A neighborhood in Queens is hoping for a $6 million miracle to breathe new life into a cherished church that was dismantled almost twenty years ago and is currently languishing in a local cemetery.
For over 160 years, St. Saviour’s Church was a beloved landmark in Maspeth. However, in 2008, its wooden facade and beautiful stained-glass windows were carefully taken apart to make room for a new warehouse.
Today, the pieces of this Carpenter Gothic-style Episcopal Church are still in existence, stored in a pair of trailers just two miles away at All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village.
“It’s heartbreaking to see it just sitting there for the last 18 years, falling into ruin,” said Paul Pogozelski, president of the Middle Village Residents Association. “If we leave it for another 18 years, it might be too late to rebuild.”
Efforts by politicians, preservationists, and community leaders to secure a new location and the estimated $6 million needed for reconstruction have consistently fallen short.
The project is currently at a standstill as the cemetery seeks to remove the trailers from its grounds. The cemetery operators have expressed interest in using the land for more profitable ventures, such as establishing a battery storage facility.
The cemetery would welcome having the church rebuilt on another part of its property for use as a chapel, James McClelland, the cemetery’s treasurer, told the Middle Village Residents Association during a Feb. 3 meeting.
“We’re willing to find a spot on our property, but we can’t do it without financial support,” said McClelland, who estimated the cost to restore the church between $6 million to $7 million.
Members of the New York Landmarks Conservancy inspected the trailers Jan. 22 and issued a report saying much of the wood inside “appeared to be in good condition.”
Among the significant rebuilding challenges is replacing some wood charred in a 1970 fire.
Judge David Jones, son-in-law of former NYC Mayor and NY Governor DeWitt Clinton, organized the church, which Robert Upjohn, the architect behind Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, designed. Built from redwood, St. Saviour’s opened in 1847 along what is now Rust Street and 57th Drive.
After St. Saviour’s merged with another nearby church in the mid-1990s, it was sold to San Sung Korean Methodist Church for a reported $450,000. In 2005, the Korean church flipped the site for $7.5 million to a developer who intended to demolish what was then Masbeth’s oldest building.
Local pols and activists rallied to save the church, but fell short trying to convince the city to purchase it or protect it through landmark designation.
But ex-Councilman Bob Holden, then president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, was able to cut an 11th-hour deal in 2008 protecting the church from turning to rubble.
The moderate Queens Democrat helped raise $250,000 and worked with the conservancy and other volunteer groups to carefully dismantle the church and create blueprints for its reconstruction.
The JPCA cut a deal with the cemetery to store the timbers in trailers at All Faith’s at no charge. The JPCA’s leaders now contend the potential rebirth of St. Savior’s is being used by rival political factions and civic groups to score points with voters.
Councilman Phil Wong (D-Queens), Holden’s predecessor and ally, told The Post he’s had positive talks with Mayor Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin about trying to secure funding to save the church and is “focused on results — not drama.”
“The last thing this community needs is people who’ve never been part of this effort suddenly trying to insert themselves for attention,” added Wong, without naming names.
