July 18, 1902 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle article about United Methodist

Taken from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online

Campaign to save the steeples

Existing                        and                     Proposed

I am continuing the campaign, started by media agencies such as Sheepshead Bites, the Daily News and the New York Times, to publicize the planned removal of the steeples at United Methodist Church in Sheepshead Bay.

Any interested parties can contact me so that I can send this letter out on their behalf to everyone I can possibly think of in an effort to discover funding options which do not appear to have been pursued by the parish yet.

I really believe that the greater Sheepshead Bay community loves this building and does not want to see it changed.  Regardless of whether we belong to the parish, it belongs to our collective memory of the neighborhood. Therefore, I am also distributing surveys to the local community to collect memories/stories about the church or the building. Anyone interested, please contact me via the comments section.


Please see letter below:

For those of you who would like to copy and paste the above letter, here is the basic text:

_______ __ , 2011

Dear local community leader,

I am writing to express my concern over the removal of the steeples at United Methodist Church in Sheepshead Bay, located at Ocean and Voorhies Avenue.

I hope that by writing to you, you can reach out to the United Methodist Church Board of Trustees and parishioners to advise them that their building is iconic and an essential part of Sheepshead Bay's history as well as part of the neighborhood's present architectural landscape.

I also hope that with publicity the church may find funding to restore them instead of removing them.

Sincerely,

____________________

United Methodist Church

2004 Voorhies Avenue

It's been a week since I learned about the planned removal of the two steeples at United Methodist Church.

I am still trying to figure out what should be done, and can be done to convince the church not to proceed. It appears that the church has not try to obtain funding.

I would like to meet the architect to hear how the scope was determined and particularly why the steeples could not be restored in place, and why the project could not be accomplished in phases to save on costs.  The cost affidavit says the demolition (and I'm assuming the capping work) is $22,000.  We don't know however if the contractor a) is doing it at cost, and b) whether the scope was bid out to many contractors to obtain the best price.

Conapac Services Corp. is the contractor who pulled the sidewalk shed permit. It is not clear whether he will be performing the demolition work since the demo permit was pulled by the architect.

Hotbird

There's a new HotBird right near one of the iridescent, indestructable yellow signs off of Atlantic Avenue.  

At the Clinton Washington G train station, they could have replaced the old wood railing but that wouldn't have been as fun.  Look at the care that went into this. I love it.

333 East 54th Street

Saw this building on my way to a site visit and had to take a photograph on my way back to the train.  A modernist building sneaking in some traditional detailing at the cornice level and some pistachio-colored, french-styled fire escapes.  The colors in the photos don't convey how nice it was, so you'll have trust me.

636-638 Pacific Street

I can't believe this building is gone.  I took these photos April 17, 2009

232 Corbin Place

Change is on it's way. It appears that the house was recently sold. There are signs for pesticide and bait posted on the outside of the house.


The most recent plan exam to build a one family house on the existing foundations was disapproved.

The house second from the left has just been sold. The application to rebuild on the existing foundations has been rejected for now.

Brighton Beach Avenue

1120 and 1150 Brighton Beach Avenue, two amazingly well kept Art Deco buildings lost some of their decorative features on the main roofs.

photo by Emilio Guerra @ flickr

I'm not quite sure what purpose they served.

Coney Island’s Shore Theater Is Named a Landmark

The New York Times reports the landmark designation of the Shore Theater on Surf and Stillwell Avenue.

It is proof that you don't need the owner's approval to get a building designated. While it is usually easier, the Landmarks Preservation Commission knows that community members may understand a structure's significance apart from land value, which is usually the landowner's primary concern, moreso than the building itself.

230 Corbin Place