According to an article posted at DNAinfo by Julie Shapiro regarding the rebuilding of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church that was destroyed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has taken a new turn. The Port Authority hopes to end a 19 month stalemate with the Church by restarting negotiations as early as next week.
The Port Authority & St. Nicholas have been in disputes since 2001 over where and how to rebuild the religious site, which was located just south of the World Trade Center. Discussions turned sour last year and the two sides haven’t spoken since.
Next week the Port Authority plans to meet with the Church and representatives of the mayor’s office to start the process of hammering out a deal. This was stated by Chris Ward who is the executive director of the Port Authority, at a Community Board 1 meeting Monday night.
The Church’s spokesman Father Mark Arey said on Tuesday that the Port Authority had not contacted him about a meeting, but he would be happy to participate in any: “genuine dialogue with results.”
The disagreement started because the Port Authority needs the church’s land at 155 Cedar St. to build a vehicle security center for the World Trade Center, encompassing a belowground parking garage and loading dock. In 2008, the PA offered the Church a 50% larger site farther east along with $20 million dollars to rebuild. But the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America was concerned about the money transfers.
As the talks dragged on last year, Ward said he worried that the vehicle security center would fall behind schedule. He broke off the negotiations and moved forward with the security center construction.
The church’s plight attracted widespread attention over the summer as politicians and pundits pointed out that the mosque at the nearby Park51 Islamic community center might be built before St. Nicholas had a new home.
Now Ward hopes to finally settle the issue. He envisions the church rising out of the new Liberty Park; a sloping swath of green space that will sit on top of the Vehicle Security Center.
“Our hope is that we can successfully negotiate appropriate compensation,” Ward said Monday. “If the church fails to negotiate in good faith…we would have to invoke some form of eminent domain.”
Arey said in a phone interview Tuesday that he too hopes to reach an agreement that would allow the church to rise at the World Trade Center site.
“That act of hatred cannot be allowed to stand,” he said, referring to the destruction of the church on 9/11. “We’re not just rebuilding a church. It’s a statement of faith, a statement of hope.”
A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg said the city also wants the church rebuilt at the World Trade Center site.
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