Washington Heights rallies to save 115-year-old church, community center
Washington Heights community members and elected officials rallied Thursday to save the financially strapped 115-year-old Fort Washington Collegiate Church after leadership announced its closure at the end of June.
The closure — first reported by Crain's — was announced in April following a vote by the consistory of the larger Collegiate Church it belongs to that deemed the branch at 181st St. and Fort Washington Ave. 'no longer sustainable.'
'This community will be changed forever if this place does not exist,' said Annette Padilla, whose family has been part of the congregation for three generations. 'We will not give it up easily.'
Rev. William Critzman, president of the Collegiate Church of New York, told the Daily News the pandemic underscored 'the need for financial sustainability' and that the decision came after three years of searching for viable alternatives.
All worship and programming will end on June 30.
'We know how deeply painful and disappointing this news is,' the Fort Washington Church board said in a statement at the time. 'This church has been a place of love, healing, faith, and belonging for so many, and we understand the heartache this brings to our Fort Washington family and neighborhood.'
The future of the land is unclear, though Critzman said the church 'has no intention of selling the property' and hopes to find a nonprofit tenant to take over. The lot is currently listed as available for lease.
But speakers at Thursday's rain-soaked rally disputed Collegiate leadership's claims.
'We're here not because of self-inflicted financial mismanagement, but we're here because … Collegiate is acting a little bit more like a corporation,' said Johanna Garcia, a congregant and board member.
Local councilmember Carmen De La Rosa said Collegiate 'is not interested in seeing us bring solutions.'
'Asking a working-class community to magically come up with a million dollars, that's inequity,' she said.
The original church was constructed in 1909 and added a new wing as part of a $10 million renovation over a decade ago — but is not landmarked. That leaves the door open for a potentially lucrative redevelopment of the more than half-acre of land, which sits at a bustling subway intersection.
It comes as many other houses of worship across the city — and country — are at a crossroads, faced with dwindling congregations and the lure of real estate opportunities to offset mounting costs.
The inter-denominational Fort Washington congregation is celebrated for its inclusiveness and extensive community programming. Over the years the LGBTQ-friendly space has served as a polling site, hosted choirs, Cub Scouts and Christmas parties, substance abuse support meetings, drag performances and a local synagogue.
It is perhaps best known locally for its public garden and free community fridge, which neighbors regularly lined up for. It's been removed as of Thursday.
Emely Santiago is a 34-year-old social worker and regular congregant who started a petition opposing the closure that has over 1,300 signatures. She is also a member of the new 'Save Fort Washington Collegiate Church' coalition, which attributes the impending closure to mismanagement.
'A lot of these decisions, we feel, were done behind closed doors with little transparency and almost no regard for the people who could really be affected,' she said. 'We should have a say in what happens in our community, in our backyard, especially when these decisions are being made by individuals who don't live in the neighborhood.'
The larger Collegiate Church claims to be the oldest continuing church in the city, with a footprint dating back to the 17th century. But its four Manhattan branches have struggled in the years since the pandemic.
Perhaps the biggest blow came in 2021, when a multimillion-dollar deal to build an office tower by the Marble Collegiate Church in NoMad fell through after its development partner went bankrupt — a debacle many congregants blamed for the institution's current financial issues.
'If Collegiate truly cares about justice, then its board must start acting like it: by communicating honestly, exercising care in decision-making, and engaging the voices of the community it claims to serve,' Santiago said. 'Let's call it what it is, three rich churches downtown extracting wealth and resources from the lower-income church uptown.'
A second rally is planned for May 20.
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