Save St. Saviour's!

On March 20, 2008, the Juniper Park Civic Association halted demolition and struck a deal which would preserve the building at another location. Log onto www.junipercivic.com for more information.

To:  Mayor Bloomberg

St. Saviour's Church, located upon Maspeth Hill (57-40 58th Street, Maspeth, NY), was founded by Maspeth pioneers James Maurice, John Van Cott, David Jones and Garrit Furman and designed in a Carpenter Gothic style by one of the country's most well-respected 19th century architects, Richard Upjohn, in 1847. The buildings and grounds together tell the story of the evolution of the town of Maspeth from its earliest days to the present time. Prior to hosting the church, the land, near Newtown Creek, was part of the first European settlement in Queens, which previously was the site of the Mespatches Indian village. An archeological survey of the property likely would reveal many clues to the area's past.

We agree that as an architecturally, historically, environmentally and culturally significant site, St. Saviour's Church complex should be preserved and developed into a city park and museum. The church buildings are the work of a master architect. The land is tied to generations of indigenous people and immigrant settlers. The forested tract upon the property is rare in this heavily industrialized area and host to many birds and animals. Creating a cutural center here, on a site that was continually used by the community for 159 years, would improve the quality of life of area residents.

We respectfully ask that you allocate city funds toward purchase and restoration of the property, which has been put up for sale, or use eminent domain in order to save it, as was done for other historic sites in the past.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Save St. Saviour's! Petition to Mayor Bloomberg was created by Juniper Park Civic Association and written by Christina Wilkinson (nutrichris@rcn.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.