Things to ask:

What's all this about asbestos?
What condition was the organ in? (An organ from 1938 is pretty old.)
How many people have been coming to organ concerts lately?

Whatever the answers, it sounds like the City Council erred in scrapping the organ without publicity. On the other hand, maybe they gave notice and nobody paid attention. It's not the sort of thing that pops up on an i-Phone.
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My city has a brand-new pipe organ costing a million dollars or two, and I don't think anybody plays it. Nobody's interested. Well, a few people are interested, but there are already plenty of pipe organs around to meet their needs.