Historic South Bushwick church destroyed by fire as community vows to rebuild
Citizen app footage shows flames engulfing the church's steeple as large clouds of smoke billow into the surrounding area.
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A three‑alarm fire tore through the historic South Bushwick Church on Friday afternoon, collapsing its steeple, leaving neighbors and longtime congregants devastated. Now, city leaders have pledged that the landmark will rise again.
The FDNY says the fire broke out just after 1:20 p.m. on Bushwick Avenue. Flames quickly spread through the wooden structure, which was built in 1853 and originally known as the South Bushwick Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. The building served generations of immigrant families and stood as one of the neighborhood’s oldest surviving religious institutions.
Hunter, who lives next door, said she realized something was wrong when water from the fire engines began spraying into the window.
“I was at home taking a shower, and I noticed the water from the fire engines coming through my window. You cannot build something like this anymore. It is history,” she said.
No one appeared more shaken than the church’s pastor, the Rev. James Steward.
“This is a tremendous loss, a loss to the area, a loss of the history of Bushwick,” he said as he watched firefighters continue to douse the remaining structure.
Crews were still blasting water through what remained of the roof hours later. The church had been undergoing community‑led repair efforts to restore its aging steeple before the fire brought it down.
New York Attorney General Letitia James visited the scene and promised the site will not be lost to redevelopment.
“This is a landmark, so that means they are getting grants, they will get funding, this will be rebuilt,” she said, praising the church's involvement in the community, from after-school programming and food distribution.
"Every need this community had, they met," she added.
Department of Buildings inspectors and engineers were called to assess the structural stability of the church on Friday afternoon.
They found the steeple had fully collapsed and the building had significant fire damage throughout.
DOB issued a full vacate order and will return Saturday morning for an interagency meeting and additional structural inspections.
Officials say only one firefighter suffered minor injuries. Fire marshals are investigating the cause.
