Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Brooklyn received the biggest Wilson challenge grant in this round at $45,000 towards $2 million comprehensive exterior roof and masonry restoration. The congregation began working with the Conservancy to plan a comprehensive restoration project in 2007.
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
September 16th a tornado swept through portions of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens devastating much in its path including the original spire at Flushing’s St. George’s Episcopal Church
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
Flushing’s St. George’s Episcopal Church
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
St. Paul’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Syracuse
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
During a site visit to review a grant proposal for an urgently needed asphalt shingle roof at St. Paul’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Syracuse, Colleen Heemeyer, Conservancy Manager of Grants and Technical Services, noted a sagging roof ridge and deflected dormer beams.
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
Congregation Tifereth Israel Anshei Greenport was awarded $3,000 for roof replacement.
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
Congregation Tifereth Israel Anshei Greenport
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
The Sisters of Divine Compassion’s Chapel of the Divine Compassion in White Plains received both Wilson Challenge and Sacred Sites grants: a $25,000 challenge grant for slate roof restoration and $4,000 toward roof consultant services to oversee restoration work.
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
The Sisters of Divine Compassion’s Chapel of the Divine Compassion in White Plains
Conservancy Announces $206,500 in Sacred Sites Funding to 17 Religious Properties
The Sisters of Divine Compassion’s Chapel of the Divine Compassion in White PlainsThe Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Committee awarded five Robert W. Wilson Sacred Sites Challenge grants last week—grants made possible by the benefactor Robert Wilson—totaling $150,000. The Sacred Sites Committee also awarded $56,500 in the form of 14 matching grants to 12 religious institutions. This included four grants to support architectural or engineering fees for restoration projects, and 10 grants to support construction costs.
“The Conservancy is pleased to assist these important buildings that mean so much to their congregations, their communities, and our collective history,” said Peg Breen, Conservancy President.
Ranging from $1,500 to $45,000, this round’s Sacred Sites grants stretch from the North Fork of Long Island to Syracuse and many towns in between, for applications submitted in the June 2010 round of funding. The funding helps religious institutions throughout New York State restore stained glass, slate, copper, and shingle roofs, and wood and masonry façades. The grants also help congregations prepare crucial architectural and engineering documents, including one to stabilize sagging roof trusses at St. Paul’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Syracuse. All of these institutions are recognized historic buildings, by inclusion on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places or as designated local landmarks.
Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Brooklyn received the biggest Wilson challenge grant in this round at $45,000 towards $2 million comprehensive exterior roof and masonry restoration. The congregation began working with the Conservancy to plan a comprehensive restoration project in 2007. They interviewed several preservation firms recommended by the Conservancy and selected Walter B. Melvin Architects, LLC to prepare a thorough conditions assessment and schematic restoration plan for this large facility—the cathedral headquarters for a 40-parish diocese extending from New Hampshire to Florida. The church was constructed in 1844 and is one of the earliest Romanesque Revival buildings in America, a bold massing of ashlar stonework designed by architect Richard Upjohn.
During a site visit to review a grant proposal for an urgently needed asphalt shingle roof at St. Paul’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Syracuse, Colleen Heemeyer, Conservancy Manager of Grants and Technical Services, noted a sagging roof ridge and deflected dormer beams. She then provided an architect/engineer referral and redirected the congregation to focus on roof truss reinforcement prior to the needed roof replacement. St. Paul’s received $2,000 and the congregation will be back with an application for roof replacement and prerequisite truss reinforcement in the next grant round, January 15th.
On September 16th a tornado swept through portions of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens devastating much in its path including the original spire at Flushing’s St. George’s Episcopal Church. After being alerted to the storm damage, Conservancy staff immediately reached out to the parish’s new priest to offer Conservancy grant support and referrals to a preservation architect for the design of an emergency stabilization and waterproofing plan for the spire, with a goal to its eventual restoration. Architectural firm Kaitsen Woo Architect P.C. provided a proposal to prepare construction documents for the emergency stabilization, including a temporary roof to keep water out of the tower while a new spire is designed and constructed. St. George’s is a notable example of Gothic Revival design and was designated a New York City landmark in 2000. Erected in 1853-54, the church is a rare surviving work in New York City by Wills & Dudley. St. George’s received a $5,000 matching grant.
Congregation Tifereth Israel Anshei Greenport is a lovely, small community synagogue with active programming, and leadership that includes the great-grandson of one of North Fork’s first Jewish families, congregation President Dr. Z. Micah Kaplan. The congregation researched and placed the synagogue on National Register in 2006, and features the synagogue’s historic status on its letterhead and in its membership brochures. The synagogue was constructed in 1903-1904 by local carpenter Sterling Corwin and is a simple, Victorian vernacular, one-and one-half story, wood frame structure that features narrow, round arched windows with diamond-patterned leaded glass windows, and roundel windows at each gable. The congregation was awarded $3,000 for roof replacement.
The Sisters of Divine Compassion’s Chapel of the Divine Compassion in White Plains received both Wilson Challenge and Sacred Sites grants: a $25,000 challenge grant for slate roof restoration and $4,000 toward roof consultant services to oversee restoration work. The Community of the Divine Sisters of the Compassion was founded in New York City in 1886 to care for and educate girls and young women of poverty. The Chapel was designed by Mother Mary Veronica Starr who had informal training in architectural drafting and based her design on the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Milan, Italy. Her early sketches provided a basis for architect Lawrence O’Connor, who solved the technical problems in Mother Starr’s design and served as project manager during the building’s construction.
The Sacred Sites Program assists religious organizations with two statewide matching grant programs: Sacred Sites Grants and Robert W. Wilson Sacred Sites Challenge grants. Only congregations located in New York City are additionally eligible for our third grant program: Consulting Grants. Finally, our fourth newly-launched grant program is available for historic synagogues: Historic Synagogue Fund Grants. Contact , Grants Manager, to learn more.
Click here to view a list of all June 2010 Grant Pledges.
