BRADLEY BEACH — On the final day of April, the LaReine Avenue church was opened up to the public for the final time for an auction of its artifacts, inviting residents and visitors to preserve a piece of town history before the century-old church is demolished.
In 2020, the Borough of Bradley Beach purchased the church property from the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association for $1.3 million. Since its purchase, the fate of the structure has been a contested subject, with some residents pushing to have the building transformed into a community center. In the 2022 election, 76.7% of voting residents voted against renovating the church into a community center for $10 million in a town-wide referendum. Late last year, the council took the first steps in disposing of the property and ultimately elected to demolish the building.
Conducted in person by auctioneer Peter Costanzo, the auction drew council members, residents, former parishioners and avid bidders to the former First Methodist Church. Simultaneously, online bidders who couldn’t make it to Bradley Beach were also afforded the opportunity to take home some of the century-old items within the church.
Ahead of the auction, it was announced by Costanzo that a number of items were deleted from the register by the Borough of Bradley Beach. Some of the items removed from the register – mostly stained glass windows – were reserved for both the Bradley Beach Historical Society and the Church of the Presidents Museum in Long Branch.
Paul Neshamkin, president of the Bradley Beach Historical Society and one of the dozen attendees at the auction, said the auction was the first time in three years the building was open to the public. Neshamkin led a grassroots effort to transform the church into a community center and in the years since its purchase has advocated for the preservation of the century-old property.
“I’m happy that I got the artifacts I originally wanted,” said Neshamkin, who successfully bid on a Communion table and a throne. “It’s been up and down and up and down, but I’m glad everything worked out for us and the other people involved.”
Following the auction, Neshamkin, expressed mixed emotions between appreciating “the beauty of a space that is unequaled in Bradley Beach, and to think that it’s going to be gone just like that.”
“Once it’s demolished we’re never going to have the opportunity to have another space like that,” Neshamkin said. “This is not a cookie-cutter, cinderblock community center; this could have been quite a cultural landmark.”
The auction drew a number of people with ties to the former Methodist church, like Neptune resident David Bacon, who began attending services at the church when he was seven years old. Bacon’s great-grandfather Daniel did the masonry work at the Methodist church and his grandmother lived in Bradley Beach. The Bacon family began attending the LaReine Avenue church after a change of ministry, and David recalls touring the building for the first time as a child who was afraid of heights and was particularly frightened by the original chandelier that hung over parishioners.
“My family attended services here for years… I haven’t been back since this unfortunate tragedy,” Bacon said.
After a back-and-forth competitive bidding battle against another auction attendee, Bacon purchased a throne for $350. Bacon said he remembered the chair, which sat for years on the altar when he attended the church, and looks forward to bringing a piece of church history back home.
“I mean, thank God these people weren’t in charge of preserving Mount Vernon or Gettysburg,” Bacon said. “There’s no reason for all of this.”
For Red Bank restaurant owner Kelly Ryan, who frequently attends auctions, much of the lure of the church auction was the sight of the century-old artifacts presented to the public.
Ryan told The Coast Star, “I heard about the auction on Facebook. I go to a lot of restaurant auctions. I’ve never been here but it’s amazing and it’s sad to see all of this coming out of here, because it must have been really spectacular.”
Ryan successfully bid on a pair of glassed window shutters, a row of pews and a large cross that hung over the altar, which the auctioneer said she will need to enlist the Bradley Beach Fire Department to remove. She hopes to install some of the purchased artifacts at a new restaurant she plans on opening in the future.
A few of the big ticket items sold at the auction included the altar pipe organ that sold to an in-person bidder for $400 and large carved oak room divider divided into three sections purchased by an online bidder for $500.
Council President Jane DeNoble told The Coast Star, “The church artifact auction was a significant event. Its inclusive, transparent and respectful nature allowed many Bradley Beach residents and locals to purchase a piece of history and have one last opportunity to say goodbye.”
The majority of items on the register were not bid on by either in-person or online bidders including a chandelier, religious paintings, pews and glass windows, to name a few. According to DeNoble, who facilitated the auction on behalf of the borough, the items on the register not purchased at the auction will be disposed of, donated or sold in a yard sale.
According to the auctioneer, buyers have a deadline of May 12 to remove their purchased artifacts from the vacant building. The sale of any items that are deemed too hazardous or impractical to remove will be voided.
“A lot of people who try to preserve and reuse historic buildings run into this, who knows what the motivations are. One of the sad stories is that people in this country are really not attuned to saving the past, it’s always a battle,” Neshamkin said.
In a town newsletter to residents, Gubitosi wrote, “This will bring to a close the 125-year legacy of this church, built upon land gifted by James Bradley, and which served our community for over a century. I know many of our residents will always fondly remember this church and the events they’ve attended there—including weddings, baptisms and basketball games in the gym. Now we can look forward to welcoming new homes, new families and new neighbors to the 300 block of LaReine Avenue.”
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