At fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church, it's moving day for the historic New York Liberty Bell

On Dec. 5, a fire destroyed the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street, including the neighboring Middle Collegiate Church.

As previously reported, the fire spared the steeple and its historic contents — the New York Liberty Bell, which dates to the early 1700s. 

And yesterday morning, workers removed the bell from the belfry to transport it to the New York Historical Society, where it will be part of an exhibit on the resiliency of NYC for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there to capture the delicate operation to move the bell to its temporary new home on Central Park West...

Before the bell left Second Avenue, the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis from Middle Collegiate Church rang it 19 times in honor of Juneteenth ... and for a celebration of liberty...

Today, we saved the New Liberty Bell from our belfry, and I rang it 19 times for freedom.

Make no mistake: We aren’t liberated yet. But damn it, we’ll be free ✊🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/oYLusCllDZ

— Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (@RevJacquiLewis) June 16, 2021

Those involved also wanted to give a shout-out to the crews from the DOB, Triton Construction and Gramercy for their professionalism in ensuring a safe transfer of the bell ...

And some history of the bell via the Times:

It is about 25 years older than the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, according to a 1959 New York Times article.

Cast in Amsterdam in 1729, the bell was rung in 1735 to celebrate freedom of the press after John Peter Zenger, a German journalist, was acquitted of charges of seditious libel. He had published criticism of British tax collectors, according to the Times article.

It also was rung on the day that Representative John Lewis died in July and a week after the presidential election to celebrate "that love and justice" prevailed... 

The bell will be housed in the New York Historical Society lobby until the church is rebuilt. Find out how you can help support the rebuild at this link.

The FDNY previously said that faulty wiring at 48 E. Seventh St. was to blame for the six-alarm fire. An FDNY spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the fire has been deemed "non-suspicious." 

The latest from the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church: the New York Liberty Bell survives

Here are the latest developments about the Dec. 5 fire that destroyed the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street. (You can find all of our coverage via this link.)

For starters, on Friday, the FDNY said that faulty wiring at 48 E. Seventh St. was to blame for the six-alarm fire that destroyed the neighboring Middle Collegiate Church. An FDNY spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the fire has been deemed "non-suspicious." 

Myles N. Miller at NBC 4 reported that witnesses in the area first started smelling smoke around midnight. However, the first 911 call didn't come in until several hours later when a cab driver saw flames rising from No. 48.

The Fire Marshall has concluded their investigation, but we do not yet have the official written report. What we've been told is: It has been confirmed that the fire originated in the building to our north and the cause was electrical in nature.

— Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD (@RevJacquiLewis) December 12, 2020

Over the weekend, workers started removing the church's east-facing (back) wall in order to stabilize the site, according to the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at the Middle Collegiate Church. (Photo below via Steven)

We will have more to say to our community and to the press once we see the official report. In the meantime, we offer prayers of thanksgiving that there were no fatalities.

— Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD (@RevJacquiLewis) December 12, 2020

In some positive news, the steeple remains intact, which is where the New York Liberty Bell had hung in the belfry. The bell appears unharmed ...

As work continues to stabilize @middlechurch, our engineers have found that the church’s historic “New York Liberty Bell” was not damaged during last week’s devastating fire.

DOB engineers remain on site to monitor & assess the stability of the structure. pic.twitter.com/v5BPwuIUGl

— NYC Buildings (@NYC_Buildings) December 12, 2020

Our bell will ring again, and our love is still ringing. pic.twitter.com/BLofkL4HmT

— Middle Church (@middlechurch) December 13, 2020

Some history of the bell via the Times:

It is about 25 years older than the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, according to a 1959 New York Times article.

Cast in Amsterdam in 1729, the bell was rung in 1735 to celebrate freedom of the press after John Peter Zenger, a German journalist, was acquitted of charges of seditious libel. He had published criticism of British tax collectors, according to the Times article.

It also was rung on the day that Representative John Lewis died in July and a week after the presidential election to celebrate "that love and justice" prevailed... 

Buildings Department officials said that they continue "to monitor and assess the stability of the remaining structure of the church, including the façade and the steeple, while cleanup operations are still underway." 

In one other development, Gothamist reported that there was a small fire at the scene on Saturday morning.

Around 9 a.m. Saturday, "something sparked up and the units that were on the scene did what they were supposed to do, which is just put some water on it," said a FDNY spokesperson who declined to give his name. The flare-up was so minor that the FDNY personnel on scene did not transmit a fire alarm, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Church officials have started the rebuilding process (donation link here) ...

 

Report: Faulty wiring caused fire that destroyed SE corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street

Faulty wiring at 48 E. Seventh St. was to blame for the six-alarm fire last Saturday morning that destroyed the Middle Collegiate Church, FDNY officials said yesterday. 

An FDNY spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the fire has been deemed "non-suspicious." 

The five-story building, which has been demolished, had been vacant since another fire this past Feb. 10. Faulty electrical wiring was also the blame for that three-alarm fire, FDNY officials said. 

No. 48, which included retail tenants Via Della Pace and Cafe Mocha, was under renovation this fall. 

There were approved work permits dated from Oct. 29 on file with the DOB. According to the permits: "Repairs due to fire; interior non-structural demolition, removal of damaged floor and roof framing, replace damaged floor and wall joists, reconstruct floor and roof joists, reconstruct roof joists, reconstruct roof bulkhead, repair interior stairs ... install new windows, installation of new roof." 

The estimated cost of repairs, per the permit: $1.2 million. It was unclear how far along workers were with renovations. In a Facebook post this week, a longtime tenant from one of the building's four rent-controlled units said they were planning on moving back in next summer. 

Meanwhile, workers have mostly cleared away the remains of No. 48.

And here's a quick video clip showing the work yesterday...

Updated 12:30 p.m. 

A detail from Myles N. Miller at NBC 4...

BFI sources say witnesses in the area first started smelling smoke around Midnight, Saturday. However the first 911 call wasn’t until hours later when a @nyctaxi driver saw flames rising from 48 E. 7 and pulled over to report it.

— 𝐌𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐍. 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 (@MylesMill) December 12, 2020

2nd Avenue reopens to traffic; workers remove more of fire-ravaged 48 E. 7th St.

Second Avenue is open again to through traffic below St. Mark's Place... after the fire on Saturday morning, southbound traffic was rerouted across St. Mark's Place to Avenue A. 

For now, one lane ... as well as the floating parking lane and bike lane, are closed off for the work crews to use for access between Sixth Street and St. Mark's Place...

As for the southeast corner at Seventh Street...

Workers have mostly cleared out the rest of what was 48 E. Seventh St., where the six-alarm fire started ...

Looking north from Sixth Street, you almost can't even tell that Middle Collegiate Church suffered such massive damage...

There hasn't been any official word on the cause of the fire... or the fate of the remaining structure at the church.

Derek Berg got this dramatic shot yesterday of two fire marshals outside the church's north-facing wall...

More of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church comes into view

Workers continue to haul out the remains of 48 E Seventh St. at Second Avenue... which is providing for a better view of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church structure... these photos are from around 3:45 today... (hopefully we'll get some much better shots tonight when the corner is flooded with the spotlights) ...

Hope remains that the remaining structure is stable, and can remain in place ahead of a rebuild... there hasn't been any official word about this to date...

The 128-year-old church was all but destoryed during the early-morning, six-alarm fire on Saturday.

The church is currently fundraising on its website to help rebuild. 

Monday's parting shot

A message on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street for the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church ... photo by Steven...

Workers have demolished the remains of fire-damaged 48 E. 7th St.

Here's a noontime look at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street... the former 48 E. Seventh St., which once housed Cafe Mocha and Via Della Pace in the retail spaces, is now mostly rubble... Steven took these photos...

The Middle Collegiate Church's façade remains standing, and there is hope that it can be saved...

This is a view from Seventh Street...

Second Avenue remains closed at St. Mark's Police... the NYPD is directing southbound traffic over to Avenue A.

Updated 6:30 p.m. 

A few early evening photos...

Updated 7:30 p.m. 

And via 7th Street Neighbor...

Previously.

EVG Etc.: 2nd Avenue fire headlines

The early morning fire on Saturday that destroyed the vacant 48 E. Seventh St. and neighboring Middle Collegiate Church at 112 Second Ave. made international headlines (BBC here, for instance).

Workers have started demolishing No. 48 (one source at the scene said they'd remove what's left of the 5-story building, bringing it down to two levels so FDNY officials could continue their investigation to the cause of the fire). 

Meanwhile, officials were examining the historic church's façade to see what might be salvageable.

Happening now! Assessment of the @middlechurch facade structure and possibility of saving it. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/hmJe5FlW9n

— Gili Getz 🔥 (@giligetz) December 6, 2020

Hopefully we will learn more about the fate of the structure in the hours/days ahead.

Meanwhile, the Times provided a thorough piece on the history of Middle Collegiate Church, which was built here in 1892. A fact that surprised some people: The church houses the New York Liberty Bell, which dates to 1725. No word on the fate of the bell. 

A few other select headlines:

• NPR has an interview with Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at Middle Church.

• CBS 2 covers the church's virtual service yesterday. (Middle Church has not had an in-person service since before the pandemic.)

• Gothamist provides an update on the Hopper House, the shelter operated by the Women's Prison Association at 110 Second Ave. that had to be evacuated. (Find our post on this here.)

There will be multiple storylines continuing to emerge from this tragic fire. We'll continue to provide updates on the latest developments. 

Thank you to everyone who has shared photos from the scene. And as many people have said, the fire brought back awful memories from the deadly explosion that leveled 119-123 Second Ave. in March 2015.

For some people watching the fire on the SE corner of 2nd Avenue & 7th Street this morning, there were unpleasant flashbacks to March 26, 2015, when the gas explosion wiped out the NW corner. 2 men died there that day.

[Photos by @NYPDSpecialops & Jonathan Jones] pic.twitter.com/16TujGbp6R

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) December 5, 2020

Sunday's parting shot

A view toward the northwest from several blocks away... where, presumably, a combination of the demolition and today's high winds stirred up this smoke-dust from the fire-ravaged corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street... 

Thanks to Elissa Jiji for the photo...

Updating: Demolition of 48 E. 7th St. is imminent

Sources at the scene on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street say that the demolition of what's left of the fire-damamged 48 E. Seventh St. is imminent ... workers were waiting for a meeting to take place betweem various DOB and FDNY officials this morning ...

There was no word about the fate of the Middle Collegiate Church, the historic structure that was erected here in 1892. 

FDNY officials have not revealed the source of the fire that started at No. 48 early yesterday morning and spread to the church next door. Four firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

Updated 11:45 a.m. 

The demolition is underway...

Happening now! Demolition of East Village building after massive fire. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/8xdGK8OG8a

— Gili Getz 🔥 (@giligetz) December 6, 2020

Updated 12:45 p.m. 

Steven took these photos...