as you like.

Anonymous said...

Crappy, what's your response to my advice? Don't take on a defeatist attitude. The citizens stand firm behind you.