11 September 2012. What Gives, Port Authority? Where’s the New St Nick’s?

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It’s been eleven years since the destruction of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in the 9/11 event. It’s still not rebuilt… and the stonewalling pols at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are pointing fingers at the Greek Archdiocese. I don’t think so… I think that the pols are trying to buffalo us… as always. St Nick’s was destroyed when the Twin Towers fell on it. That is, the failure of Port Authority property destroyed it, so, the Port Authority has the obligation to rebuild it… full stop. Accept no bullshit from politicians…

BMD

Church Destroyed on 9/11 Reborn

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The tiny Greek Orthodox parish of St Nicholas is finally celebrating. The terror attack on 9/11 destroyed the church that sat in the shadows of the Twin Towers. For years, the church battled the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over ownership of the property where the church once stood and where they could rebuild a new one. The parish even filed a lawsuit against the city. However, the legal battle is now resolved. This week, church members honoured their patron saint’s feast day on the grounds of what’ll be a resurrected house of worship. John Couloucoundis, the parish president, said, “It’s been a very long struggle. It’s really been an act of faith, we’ve been doing it for ten years, and we’re ecstatic that we finally have an agreement”. The massive destruction at Ground Zero means that they’ll rebuild St Nicholas on a new foundation, about 200 feet (61 metres) from its original spot. “The engineering study showed that that particular area was suitable for building a church on top. So, we were very happy on that basis to come to an agreement with the Port Authority”, Couloucoundis said. The murder of thousands of innocents gives the church a new spiritual mandate… to serve a broken community. Fr Mark Arey said, “3,000 of our fellow citizens died there that day and that can’t be forgotten. Our church was destroyed that day. The fact that it’s being rebuilt has tremendous spiritual importance for the site. We’re including in the space a kind of a multi-purpose interfaith component so that if a person weren’t comfortable entering into an Orthodox Christian place of worship, they would be comfortable moving into that”.

9 December 2011

My Fox New York

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/church-destroyed-on-911-reborn-20111209-ncx#ixzz1ihcD417d

American Jewish Committee (AJC) Delighted Greek Orthodox Church at Ground Zero Will be Rebuilt

AJC Executive Director David Harris said, “This is heartening news for the Greek Orthodox community, indeed, for all New Yorkers”. Shortly after the terror attacks, AJC leaders met with Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis, First Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, and delivered a donation from AJC’s relief funds to rebuild. At the time, Archbishop Demetrios said, “This gesture is a treasure, a movement of the heart”.

David Harris said, “The long wait no doubt has been enormously frustrating and painful for the congregation. Now that the Ground Zero memorial has been dedicated and construction of new buildings around the site continues, the new St Nicholas will be an inspiring addition to New York City. And for us at AJC, it’s also another way of affirming the core principles of our common humanity and mutual respect that have guided us for 105 years”.

The original St Nicholas church, built in 1916, stood at 155 Cedar Street, and it was buried under the rubble of the World Trade Center. It was the only religious building destroyed in the terror attacks. Yesterday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced an agreement on rebuilding, with construction slated to begin in 2013. The new church, at 130 Liberty Street, will be three times lager than the original structure.

15 October 2011

American Jewish Committee official website

http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=2818289&ct=11298503&notoc=1