Five Boroughs

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====== Church of Our Lady of Kovno  ======

<data location>
Description [wiki]     : The Manhattan Haven of [[ic:Markus Chemnitz]].
Image [image]          : :ic:ChemnitzChurch.jpeg
Tags [ref]*            :
In [ref]               : [[ic:Brooklyn]]
Rating[dot]            : 2
</data>

//Base rating :4:, Haven rating modifiers: -1 derelict building, -1 hobo hangout//

The Church of Our Lady of Kovno is a deconsecrated, abandoned church that is used as the Manhattan Haven of [[ic:Markus Chemnitz]]

===== History and design =====

The church was built in 1881 for the Anglican Church in the Gothic Revival architectural style, using sandstone from Nova Scotia. It still has the air of a picturesque English country church, with a plot of fenced-off weeds and brownish grass in front and a square tower rising in front of the sanctuary. In 1910, the church was bought by Lithuanians fleeing mandatory service in the Czarist army before World War I who settled in the Lower West Side area and worked as longshoremen on the Hudson River docks. Construction of the Holland Tunnel uprooted the community, many resettling in the Bronx and the suburbs. As the community dwindled, the church was deconsecrated and sold to a mysterious investor who agreed to the terms that no major changes would be made to the structure. Though this promise was kept, maintenance of the building has been sparse. The iron elements have rusted, the churchyard is overgrown with weeds and the masonry has burst in places. The main double door often gets stuck at the worst of times.

===== Interior =====

=== Central Space  ===

The churches' nave is accessible from the double doors that face the road.  It is a mess of well-worn pews facing a stripped altar. The western purpose has been repurposed for storage, with racks of canned foods and other essentials that had originally been found in the vault placed together in a tight formation. A small confessional still stands on the western end.

A narrow ambulatory on the east end has a door leading to the bell tower at the south end and a door leading to the sacristy located in the eastern transept. A secure iron hatch that is level with the floor sits in the mid-point of the ambulatory, its opening facing towards the nave.

===Sacristy===

Stripped of holy objects, the sacristy still retains a coffee corner with a sink, a one-pit stove , four kitchen cabinets and two drawers. It has been made cosy by including a small coffee table.

===Chapel Vault===

The chapel vault now lies beyond a secure iron hatch that can be locked and opened from either side. It is dimly lit; a cord near the stairway turns on an amber light that might more commonly be used for a black room photo development studio.

A mattress that has been laid upon an empty crypt serves as a bed, located away from the narrow strips of indirect light that might come in if the iron hatch were to be opened during the day.

The rest of the vaulted space has been turned into a workspace, with square furniture ill-fitting the in the circular, vaulted space. A spartan office desk holds a Canon Typestar 110 typewriter, a rotary dial phone, a tape recorder answering machine, a walkie talkie and a police scanner. 

An file cabinet holds archived observations on various humans and their regular habits, to identify feeding targets and ideal feeding times.

A bookcase holds a Panasonic RX-DT680 boom box, a copy of the yellow pages and German-language copies of ‘Naked Among Wolves’ and ‘Every Man Dies Alone’. A small safe that also serves as a weapons and munitions locker, a mechanical workbench, a small tool bench and a foldable table with basic black room photo development equipment have also been placed in the vault, making it feel somewhat crowded.

===Bell tower===

From a door in the ambulatory one can enter the interior of the square, whitewashed bell tower. Well-worn stairs circle around four times to the belfry, from which the entrance into the Holland Tunnel and the square can be observed through narrow windows. The bell has long since been removed. A simple folding chair with a side table and a set of binoculars have been put there to make for a basic observation post.

====Neighbourhood====

The church is located at 570 Broome Street in Hudson Square, Manhattan, New York City. Only three dilapidated four storey buildings separate the Church from the entry into the Holland Tunnel, which leads to Jersey City. ((The exit from Jersey City is a block away and does not have a direct line of sight with the church.)) It is close to the Canal Street and Spring Street subway stations.

With some climbing, breaking-and-entering and sneaking about, it is possible to enter and exit the church without using the double doors that face the road. A door in the sacristy leads to a small yard with low fences that separate it from the yards of four three-storey high red-brick residential buildings, one of which has a single floor extend to the property line, accommodating a rooftop garden that can be entered from that buildings' first floor. The church yard also abuts a large office building (121 Varick Street).

Hudson Square is a neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It once was known as the Printing District, and into the 21st century it remains a center of media-related activity, including in advertising, design, communications, and the arts. Venues of note in the immediate vicinity include the New York City Fire Museum, the Paradise Garage LGBT discotheque and the SoHo Playhouse.
Five Boroughs

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