Overview
- Fire marshals classified the June 19 blaze that gutted the 1853 South Bushwick Reformed Church as incendiary and are treating the case as arson.
- Investigators are reviewing neighborhood and security camera footage that show a suspicious person leaving the property shortly before the fire and are combing heavily damaged rubble for evidence.
- The Department of Buildings initially ordered demolition of the remains for safety reasons but granted a temporary hold after the church and preservationists requested time for structural review and salvage work.
- Church leaders say the building is a total loss, have launched a GoFundMe to raise money for restoration, and are racing to save the adjoining Fellowship Hall that engineers say may still be sound.
- Reporting places the fire alongside other recent attacks on houses of worship in the city, and officials and preservationists warn that full demolition could strip landmark protections and open the site to redevelopment.