Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Mary Help of Christians rally tonight; workers spotted taking apart rectory roof

As noted Monday, various preservationists and community groups are coming together for a rally tonight at Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church on East 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...



Developer Douglas Steiner has plans filed to demolish the now-vacant parcel of Mary Help of Christians, which includes the church, school and rectory.

This morning, a reader spotted workers started to tear up part of the roof of the rectory...



"The first affected — a family of starlings nesting in the northeast corner of the roof," the reader said. "It was a sickening feeling I had when I heard those saws cutting up the roof."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Permits filed to demolish Mary Help of Christians church, school and rectory

6 comments:

Fashion By He said...

i dont know a lot about this topic, but where have the people been since this church closed to try and save it? have there been any efforts up until the last minute to try and save or get back the church?

EV Grieve said...

@Fashion By He

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and other community groups submitted a request last year to the Landmarks Preservation Commission asking them to landmark the church. The LPC denied the request. At the time early last year, there was still a Spanish-language mass taking place here ... and the church hadn't been sold yet.

Fashion By He said...

why did the church decide to sell it? they obviously didnt care about it being a landmark status if they sold it to a developer...

nygrump said...

I thought this was a House of God. I guess that doesn't mean too much to the Catholics - too busy paying off child rape victims.

Anonymous said...

It's time to create jobs and housing not being naysayers the church sold the property it had title too. The new property owner is free to develop his purchased property unless of course property rights and contracts mean nothing and the discourse of people with no skin in the game is everything..

Anonymous said...

LUXURY housing, you mean. More of the same.