Rally to save Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church from demolition

Reps for developer Douglas Steiner filed permits in late April to demolish the now-vacant parcel of Mary Help of Christians that includes the church, school and rectory, as we first reported.

Specs for the retail portion of the complex mention a "140 unit market luxury rental building" for the space. (The retail listing is no longer online, by the way.)

Meanwhile, various preservationists and community groups are coming together for a rally Wednesday evening...



From The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation:

Mary Help of Christians is a 100-year-old church at 436 East 12th Street with an incredible history connected to the East Village's immigrant roots and beautiful architecture. (Read more about the church's history and see photos here.) The church was also immortalized in Allen Ginsberg's poem "Fourth Floor, Dawn, Up All Night Writing Letters." In 2012, GVSHP and fellow community groups called for the church, and the adjacent rectory, built in the 1850s, and its nearly 90-year-old school on 11th Street, to be landmarked, but the City refused.

GVSHP notes that there is plenty of open space for the new building, and that the existing properties "would be great candidates for adaptive re-use."

[Via Off the Grid]

And there has been activity at the lot in recent days... a handful of workers and equipment have been on the scene ...



...for asbestos removal at the former school building on East 11th Street...



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