The flooded community space in St. Barnabas caused great financial hardship for the church as well as displacing many groups and organizations the church allowed them to use at no cost.
When Super storm Sandy pounded Queens in late October of last year, it did not play favorites with its destruction.
It decimated homes, businesses, and city infrastructure with equanimity. Even the powers of religious belief didn’t spare churches, synagogues, temples or mosques from the raging waters and fierce winds of Sandy.
But, due to the constitutional separation of church and state, houses of worship are not entitled to any disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) despite the fact that many in Queens as elsewhere serve as de facto community centers providing essential social services including food pantries and after-school programs to diverse groups of people.
Ironically, Pastor William Baum of St. Barnabas Church in Howard Beach said that none of the church’s religious spaces were damaged. Noting that the church still holds mass on Sundays without any trouble, he said that it was mostly the church’s community spaces which were damaged.
That damage, Baum related, was substantial and included several feet of water that destroyed “everything.” Repair estimates for the damaged, below street-level Parish Hall ranged from $300 to $500,000, according to Baum.
“The Parish hall, the basement of the church that was damaged, was home to girl and boy scout troops, two Alcoholics Anonymous groups, a civic association, a Kiwanis Club, and a community youth group,” Baum said. He added that the hall was also frequently used by local elected officials. “None of those groups were ever charged any fees,” he said.
“And, it’s not like we asked people to read the bible as they walked in,” Baum said, half joking.
“We just made the space available as a community service.”
Some city politicians seem to grasp the dilemma which many worship houses face regarding the inability to get disaster relief through FEMA. Both City Council Speaker and undeclared mayoral candidate Christine Quinn and Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) have been trying to get the federal government to change its tune on this issue.
Earlier this month, Quinn sent a letter to FEMA asking the agency to change its regulations so houses of worship could receive aid on the same basis as “all other non-profits damaged by the hurricane.”
“Many of the churches, synagogues and mosques that were damaged by the hurricane are now facing great difficulty reopening their doors,” Quinn wrote. “Recovery from a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy isn’t a matter of state sponsoring religion. It’s a matter of helping those in need after one of the worst natural disasters our country has ever seen,” she added.
Other non-profits that are eligible for FEMA aid include zoos, museums, libraries, schools and performing arts centers.
Baum added that the congregation of St. Barnabas is only about 100 families and that most of those families had damage themselves and aren’t “in a position to help the church financially.”
He said the church now faces a dilemma about how they’re going to pay for the reconstruction.
“If there’s no public funding to get these spaces repaired and back-up running,” Baum said, “the losers will be the community.”
Meng tried as recently as January 11 to get the federal government to change its thinking on houses of worship and disaster aid. Although the effort ultimately failed, Meng attempted to attach a measure onto the $51 billion Hurricane Sandy Aid bill.
Under Meng’s provision, houses of worship would have been added to the federal government’s list of private nonprofits eligible for FEMA assistance.
“We will continue to explore other legislation, and contact FEMA again as well,” said Jordan Goldes, a spokesman for Rep. Meng.
The Sandy aid bill was passed about a week ago by the House but is now being delayed by procedural squabbles in the Senate. The current aid package does include $11.5 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief fund.
Other houses of worship in Howard Beach also applied for and were denied relief assistance from FEMA.
Pastor Steven Roser of the Howard Beach Assembly of God is also dealing with the government's refusal to help his congregation.
“The estimated damage to the church was about $170,000,” said Pastor Steven Roser, of the Howard Beach Assembly of God. “The Interior of the church was totally destroyed, including the platform, the pulpit, a communion table, bibles, songbooks, pews, rugs and audio equipment.”
He added that water, close to five feet, came down into the fellowship hall, destroying all kinds of files and literature in the church building, which had been built in 1956.
But, Roser related that he was determined to have something good come out of this bad situation and so he decided to test his faith as well as that of his congregation.
“I felt the church would come out of this situation with a testimony, of sorts, where God would provide for the church’s rebuilding from unexpected sources,” Roser said. “And, that’s exactly what happened. By just using pictures of the church’s damage, which I sent out to my Christmas list, the church has received close to $60,000 in donations.
Roser called the donations a “miracle.” “At first, I was scared. I thought the church might be done,” he admitted. “But, he said that since the storm the church has been treated to record-breaking giving.”
He related that initially, the church knew they wouldn’t get any help from FEMA and they also didn’t get any help from their insurance company. “All the help we got was from individuals who saw the church’s condition and decided to help. He pointed out that years earlier, the church’s insurance company had “deleted” their flood insurance, possibly due to fact that no severe weather had hit the area in years.
“People felt they loved the church and wanted to see it return to service in the community,” Roser explained. “So, in spite of no help from FEMA,” Roser said, “he believes the church will survive and come back to the community quickly.”
Over at St. Helen’s Church in Howard Beach, Monsignor Alfred LoPinto said that most of the damage was to the basement of the school, located across from the church on 157th Street. “We had to replace the furnace at the church as well as part of the electrical system,” he said.
He said they also had to rebuild the entire basement of the school which included a new cafeteria, a science lab and installation of a new hot water heater and kitchen.
LoPinto said the school has put in an application to FEMA but “under present regulations houses of worship are not eligible for any financial aid,” he said. “But, that’s being reviewed now and I’m hopeful this will change.”
By Alan Krawitz
