New York City officials halted the planned demolition of a fire-ravaged, 173-year-old Brooklyn church just hours after the congregation scrambled to submit a stabilization plan, a reprieve that came days after investigators declared the blaze arson.

The South Bushwick Reformed Church, built in 1853 on Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, had been burning in more ways than one. A June 19 fire destroyed the wooden structure and collapsed its historic steeple. Then, for nearly a month, city demolition crews chipped away at the original sanctuary while church leaders fought to save what remained. On July 13, the New York Department of Buildings told the congregation that workers who had already spent two weeks tearing down the sanctuary would turn next to the historic addition, the Fellowship Hall and rectory portion the church had been desperate to preserve.

Pastor Rev. Dr. James Steward said the church's fight to protect the Fellowship Hall had failed. But within 24 hours, the congregation reversed its fortunes. Church leaders assembled a team of engineers, attorneys, and contractors and delivered a stabilization plan to the DOB by 3 p.m. on July 14. By late that afternoon, the city approved it.

A congregation formed by Dutch settlers in the 1600s nearly lost everything in a single month

The Bushwick Historic Preservation Association broke the news on Instagram, writing that the group had "in an incredible reversal of fortune" secured a hold on the demolition. The post promised further updates.

The DOB, in a statement to the Daily Caller, framed the outcome as a product of its own patience:

"The Department of Buildings has gone above and beyond to provide the church leaders with guidance on how they can put a hold on the emergency demolition of their fire damaged church building and properly stabilize the rectory to prevent an uncontrolled collapse."

The department added that church leaders had "successfully assembled an engineering and contracting team" and now held an approved plan. DOB said it would closely monitor the site to confirm the church follows through.

Under the agreement, city contractors will finish tearing down the sanctuary side, which had already been mostly lost to the blaze and weeks of demolition work. Church contractors will handle stabilizing the rectory portion. Whether that stabilization opens the door to a full restoration remains unclear.

FDNY declared the fire arson on the same day the city moved to finish demolition

The timing of the DOB's push to demolish the historic addition raised pointed questions. On July 13, the same day the department told the church it would begin tearing down the Fellowship Hall, the Fire Department of New York announced it was investigating the June 19 blaze as arson. The convergence of those two announcements drew immediate backlash on social media, where multiple accounts criticized DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani and the department's decision to press ahead with demolition of a potential crime scene.

The New York Post reported that investigators had not ruled out arson and were tracking a suspicious person of interest seen on video fleeing the church before the fire started. No arrests have been announced. No suspect has been publicly identified.

The congregation's roots run deep. Parishioners of South Bushwick Reformed Church trace their congregation's founding to Dutch settlers in the 17th century. The wooden church building itself dated to 1853, making it one of the oldest surviving church structures in Brooklyn before the fire gutted it. Community members have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for repairs, though the total raised has not been disclosed.

The pattern of historic churches falling to fire is not unique to Brooklyn. A vacant Pittsburgh church was destroyed under similarly suspicious circumstances, with residents questioning the timing of that blaze as well.

Three and a half weeks of bureaucratic delay nearly cost the congregation its last standing walls

The DOB's own statement reveals a telling detail. The department said it had spent "the past three and a half weeks" asking the church to assemble engineers and contractors and submit a stabilization plan. That means the clock started ticking almost immediately after the June 19 fire, and the church, a small congregation without deep institutional resources, struggled to meet the city's demands while simultaneously dealing with an arson investigation and the emotional aftermath of losing a building that had stood since before the Civil War.

When the church could not produce a plan fast enough, the city did not wait. Workers began demolishing the original sanctuary structure roughly two weeks before July 13. By the time the DOB issued its final notice about the historic addition, much of the building was already gone.

Pastor John Steward told the Brownstoner that church members were working with attorneys, engineers, and contractors to avoid a complete demolition. That effort bore fruit only at the last possible moment, with the stabilization plan landing on the DOB's desk hours before crews would have moved on to the remaining structure.

Fires at historic houses of worship have become a grim recurring story across the country. A 134-year-old San Francisco church was gutted during roof renovations, and a 99-year-old Pennsylvania church lost its steeple to a lightning strike. In each case, congregations faced the same brutal math: irreplaceable history measured against the cost and bureaucratic complexity of saving what remains.

No one has been charged, and the arson investigation remains open

The FDNY has offered no public details about what evidence led investigators to classify the fire as arson. The person of interest seen on video fleeing the church before the blaze has not been publicly identified. No motive has been disclosed.

Those unanswered questions make the city's rush to demolish all the more troubling. If the building was a crime scene, and the FDNY's arson designation suggests it was, then every wall torn down is potential evidence removed. The DOB's statement does not address whether demolition crews coordinated with fire investigators before beginning their work, or whether any physical evidence was preserved from the portions of the sanctuary already razed.

Attacks on churches are not limited to arson. A Florida church was vandalized with racial slurs and demonic images days after a fire gutted that building, a reminder that houses of worship remain targets for those who would destroy what communities hold sacred.

For now, the South Bushwick Reformed Church still has walls standing, barely. The rectory portion survived the fire and, if the stabilization plan holds, will survive the city's demolition crews too. The congregation that has worshipped in Bushwick since the 1600s will have to rebuild from what little is left.

A 173-year-old church can survive a fire. It can survive an arson investigation. Whether it can survive the bureaucracy that nearly finished what the arsonist started, that remains to be seen.