Eminent domain for St. Saviour’s?

He also said such a move could free up additional funding for the project, and reduce or eliminate the gap between the $5 million that the city and state have previously pledged to buy the property, and the reported $7 million that the owners, Maspeth Development Corp., has sought.

In an interview Tuesday, Addabbo reiterated his and Maspeth residents’ view that the area is underserved in terms of parkland.

He said he would, in a perfect world, like the city to acquire the entire parcel, including the portion where Maspeth Development has built and is building warehouses.

“I’d like to see what we could do to get the whole thing,” Addabbo said. “My constituents would like to acquire the entire property. The alternate would be to acquire the remainder, which certainly would be better than what we have now, which is nothing.”

The property was the site of St. Saviour’s Church, built in 1847. The church sits disassembled in trailers at All Faiths Cemetery.

The senator wrote that the city was recently successful in using eminent domain to secure parkland along the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, waterfront.

“If eminent domain is a feasible option in Williamsburg, it certainly should be a feasible option in Maspeth, where the cost of land is much lower,” he states in the Parks Department letter.

The city originally appraised the parcel at about $5.1 million. Addabbo acknowledged Tuesday that buying the buildings and eventually having to tear them down would increase the costs substantially. In his letter, he said using eminent domain could have several benefits, including reducing the gap between what the city has offered and what the owners are asking for.

“This property was not recently rezoned, and there are no plans for it to be rezoned in the future,” Addabbo wrote. “So a judge will not likely grant the owner much more than his property has been assessed at.”

It was late November when Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) redirected funding she initially had earmarked for St. Saviour’s to a property about one-third of the size belonging to Martin Luther High School, also for parkland.

The move angered many residents, though Crowley said in November that she was not giving up on St. Saviour’s, merely redirecting the money to a project with a more willing seller, thus a greater likelihood that a deal for some parkland could be reached sooner.

Crowley also was concerned that the money could be lost if not expended soon, leaving Maspeth with nothing.

Parks officials on Wednesday reiterated their stand from November when Crowley switched her aim to the Martin Luther parcel. They said while the St. Saviour’s site remains a challenge, it is not out of the picture.

Addabbo is urging them to pursue both properties.

“My constituents also expressed to me that a 1/3-acre parcel (the Martin Luther property) should not be considered a ‘replacement’ for a 1.5-acre project which has been worked on for more than five years by elected officials and members of the community,” he wrote.

The senator stated that the St. Saviour’s site is a Tier 2 finalist for $1.2 million from the $10 million Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant settlement.

He also would like to see if the acquisition and development could be incorporated into the Kosciuszko Bridge replacement project.