Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Where St. Nicholas Once Stood
Progressivism piece by
Aaron Goldstein
With all the talk of building a mosque in the shadow of the World Trade Center how many of you knew there was a church which once stood in the shadow of the World Trade Center? And how many of you knew this same church was destroyed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?
I must confess that up until a couple of weeks ago I was unaware that a church was amongst the property that was leveled in Lower Manhattan that Tuesday morning. When the South Tower collapsed it took St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church with it. (1) All that remained were two religious icons and handful of liturgical items. (2) Fortunately, no one was inside St. Nicholas at the time of the collapse. But what had been the center of the Greek Orthodox community in New York City for nearly eighty years was wiped out in a matter of seconds.
Under the circumstances, one would think a house of worship would be rebuilt forthwith. How many religious institutions in America are destroyed as a result of an act of terrorism? Imagine for a moment that on September 11, 2001, a mosque had been destroyed in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. Don’t you think heaven and earth would have been moved to rebuild that mosque? Yet nine years later, not an inch of brick or mortar has been laid down to rebuild St. Nicholas.
As the City of New York was approving plans for the construction of the Ground Zero Mosque, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey jettisoned a deal that would have permitted the rebuilding of St. Nicholas. (3) Of course, the Ground Zero Mosque has powerful allies with the likes of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Obama both of whom expressed their support for the mosque as a matter of religious freedom. Yet where were Mayor Bloomberg’s tears for St. Nicholas? (4) What does President Obama have to say about the right of the Greek Orthodox community “to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan”? (5)
Despite the obfuscation of Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama combined with the obstinacy of the Port Authority, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is not without friends. Amongst those friends, none has been more vocal than George Demos, a former prosecutor with the Securities & Exchange Commission, who is currently seeking the Republican nomination for New York’s 1st Congressional District. (The GOP primary takes place on September 14th and amongst his competitors is Christopher Nixon Cox, the grandson of the late President Nixon.)
Demos would make people sit up and take notice when he issued a statement which read, “Rebuild the Church at Ground Zero, Not a Mosque.” (6) He would subsequently write an open letter to President Obama calling upon him to “please stand up and defend our Judeo-Christian values, express your public and unwavering support for St. Nicholas Church, and ensure that it is rebuilt.” (7) As of this writing, President Obama has not responded to Demos’ letter either privately or publicly. However, Demos has been able to enlist the support of former New York Governor George Pataki as well as Tim Bishop, the incumbent Democratic Congressman who would be Demos’ opponent in November should he win the GOP primary next week. (8)(9) Demos would also post an online petition to gather signatures in support of rebuilding St. Nicholas (to which I have affixed my signature.) (10)
Earlier this week, Demos took a few minutes away from his busy campaign to speak with me over the phone. Demos, who himself is Greek Orthodox, reserved most of his displeasure for the Port Authority. He described the Port Authority as an entity which is “answerable to no one” and awash in “bureaucratic inertia.” Demos also expressed disappointment with New York Governor David Paterson. Specifically, he took Paterson to task for his appointment of Chris Ward as Executive Director of the Port Authority. Demos pointed out that rebuilding St. Nicholas has not been a priority for Ward and that he has been unwilling to meet with church officials after the deal to rebuild the church fell through.
Regardless of the outcome of the GOP primary, Demos also told me that he would continue to speak out on behalf of St. Nicholas. “This isn’t a political issue. This isn’t a partisan issue. It is an issue that speaks to our Judeo-Christian values,” Demos said. However, Demos added that if he were to be the nominee and were ultimately elected to Congress that he would have “a bigger platform” from which to support the reconstruction of St. Nicholas.
If you want to engage in some kind of meaningful civic action on September 11th to honor those who died and are disinclined towards any activity which involves throwing copies of the Koran into a bonfire then perhaps you would consider lending your support to the rebuilding of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. You may give them a donation of your time, your money or other materials. Donations are payable and can be sent to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, P.O. Box 340968, Brooklyn, New York 11234. (11)
Aaron Goldstein
(1) http://www.stnicholasnyc.com/?page_id=7
(2) http://www.goarch.org/special/september11/stnicholaschurch/stnicholas
(3) jettisoned
(4) http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/mayor-bloombergs-ground-zero-mosque-speech-video/19579997
(5) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/13/remarks-president-iftar-dinner-0
(6) http://www.georgedemosforcongress.com/refresh/templates/in_the_news.php?id=67
(7) http://www.georgedemosforcongress.com/refresh/templates/in_the_news.php?id=83
(8) http://www.georgedemosforcongress.com/refresh/templates/in_the_news.php?id=86
(9) http://www.georgedemosforcongress.com/refresh/templates/in_the_news.php?id=89
(10) http://www.georgedemosforcongress.com/refresh/templates/petition.php?id=82
(11) http://www.stnicholasnyc.com/?page_id=12
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