bayridgechurch

Save Bay Ridge United Methodist Church

LATEST NEWS FROM THE COMMITTEE TO SAVE THE GREEN CHURCH

The remains of 211 people, many of the founders of Bay Ridge and the founders of the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church were removed from what they and their loved ones believed was their "final resting place", and carted off on the back of a flatbed truck to Cypress Hills Cemetery on the other side of Brooklyn.

We are told there was a "ceremony" at 8:00 am, then the crypt on the front of the church grounds was opened, and for the remainder of the day, the disinterment went on. About four men went into a huge hole dug by a bulldozer and shovels and transferred the remains into steel bins, which were then lifted by the crane onto the flatbed.

At 3:50 pm, the flatbed rolled out of the parking lot onto Ovington Avenue, carrying the remains in four or five large grey steel bins and two wooden boxes. There was no covering, maybe a couple of ropes.

The disinterment was overseen by Bay Ridge resident Ralph Perfetto, who, along with Peter Clavin of Clavin Funeral Homes, planned the disinterment. Pastor Robert Emerick and trustee Marjorie Sullivan were also present.

Thanks to a ladder, we were able to look over the top of an 8-foot tarp stretched across the front of the property on Fourth Avenue. And thanks to the dogged persistence of our members, there was a huge media presence. NY1, Brooklyn 12 News (Time Warner Cable Ch.156), Ch 4 and Ch 7 Eyewitness News were present. There were two helicopters in the air over the church, one from Ch 2. The Bay Ridge Courier, Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn Paper, Home Reporter, NY Post and Daily News were also there. Brooklyn News 12 has been running their segment all day today, and there was an article today in both the NY Post and the Daily News.

For more news of the Committee and its activities, click on:

http://bayridgejournal.blogspot.com/

SaveTheGreenChurch@yahoo.com
P.O.Box 57
6904 Colonial Road
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209