Local preservationists expecting to sit down with State Senator Marty Golden at a town hall meeting last evening got some face-time with Assemblywoman Hyer Spencer, and Councilman Gentile instead.

Gentile and Spencer essentially bemoaned the loss of the church, and reiterated their approval of an idea to use the Green Church as a performing arts center.

‘How,’ still seems to be the operative question.

For those of us who remember – Bay Ridge’s Alpine movie theater was heralded as a ‘four star rescue’ back in 2005 when Nicolas Nicolaou purchased the rundown theater in a deal brokered by Golden, and frontloaded with all sorts of tax breaks through the NYS Development Corporation’s ‘Empire Zone’ program.

The promise was for its new owner to revitalize the theater, where it would function as a multiplex, and a performing arts venue for Bay Ridge in exchange for these tax breaks.

Neither of these promises every materialized, and it’s still believed Nicolou enjoys tax exemptions – as do most BID members, regardless of whether or not they meet benchmarks for the program.

Sadly, while local preservationists busy themselves with saving a church that has already been sold – with visions of a state-of-the-art performing arts center for a neighborhood seemingly ambivalent about having such a venue – it would appear that at least three additional houses of worship are currently on (or close to) the chopping block along 4th avenue.

One of them, ironically, the church of local preservationist Victoria Hofmo – Bethlehem Lutheran Church, adjacent to the embattled Green Church.

According to Left in Bay Ridge, members of 4th avenue’s Synagogue, Sheiris Israel, are also meeting to vote on a proposal to sell their property to a developer.

While just a few steps down from Congregation Sheiris Israel and the Bay Ridge Jewish Community Center, Our Savior Luthern Church is also on the verge of putting its assets up for sale. Essentially making that entire block between 80th and 81st street soft for development.

The prospective developer of the Congregation Sheiris Israel is rumored to be Jabour Realty.