“We still don’t even have the answers to what happened,” Monika Judkins told me, less than a week after a massive fire tore through the landmarked South Bushwick Reformed Church (855 Bushwick Ave.) on June 20.
“It was the remaining beacon,” said Dina Alfano, co-founder of the Bushwick Historic Preservation Association. “It let people know where they were on Bushwick Avenue.”
A more recent concern, in the week since the fire, is the move by New York City’s Department of Buildings to inspect the remains of the space for asbestos, a process that could involve an emergency demolition of the church’s remains “if needed,” said Judkins, the church’s music and worship director, as well as sister-in-law to James E. Steward II, pastor of the congregation since 2013.
“While asbestos abatement work has been conducted at the property in the past, we are concerned that the current demolition schedule is moving forward without allowing sufficient time to address any remaining abatement needs or other environmental and safety considerations that may be necessary before demolition,” Judkins wrote me, the night before the first of these inspections was set to commence.
At a Friday morning inspection led by the DOB (also attended by the members of the Fire Department and Community Board 4 chairman Robert Camacho), Judkins recounted that, in earlier phone calls, the DOB advocated for a hasty demolition, but did not state that in writing. DOB representatives onsite did not offer comment and refused press entry onto the premises, currently fenced with plywood.
Judkins told me she was concerned that the church’s prized possessions may be lost to a hasty demolition. “The organ is still intact. And so is the 120-year-old piano that’s in the hall… Our altar was intact too.”
An expedited demolition would also hinder any investigation into the fire’s origin, she says, which has remained a mystery. New York City’s Fire Department has not completed an investigation into the origins of the fire, but Judkins has her suspicions.
“There is no electricity in the spot where the fire started. And that’s why we felt something wasn’t right, and that it needed to be investigated, that it possibly was someone who set the flame,” she said. Eyewitnesses saw someone running from the church as the fire started. “Something is not right,” said Judkins.
It didn’t help that local developers had been closely watching one of the last parts of the area that has yet to be redeveloped.
“I understand the building is landmarked. Are you still interested in selling the property? I currently represent a buyer who would be interested in purchasing and is familiar with landmarked properties,” Gregory Bartlett, principal at RBM Brokerage, had written to Steward just last month. What the broker had in mind is unclear, as de-designating a landmarked building is exceedingly rare.
An empty plot is precious in Bushwick, where asking prices for homes are reaching seven figures. On Friday, Steward said he was receiving “At least 10 [calls] per day.” He advised he had not returned any developer’s call.
“Very sorry to hear about the fire over the weekend,” wrote Anthony Gagliano, a broker with Strategic Realty Partners. “The idea is for the development team to take on the cost and responsibility of reconstructing the church’s superstructure and exterior envelope… In exchange, they would seek to acquire certain development rights associated with the property.” Gagliano sent the email two days after the fire.
“We do not want to sell,” Judkins told me. “Never did, never will.”
“[The Landmarks Preservation Commission is] trying to scare us,” Judkins said. “One of the engineers… was saying to us, that ‘If y’all want to redevelop, I’m right here.’ They’re trying to push redevelopment on us and we’re nowhere in that space to do that.”
Judkins estimates the cost of rebuilding to be at least $2 million. The church has already begun fundraising for it: “We want to rebuild it exactly as it was, steeple and all.” The church’s insurance plan, per Judkins, will not cover the cost of repair.
“Unfortunately, last week’s fire has left the historic church building at 855 Bushwick Avenue in a state of potential collapse. We have been in close communication with church leadership since the fire occurred, providing guidance on what,” read a statement from Ryan Degan, a Deputy Press Secretary at the NYC Department of Buildings. “We have been in close communication with church leadership since the fire occurred, providing guidance on what steps they can take to either stabilize the remaining structure or safely demolish it entirely in the interest of public safety.”
In the meeting earlier Friday, agency officials had met with leaders of the congregation and “discussed their plans moving forward, and the urgent need for their contracted engineer to take immediate action to either stabilize or demolish the building.”
While demolition appears likely for the church, the parish wants to maintain a presence at Bushwick and Himrod. The church’s adjoining rectory (not landmarked), she says, had been largely undamaged by the fire (“just water damage”) and she estimates that a service of at least a few hundred people could fit in there.
“Even if you’re rebuilding, it’s not the same,” said Alfano, from the Bushwick Historic Preservation Association Every building, an Argo. Every empty plot, a newbuild.
“I remember one time, about eight years ago… and somebody knocked on the door and he said he wanted to talk about selling the church and this house,” recalled Judkins. “And I said, ‘We’re not selling and we’re not planning to, ever.’ And he said, ‘Well, we can get around that, somehow.’”
Photos by Andrew Karpan.
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