Designated January 13, 1998
The New Utrecht Dutch Reformed Church, organized in 1677, is home to one of the oldest surviving congregations in New York. The Georgian-Gothic church building was constructed in 1828 incorporating stones of the previous church building, which had been brought over from Holland as ship ballast. Farther south on the large wooded lot stands the brick parish house, designed by Lawrence B. Valk and constructed in 1892 to meet the needs of its expanded congregation. The Romanesque Revival building has been largely unchanged since its construction, with the exception of relocating the main entrance to the base of the tower. Also on the lot is the church’s cemetery, which is one of the oldest burial grounds in New York City. The communal cemetery was organized about 1653-1654, prior to the construction of the first church building in 1700. The oldest surviving headstones date from the late eighteenth century; the earliest gravestones were destroyed by British troops who occupied the church during the Revolutionary War.
STATUS Designated Individual Landmarks
The Neighborhood
Bensonhurst
Bensonhurst derives its name from Egbert Benson (1789–1866), whose lands were sold by his children and grandchildren to James D. Lynch, a New York real estate developer. Bensonhurst has a large Italian-American population and a large population of residents born in China and is now...
Explore the Neighborhood >