After the successful demolition of the front walls, the sledgehammer-ers turned their attention to the job of removing the front stoops. As it turned out, they needed to resort to the use of a jackhammer instead—the bedrock that has been such an issue in digging out the basement apparently came into play here, too. But eventually both stoops were successfully removed.
With help from the sledgehammer-wielding workers, the walls were removed from the fronts of 2524 and 2526. The Jesus mural partially visible in the photos above was designed and painted in the early 1990s by two young men in our congregation. This came about because groups of young men were increasingly gathering outside our church doors dealing drugs. We prayed for God’s guidance as we searched for a way to more clearly identify our corner of 146th Street as belonging to the church, and to challenge passersby with the Gospel message. When Richard Pannell and Ben Stevens (now co-pastor of King of Glory Tabernacle, Bronx, NY), suggested the idea of a mural, the idea was warmly embraced. In all the years it has been on the wall, there has never been any graffiti painted over the mural. In fact, the same young men who originally caused disturbances became the protectors of the mural—warning people from others blocks not to mess with our wall.
This area is now surrounded by a shed enclosure that will remain for the duration of the construction.
A major milestone literally and figuratively—concrete has been poured for the steps from the first to second floor (seen here through the newly-created hallway connecting the two buildings). In the foreground, the floor is ready for concrete to be poured.
The next step is for the concrete to be poured into the steel frame and into the corrugated steel flooring. Before too much longer, the fire escapes will no longer be the only means of access to the upper floors.
Note: Now that Joshua Plaza is under construction, the two buildings that are being merged have also been officially merged into a single address. According to the New York City Dept. of Buildings, Joshua Plaza is located at 2524 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (For convenience in identifying areas under construction, this blog is likely to continue to refer to street numbers 2526 and 2524 for the time being.) 
This (above) was the scene outside the Joshua Plaza work site after our new windows were delivered in early January. Receiving the delivery was great. But without interior stairs it is still a tremendous challenge to move supplies within the buildings. In the middle of the photo immediately below, you can see (in action) the hoist system that was used to painstakingly lift the windows from floor to floor.
As reflected in the photo above and the two below, while the windows were being installed, another crew was simultaneously installing new interior cinder block walls. (Note regarding construction costs: the cost of each block is approximately $2.00—exclusive of labor.)
This is the newly-created elevator shaft for the elevator that will run between the two (eventually-to-be-connected) buildings.
And just what is it? The basement floor! It is no longer covered by tons of debris, and it has new concrete footers poured and rebar in place. The old boiler has been removed and the bedrock has been leveled out.
The boiler and the steel beams between the basement and first floor were removed by the same crew that cut out the steel staircase in the fall.
Because it turns out that the buildings are sitting are bedrock, it will not be possible to extend the basement any deeper, as had originally been planned. But wherever possible, the exposed rock has been removed. This basement will be a modern, utilitarian space—and step by step, it is beginning to take shape!
