A look back at sacred sites in peril pending Dyker church’s demo

St. Rosalia is not the only area church to face demolition.

In 2008, Bay Ridge’s beloved Green Church (aka, the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church) was razed by the congregation, which was poised to sell the site to a developer, after a long community struggle to retain the historic structure. Ultimately, the planned sale fell through and the city eventually purchased the property at Fourth and Ovington Avenues for a school.

Just four years later, in May, 2012, the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church, on Ovington Avenue between Third and Fourth, also was demolished by a developer. Housing was built on that site.

In addition, currently, there are plans to demolish Zion Lutheran Church, at Fourth Avenue and 63rd Street, for a senior/affordable housing development.

St. John’s Episcopal Church, aka the Church of the Generals, is another endangered site. It has been on the market since 2014.

Other area churches that have closed in the past several years include the Fort Hamilton Presbyterian Church, which shut its doors in 2009, and Salem Lutheran Church, which was sold in 2010 to St. Matthew’s Churches, a largely mail order ministry headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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