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Man Who Damaged Pipe Organ at Saint Peter's Church Arrested, Police Say

By Noah Hurowitz | February 12, 2016 4:39pm | Updated on February 15, 2016 8:36am
 A Queens man damaged this pipe organ at Saint Peter's Church on Feb. 6, according to police.
A Queens man damaged this pipe organ at Saint Peter's Church on Feb. 6, according to police.
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Saint Peter's Church

MIDTOWN EAST — A Queens man damaged a pipe organ in the chapel of a Midtown church, according to a police report.

The 54-year-old man, who hails from Forest Hills, damaged a small organ at Saint Peter’s Church at Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street at 4:45 p.m. on Feb. 6, and was arrested about two hours later after the church notified police, according to an NYPD spokesman.

The suspect was released without bail with a desk appearance ticket for a court date on March 24, police said.

The damaged pipe organ stands about three feet tall. The church also has a larger pipe organ, which towers above the church’s sanctuary, but was left intact. Both instruments were built by the Orgelbau Klais company in Bonn, Germany, which has been building and restoring organs since the 19th Century.

The church came into possession of the smaller organ in 2000 when it was donated by a Maggie and Ace Clark, in memory of their son Matthew Clark.

A police spokesman was unable to specify how the man damaged the organ or what the cost of the damage was, and representatives of the church did not respond to several requests for comment.

The suspect is not an employee or regular congregant of Saint Peter’s, according to his mother, who declined to comment further when reached by phone.