Retire?! Only if I can be buried here

Embattled Trinity boss has ungodly list of demands
By ISABEL VINCENT and MELISSA KLEIN
March 25, 2012

The embattled rector of Trinity Church had a grandiose plot for retirement — he wanted to spend eternity in the historic lower Manhattan church’s graveyard with Alexander Hamilton.

The afterlife clause was among a list of extravagant demands made on behalf of the Rev. James Cooper last summer, after church board members unhappy with his leadership called for his retirement.

Cooper, 67, wanted health- and life-insurance benefits until age 72; an undisclosed “thank-you” payment; a donation in his name to a charity; and $200,000 per year, for seven years, to fund a staff and support services in order for Cooper to continue his “ministry,” The Post has learned.

In the end, Cooper refused to retire, eventually sparking a revolt that led to the resignations of almost half the Episcopal church’s ruling board, or vestry.

Cooper’s leadership has plunged the house of worship into crisis, with accusations that the wealthiest church in the Anglican world is not spending enough on philanthropy, and is instead focusing on outsized development propositions. The church owns a real-estate portfolio worth at least $1 billion, but spends just $2.7 million yearly on grants.
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