Even as a fourth grader at Stewart School Greg Cavaluzzo knew the importance of St. Paul's and what it represented to all those who crossed its path. As part of his Social Studies curriculum, Cavaluzzo's class created a quilt that patched together the village's rich history to commemorate Garden City's 125th anniversary.

Cavaluzzo's patch represented the memorial that Cornelia Stewart built in honor of her late husband and Garden City's founder, Alexander Turney Stewart. The quilt included the Cathedral of the Incarnation, St. Paul's and St. Mary's, which was torn down after a fire ravaged the former girls' school.

"To me, St. Paul's is a symbol of the Village of Garden City. It was erected to memorialize the founder of the village, and to knock it down would be an insult to him and his legacy," Cavaluzzo said.

Seventeen years after residents overwhelmingly approved its purchase, the historic building's fate still hangs in the balance. Recent public hearings have offered citizens the chance to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on its proposed demolition.

"I had always wanted to fight for the preservation of St. Paul's," says Cavaluzzo, a Loyola College grad who's lived in Garden City since 1992. "When the Committee to Save St. Paul's (CSSP) was founded, I joined the mailing list, but aside from that, I never got involved with the group. I'm afraid that I had just become complacent with the entire issue."

But after reading an article online, the author's urgency with which he wrote struck a chord with Cavaluzzo. He sprung into action, creating a Save St. Paul's Facebook page to bring about awareness of current talks about possible demolition.

"The first thing that I did upon reading this article was logon to Facebook to see if there were any forums devoted to St. Paul's. There is a great group that is dedicated to the alum of St. Paul's and St. Mary's. Edward Castagna is a very vocal member of that group and does a fantastic job to rally the alum to this cause," he said.

Aside from that though, Cavaluzzo said there really wasn't a page serving as a "source of information and a forum to express opinions, share ideas and lament."

"I could no longer sit idle and watch something that I was so passionate about be torn down without putting up a fight," he said. "I would really hate for St. Paul's to be knocked down and then hear someone say 'I didn't even know that the village was holding a vote about that.' While information regarding key village issues is printed in the local papers, more and more, the Internet is the top news source for people my age, particularly social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook."

Cavaluzzo's Facebook group is open to all (residents and non-residents) who oppose the destruction of this landmark.

"If people have no outlet with which to express themselves, that energy will go to waste. We can use this group as a tool to help us raise not only awareness but money. Mayor Rothschild mentioned that with all of the letters he has received in regards to St. Paul's, he has never received a donation. I think that if there was an actual 'St. Paul's Fund' set up, completely separate from the village, people would be more inclined to donate money," Cavaluzzo said, adding that if a conservancy were formed he would "absolutely" donate preservation funds. 

Cavaluzzo supports any usage of the building that would keep the façade intact – anything from a community center to condos or even a nursing home.

"If we can learn anything from this whole St. Paul's debacle, it is that compromise is necessary," he said. "Why can't the building serve a mixed use? It's a huge building, couldn't it be sectioned off - part for public use, part for private use?"

Cavaluzzo gets sentimental when speaking about St. Paul's. He has vivid memories of walking past the building while heading to Cluett Hall for theater rehearsal as a kid. And as he begins new traditions in a place he hopes to some day raise a family, running in the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, Cavaluzzo is fighting to preserve old traditions for his future generation.

"If St. Paul's is torn down we can never get it back. Structures like St. Paul's are not made anymore. The craftsmanship, the ornate splendor, the overwhelming architecture is art," he said. "The loss of St. Paul's would not only mean the destruction of two-thirds of Alexander Turney Stewart's memorial, it would put a hole in the heart of Garden City. Memories would be lost and legacies would cease."

(Editor's Note: As of Thursday, 138 Facebook members have joined Cavaluzzo's cause.)