Harlem's Endangered Ethiopian Church Hangs On, For Now

HARLEM, NY — Manhattan's last remaining Ethiopian Orthodox church has held onto its Harlem storefront past its original eviction date, but the threat of displacement still looms as the congregation scrambles to find a new home.

In April, Patch reported on the upcoming eviction of the Beaata Le Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which since 2006 has occupied the modest first-floor space on the corner of West 121st Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard.

In 2019, church leaders got an eviction notice from their landlord — the city's Housing Preservation Department — and later discovered they were being pushed out to make way for a new affordable housing deal. After the pandemic hit, the church managed to win extensions on its eviction through May 28, 2021.

Now, that deadline has passed — but the church is still clinging to its longtime home, which sits mostly empty after members packed up their belongings. Amid the uncertainty, the church has continued to hold Sunday services.

"We're prepared to move," said Atsede Elegba, a church board member.

The temporary reprieve came after the church's lawyer won another extension — this time through August, in keeping with the state's commercial eviction moratorium.

"See what we can do to help them"

Meanwhile, since Patch's story was published, the city has also worked to help the church find a new home in Harlem. That outreach came after Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to help when he was asked about the church's eviction during an April 20 news conference.

"I'm concerned about it based on what you're saying," de Blasio said. "I'm going to ask [HPD] right away to see what we can do to help them, either on that same site or on a different site."

Last week, Elegba and board chair Almaz Kebede toured a different church space in East Harlem that HPD identified after contacting community partners. An agency spokesperson told Patch that the space "met the church's current spacing size and cost constraints," but Elegba said the venue was just 625 square feet — a fraction of the church's current 3,500-square-foot home.

As a result, the search will continue as the new eviction deadline nears.

"HPD is doing everything it can to help the church find a new home, despite a signed stipulation through the courts requiring it to vacate by June 2020," spokesperson Anthony Proia said in a statement. "We’re working directly with our partners to find a space that meets the church’s needs, and we’re waiving its rent during this time to ease the transition process."

Beaata Le Mariam's melting-pot congregation of about 100 people is, in Elegba's words, "a rare combination" of African Americans who adopted the faith on their own and native Ethiopians and Eritreans who found the church after emigrating to the United States.

Earlier this spring, members were contending with internal disagreements over how to find a new home, and conflicted feelings about the group that is displacing them.

As the search drags on, congregants are "very sad and concerned that we won't have a place to worship," Elegba said.

Still, she has been heartened by an outpouring of support the church has received since its eviction was publicized, ranging from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office to Ethiopian Orthodox congregations as far away as Texas.

"We’re going to communicate with the organizations that are trying to help us," Elegba said. "And our prayer is that something comes up."

Previous coverage: Harlem Church To Be Evicted In City's Affordable Housing Deal