AN OPEN LETTER TO THE YONKERS LANDMARK PRESERVATION BOARD
To the membership of the City of Yonkers Landmark Preservation Board:
I am writing in support of the application to restore landmark status to the interior of St. Mary's Church.
I attend Mass there every Sunday. I assure you that nothing has changed since July 16, 2024, the day that the Yonkers City Council voted unanimously to approve the original application in its entirety.
If nothing changed at St. Mary's, what changed at the City of Yonkers, whose government stood so strongly and so publicly in favor of the church? What bundle of carrots and sticks was put before the Mayor, City Council and Corporate Counsel to induce agreement to a settlement so favorable to the agenda of the archdiocese?
When the Archdiocese first stated intent to close the church in January, 2024, they cited $10 million as the burdensome cost to repair cracks in the foundation and facade. Now that ONLY those problematic elements are landmarked, the Archdiocese can increase the cost by bringing in a restorer like Building Conservation Associates, the firm engaged to restore St. Patrick's Cathedral. This would provide a stronger argument to remove landmark status from the walls due to financial hardship. Now that the archdiocese is trying to raise $800 million to cover sexual abuse settlements or go bankrupt, the financial hardship argument may be more compelling.
I have always regarded St. Mary's as a landmark and I am sure at least thousands of people agree. All of us assumed that St Mary's would stand for millennia, if not forever. To restore landmark status to the interior of St. Mary's would not be an irrational, arbitrary or capricious act. It would publicly articulate a historical reality and provide necessary legal protection to a municipal treasure.
Sincerely,
N. Zmona
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