St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, New York City-the forgotten church the twin towers fell on

I keep hearing and reading all this discussion about the mosque and community center that is to be built in NYC yet I hear very little about this Greek Orthodox Church that was a thriving community church prior to 9/11 and has yet to be rebuilt since the collapse of the towers (on it). Was it just forgotten?

www.americanthinker.com...

www.foxnews.com...

www.washingtontimes.com...

www.wnd.com...

Let's start here with an article published on July 3, 2008, prior to the mosque issue being paraded around with misinformation to sway peoples emotions. Church’s Troubles Typify Ground Zero Delays

It has not been forgotten but is to be blamed on bureaucratic red tape with the Port Authority because they own the land. This is across the street from the WTC site (see map in above link) and it was crushed when the towers fell. This cannot accurately be compared to the mosque which purchased private property away from the WTC site.


A Washington Post article from December 7, 2006.

Parishioners have raised more than $4 million to rebuild the house of worship at or near its original site, an area just south of the one-time trade center location.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 16 acres of the World Trade Center site, has yet to approve a final plan for rebuilding St. Nicholas.

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at The World Trade Center website

You can even donate if you'd like.

Entirely different circumstances and issue, but frustrating to the neighborhood as well. A bureaucratic plus nightmare. The issue with St Nick's is complicated beyond what was implied by some, on an initial FoxNews report and then taken up by some for the cause against the community center.

St Nick's has been in arbitration and negotiations with the Port Authority for years about a land swap deal, for money. The Port Authority wanted the land St. Nick's stood on for a security center for JP Morgan Chase and other buildings also in negotiation for ground zero. And there's probably more to that story than even that. www.observer.com...

It was brilliant PR on someone's side to link this to the Islamic center, which had no such land swap or financial issues to deal with, is not dealing with the Port Authority or other financial issues, and is, again, not even remotely the same situation.

The NY Times has covered this as well. www.nytimes.com...

Here's a newer report on FoxNews about St Nick's.


Hope they get rebuilt soon too...in their old neighborhood. Sad that the greedy gluttons don't want to let them have back what was rightfully theirs and they're getting swallowed up by the commerce pigs. My parents were married there.

[edit on 8/21/2010 by ~Lucidity]