[Editor’s note: The following letter was written by Garden District resident Owen M. Courrèges.]
In reference to your article of January 8th, “Six alarm fire consumes historic lower garden district church, nearby building:”
I am concerned that your article allowed Rev. Moses S. Gordon and his flock to paint themselves in a sympathetic light, claiming that they are truly saddened by the loss of the church and the historic townhouse next door, also owned by Rev. Gordon. For example, you quote church member Joseph Byrd as saying “[i]t’s a great loss, the loss of the memories, and the historic building too.” Rev. Gordon himself is quoted as saying “We went through Katrina; we’ll get through this.”
What Rev. Gordon fails to mention is that he had previously applied to the city to demolish the structure, working through Steven Gill, a local attorney who is also a member of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. In 2007, a public hearing was held on the matter with the HDLC. The Preservation Resource Center opposed the demolition proposed by Rev. Gordon and noted the foregoing in its “Demolition Threats” feature in its “Preservation in Print” newsletter. Karen Gadbois reported on this on her “Squandered Heritage” blog.
Obviously, permission was denied to raze the structure. Later, the building was put on the demolition by neglect list by the HDLC. Demolition by neglect indicates the owner is neglecting the building to such a degree that they are ensuring its eventual destruction. In other words, Rev. Gordon both actively and passively attempted to demolish the church. Although the church was placed on the real estate market, the price stayed too high for too long given the church’s condition, and it lingered in the listings.
Rev. Gordon would like us to believe that he and his congregation are saddened by the loss of the church. In truth, they ought to be pleased with this turn of events because they wanted the building demolished as recently as 2007 and apparently performed little to no further work on the structure. They allowed it to moulder, and cannot be surprised that it burned down. Because of their callous indifference to the building and the surrounding area, the church became infested with rats and became a magnet for vagrants.
Finally, I say all of this as the resident who lives closest to the church. I own the home directly across the street. Rev. Gordon’s negligence and neglect put my house at serious risk and left me without power for over 24 hours. To see Rev. Gordon portraying himself as a victim in all of this is just infuriating. Not only is he receiving the demolition he originally wanted, but at least for now, we taxpayers are paying the tab.
Sincerely,
Owen M. Courrèges
