Disappearing Congregations “A Bake sale doesn’t repair windows or fix roofs,” said Pastor Lawrence Recla of Trinity. He blamed the shrunken congregation on demographic shifts, which forced his remaining congregants to shoulder a larger maintenance fee for the building. Some, like 12th Street resident Susan Koren, decried church development, but play a more complicated role in the discussion. Koren, who lives down the street from St. George’s, said she was “married there, baptized there, confirmed there, [and was an] assistant Girl Scout leader there.” She added, “I’m sure a lot of parishioners, the old people that have gone to that church would turn over in that grave and the ones that are still alive would be heartbroken,” upon hearing of St. George’s plan. When asked if she attended St. George’s anymore, Koren replied, “I started going away on the weekends. I was never in New York on the weekends until two years ago. But I still live on 12th Street.” Asked if she was part of the disappearing congregation, she replied, “I never gave that a thought.” Quiet In The Wild West Although Bankoff referred to Astoria as the “Wild West” because of its building potential, another city official knowledgeable about the area’s zoning said, “All’s quiet on the Western front.” What grumbling and complaints there have been from Singleton, Koren, the Youngs and others have not filtered through the channels that would trigger a rezoning study. Those channels include locally elected officials, civic groups and the community board. District Manager George Delis of Astoria’s CB1 said Astoria considered downzoning in the late 80s. “Every one of the property owners who came out was dead against it. Every single one,” Delis said. When it came up for a vote at that time, “The entire community board was against it.” “A lot of has changed since the late 80s, and I think people’s feelings has changed,” said Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. (D-Astoria). “I would not be adverse to doing” a rezoning study. Regarding Singleton and members of the GAHS, Vallone said, “I don’t recollect any discussion with them on this issue, ever.” In fact, when Singleton last appeared at CB1, it was to promote a book the group helped publish. He made no mention of the churches or other development issues at the time. Vallone added, “I think it’s a discussion we’re just beginning to have here in Astoria.” As for what he’s heard so far from his constituents: “Normally people don’t come up to you saying ‘we like the way things are, keep it the same.’ More people are coming up to me asking for Astoria to be downzoned.” Vallone downplayed fears that downzoning, should that ever come to pass, would devalue the property. “It increases the value if people buy into the neighborhood that will remain in the condition it’s in,” he said. As for the developer Hack, who may have triggered the most energetic round of rezoning talks in the neighborhood, he took a more pragmatic view of rezoning. “God bless them. My property [site of the old Remsen House] is as of right.” He added, “They’re going to be harming themselves. That’s gong to bring the value of their real estate down.” That is because “a lot of people want to live in Astoria,” said Hack.

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