Real Estate
The End of an Era
Sunnyside’s All Saints’ Episcopal Church
BY MAX PARROTT
After the congregation of
Sunnyside’s All Saints’
Church dwindled to
about 20 members, the
Episcopal Diocese of Long Island
announced that it will close the church
as a parish congregation on Feb. 23.
The ministries in Sunnyside and
Long Island City have been running
since 1928. The diocese said that
it would examine how to continue
to serve western Queens, but
given the size of All Saints’ current
congregation, which shrunk from 100
members in 1998, it can no longer
afford to maintain the property or
support staff salaries.
The diocese has no plans to sell
the property, located at 43-12 46th
St., and it will continue to use the
church building for at least a year.
“Our diocesan director of real estate,
Haiko Cornelissen, will be handling
rental and lease arrangements. The
head of our Congregational Support
Office, Canon Claire Woodley, will
continue to provide consultation as
she has regarding All Saints’ during
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the last 18 months. The priest-incharge,
the Rev. Gabe Lamazares,
will be moving to North Carolina,”
said Rev. Lawrence Provenzano, the
bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of
Long Island.
One of the church’s tenants is the
Amazing Magic Beans, a pre-school,
which will remain open until the end of
summer, at least. It also functions as
a space for music lessons, an annual
strawberry festival and meetings for
community groups.
Architecturally the church’s brick
facade and A-frame pops out among
the surrounding tenement buildings.
Inside wooden rafter crisscross
along sanctuary lined with stained
glass.
“It’s a beautiful structure. It’s a
beautiful place to attend service and
they’ve done a lot for the community,”
said Rob MacKay, director of tourism
at the Queens EDC. “I’ve been through
church closings in the Queens
neighborhood before, and it’s kind
of like a death in the family. But it’s
also like what does it say about a
community that a church is going
away?”
to close in February
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