Building a Christian Church

[n1te-stalker]

In the unlikely event that any readers take seriously liberal claims that they are backing the Ground Zero Victory Mosque on First Amendment grounds, here's what happens when you try to rebuild a Christian church in the area:
 Nine years after 911, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at Ground Zero remains to be rebuilt. Brother, can you spare a little fast-tracking?

So, New York big-shots can fast track a Muslim mosque near the site of the attacks on New York and the destruction of the WTC and the little Greek Orthodox church that was crushed when the South Tower fell but in all this time they can’t seem to find the wherewithal to allow this little house of worship that served not only the Greek community but welcomed anyone who felt the need to find a little peace and solitude amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. The trouble is, Greeks don't have loyal allies in the Mayor's Office and the White House. Consequently, bureaucrats have refused to cooperate preventing the church from being rebuilt. Fortunately for Muslims, they don't have that problem...mmm what's the problem?

[captain_kook]

mmm what's the problem?
 
no problem
 
They don't yet have the money to begin building.
 
They're going to build a much larger church than the one that was destroyed - it'll cost a lot.
 
They're taking donations, BTW, if you want to help

[captain_kook]

Consequently, bureaucrats have refused to cooperate preventing the church from being rebuilt
 
THAT is not true in the least.
 
 
Even though Limbaugh says so
 
ESPECIALLY because Limbaugh says so

[caserio1]

the right's stock in trade...lies and meanness

[n1te-stalker]

http://indyposted.com/38342/greek-orthodox-church-at-ground-zero-destroyed-on-911-still-not-rebuilt/

[caserio1]

actually many christian churches are having financial problems and the greeks are no different
 
and that is why it's taking so long

[captain_kook]

The Church itself hasn't exactly helped with their situation:   Published: March 18, 2009 NY Times     The fate of the church, a narrow whitewashed building that was crushed in the attack on the World Trade Center, was supposed to have been settled eight months ago, with a tentative agreement in which the church would swap its land for a grander church building on a larger parcel nearby, with a $20 million subsidy from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. This would have allowed work to begin at the south end of the site.   But the two sides never came to final terms. After months of negotiations, the Port Authority, which is overseeing reconstruction at ground zero, ended its talks with the church on Monday, saying that the church had sought increasingly costly concessions.     Complaints, of course, abound on both sides.     The authority now says that St. Nicholas is free to rebuild the church on its own parcel at 155 Cedar Street, just east of West Street. The authority will, in turn, use eminent domain to get control of the land beneath that parcel so it can move ahead with building foundation walls and a bomb-screening center for trucks, buses and cars entering the area.     “We made an extraordinarily generous offer to resolve this issue and spent eight months trying to finalize that offer, and the church wanted even more on top of that,” said Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the Port Authority. “They have now given us no choice but to move on to ensure the site is not delayed. The church continues to have the right to rebuild at their original site, and we will pay fair market value for the underground space beneath that building.”         Last July, the Port Authority and the Greek Orthodox Church announced a tentative plan to rebuild the church just east of its original site, at Liberty and Greenwich Streets. The authority agreed to provide the church with land for a 24,000-square-foot house of worship, far larger than the original, and $20 million. Since the church would be built in a park over the bomb-screening center, the authority also agreed to pay up to $40 million for a blast-proof platform and foundation.     In recent negotiations, the authority cut the size of the church slightly and told church officials that its dome could not rise higher than the trade center memorial.     The church, in turn, wanted the right to review plans for both the garage with the bomb-screening center and the park, something the authority was unwilling to provide. More important, authority officials said, the church wanted the $20 million up front, rather than in stages. Officials said they feared that the church, which has raised about $2 million for its new building, would come back to the authority for more. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/nyregion/19church.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss [HIGHLIGHT=#NaNNaNNaN]   [/HIGHLIGHT]

 

[captain_kook]

the latest:
 

August 13, 2010

Mayor Bloomberg: Deal To Rebuild Greek Orthodox Church Near Ground Zero May Be Near »
By Celeste Katz

A caller to Mayor Bloomberg's weekly radio appearance with WOR's John Gambling posed a question NY-1 congressional hopeful George Demos has been pushing for weeks: "Good morning. I'd like to know why nothing has been done to rebuild St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church down at Ground Zero."
 
 
Republican Demos is a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney who hopes to take on incumbent Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop.
 
 
He has set himself somewhat apart from the cacophony of objections to the proposed Park51 mosque and Islamic center by bringing up the issue of the church, which was crushed by the falling South Tower on Sept. 11.
 
 
Demos has blamed the Port Authority for the slow pace of the reconstruction.
 
 
Said Bloomberg in answer to this morning's caller:
 
"It's been a bone of contention [between] the church and the Port Authority. And I've gotten involved mainly because the archbishop lives directly across the street from me, and he comes out with his staff and we chit-chat. He doesn't come over to borrow a cup of coffee, but that's okay. And I think they're very close [to] working with the Port Authority to find a location down there.
 
There was one, I think the church wanted it, but it didn't fit in with the Port Authority plans because it would have interfered with other things, but there will be a new church built down there. And Chris Ward, the executive director of the Port Authority, I know is working with the Greek Orthodox Church to try to find some ways to get this done."
 
Demos, who has largely been written about less than his GOP rivals, Chris Cox and Randy Altschuler, has gotten some media coverage out of the issue -- although not all of it has been positive.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/mayor-bloomberg-says-deal-to-r.html#ixzz0wvHgbsn1][COLOR=#003399 href=http]

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/mayor-bloomberg-says-deal-to-r.html#ixzz0wvHgbsn1[/COLOR][/URL]

[Griobhtha]

Though small in
st
ature,
St
.
Nicholas
 Greek Orthodox
Church
 was a place of mini
st
ry and worship both for her parishioners and also for local residents and workers in the Financial Di
st
rict of Manhattan who would pass by and often enter the
Church
. Following its collapse, the legacy of this tiny
Church
 continues to dramatically impact peoples’ lives, and donations of almo
st
 $2 million have been received, as well as additional pledges of con
st
ruction materials and appointments for the complete rebuilding of the
Church
. The city of Bari, Italy, where the relics of
St
.
Nicholas
 were originally be
st
owed,has donated $250,000. The government of Greece has contributed $750,000to these efforts, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate has given $50,000.The Governor of the
St
ate of New York, George Pataki, met with the Archbishop and pledged his support for including a new
St
.
Nicholas
 in the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site.

[Griobhtha]

good lord, should have previewed that post.  sorry.

The church wants the authority to provide roughly $55 million towardthe estimated $75 million cost of rebuilding St. Nicholas. The PortAuthority in turn wants the church to scale back its plans, move thelocation slightly and raise more money privately.