Monday, November 19, 2012

The bells of St. Brigid's


In the last few days, several readers who live near St. Brigid's on Avenue B and East Eighth Street have noted hearing the church bells chime. (Or whatever sound church bells make...) Dave on 7th noted the sound was coming from the north tower.

And per Dave on 7th: "I wonder if there are actual bells in there? They were lovely. And I wonder, if they're a daily thing, how long it will be before the complaints start?"

16 comments:

Dave on 7th said...

"the tintinabulation of the bells"- Edgar Allen Poe

Anonymous said...

I heard them only at Noon? Or at least that's when I noticed them.

Anonymous said...

Oh wait. I hear them now... 8:54 am.

Dave on 7th said...

They must be hourly, except they're six minutes off, cause I first noticed them at 6:54 pm.

randall said...

I sure hope no one complains. I lived near a church in Burlington, Vermont while I was in college and I used to love the sound of bells on Sunday morning. It is one of my favorite memories. To hear bells pealing in NYC must be a real treat.

Anonymous said...

i also remembered looking at my watch yesterday and noticing they were 10 min early.

Anonymous said...

anyone who complains about church bells should be kicked in the teeth.

---East 8th Street Asskicking Committee

esquared™ said...

Weren't they complaining of church chimes then?

http://evgrieve.com/2009/04/new-scourge-of-our-neighborhoods-church.html

And maybe the it's to commemorate Hostess ding dongs. And as long as they don't play this ding ding dong.

But seriously, the sound of church bells add character and small town feel to the neighborhood.

esquared™ said...

oof, link to ding ding dong got lost in the previous comment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbYtqAWDF2U

#carryon

Anonymous said...

Actually, even today there aren't too many places in the EV that are not within earshot of some ringing church bell. I think mostly people become so used to it that they stop noticing it.

Jill said...

The Sunday morning 10am bell ringing used to be a regular thing here. Now I dont know if I no longer notice it, or if they've stopped. I was never sure which church they came from but I'm starting to think it was Mary Help of Christians, which would explain why they've stopped.

Anonymous said...

We have always heard bells on Sunday which we thought were coming from the church on 10th and A or maybe the church on 4th street between A & B. We live on B and 7th Street.

Dave on 7th said...

Heard them today, albeit a couple minutes early, ringing out the hour.

Anonymous said...

Well, all you tin-eared tintinabulists....These are not real church bells---rather a clever assemblage of recorded sounds run through well placed speakers...And they aren't coordinated with real time merely an approximation-Can't the priest check his cell-phone to at least be accurate?...The original bell was amazing and it was removed and not reinstalled for reasons that remain a troubling mystery. These recorded sounds are horrible and as fake as Hostess Twinkies. As a neighbor who lives quite close to the church I wish they would stop them completely. Along with the ludicrously bright lights and ugly fixtures now adorning the front and side of the church this building is looking and sounding more garish by the minute....Ding dong---bah humbug...There is very little authentic about electronically sounding out the hour in NYC in the year 2012....An Italian hill-town perhaps but not here. Let the rest of us get a bit of peace and quiet fergod'sakes....and change the damn bulbs--You could burn a hole in granite at 500 paces with those white halogen lasers flaring out into the night. And they cost a bundle to burn all night....St. Brigid's will be bankrupt again in a month if they don't address this silliness---What are they trying to do? Advertise that they are back in business for whom? The bats and pigeons? The rest of us already know this....

Dave on 7th said...

Well, that didn't take long.

Joe Jusko said...

And there ya go.