Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Back on Tuesday, a rep from the Department of Buildings arrived at Most Holy Redeemer and posted a notice on one of the currently-closed church's front doors... sparking curiosity from neighbors who can see the posted sign but can't access the locked gate...
The DOB category is 73 — FAILURE TO MAINTAIN.
Per the complaint:
OBSERVED A SECTION OF DETACHED PLASTER CEILING WITHIN THE SANCTUARY. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN VIOLATION WARRANTED.
Services here stopped on Sept. 1 (with one exception), and the property appears to be moving toward closure and possible sale, prompting growing concern from parishioners and preservationists alike.
Organizers have called on the Archdiocese to keep the church from being shuttered or sold, and urged the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to move ahead with landmark designation.
Church leadership cited the shortage of priests as a key reason for the shift away from Most Holy Redeemer to St. Brigid on Avenue B.
Officials also raised concerns about the building's structural condition. As noted last summer, there is a small patch of plaster falling from the ceiling to the left of the altar (and not over any of the pews). Church leaders said that engineers would evaluate whether it remains safe.
Parishioners — and even a church employee — expressed skepticism that a small section of falling plaster was reason enough to shut the building, as well as questions about the timing of the engineering review. (Photo below from Aug. 31.)
This same analysis could lead to the end of the church that opened in 1851.
The Archdiocese has yet to respond to any of the ongoing concerns or even share any potential future plans.
Find the petition about landmarking here. You can follow the Facebook group Save Most Holy Redeemer Historical Church here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
16 comments:
What a shame. It is a remarkable place. Genie and I have gone to midnight mass there. Great stories about the building's place in the history of the neighborhood. And a must see, "stuffed Saint." The Catholic Church has certainly fallen low when they allow a pilgrimage church to fall into disrepair and talk about selling it. Just one more example of the death of NYC.
The church has been in a state of disrepair for quite some time, so much so that attendance has stopped due to concerns of safety. Even though New York City's Father has left for DC. Hopefully, he hasn't forgotten about us and will negotiate a proper church to condo conversion. This will be dependant on a proper clean up of the streets and criminals. We need people or troops on the ground to ensure us all and new arrivals that we are safe. Happy New Year!
Well said! It truly is a remarkable church. I have had much peace through prayer in this cathedral like House of God. It’s saddens me deeply that I can no longer have quiet time in a place that has provided me much calm and inner peace 🙏🏻
Don't tell me they can demolish this building.
The Catholic Church in NYC is a predatory capitalist just like so many other landlords. Their real estate is viewed as just another asset in their portfolio and they manipulate the system just like any other predatory capitalist landlord. If you have been paying attention, even just in the EV alone, they sell churches to the highest bidder only, contrary to their supposed mission as a nonprofit a non tax payer.. In 2024 however, they did sell Saint Emeric
on Avenue D to a consortium of nonprofits, including the Cooper Square Committee, for housing. But if you want to be cynical about it, they would never have received a high price from a luxury condo developer because the site is too close to the ConEd on 14th Street. So after decades of selling to luxury condos in the neighborhood and bad press about ruthlessly selling to “luxury” developers they did do that at least, a great PR move. So watch for the further deterioration of this church and then another sale to the highest bidder.
Is this the opening shot... The city is desperate for cheap housing and the church is looking for money to pay the sex scandal. And the EV is preferable location to build low rent housing than say the West Village, Upper East, Upper West... you get he point. It's a perfect confluence of needs.
Someone has to buy the church or else all the hand-wringing is pointless.
St. Brigid was restored only because a *very* generous donor gave a strings-attached donation to the Archdiocese. If you've got that much money, just buy the building itself.
Otherwise, we know too well from so many other sites in the neighborhood: it's their private property, they can do as they see fit with it, they can let the building rot to pieces, and there is no foreclosure process to save this property like there was with the CHARAS building.
The Archdiocese deserves all the scorn in the world if they demolish-by-neglect, or demolish as-of-right. But that's exactly what we're heading toward if there isn't a purchase made sooner rather than later.
And, let's be honest, it's also not good if the church building just sits there closed and derelict for 10-20 years while involved parties fight off legal challenges.
How can they maintain it if they can't even get in?
Also, people stopped drinking alcohol, imagine that!
"It's their private property, they can do as they see fit with it," sadly, even though churches have been supported by nontaxable status since the founding of this country. So over two centuries worth of donations, and collection plate donations from people in this neighborhood have paid for this church and now the Diocese will let it rot with no maintenance and do everything possible to stop land marked designation, contrary to what the parishioners and local community wants. The Catholic Church is so far from its original mission.
I live across the street from Saint Columbo in Chelsea which the Catholic church sold to a developer recently. If you have a tiny congregation, then the church will eventually be sold off. Simple story.
I was in a Catholic seminary for three years a long time ago. I saw corruption, greed & arrogance on a daily basis, balanced out by some very good & decent men. All too often the decent men left and the corrupt stayed. And so it goes......
Buildings mean little... It's what goes on inside them that matters. And an empty church doesn't serve a function. It's better to sell the church property and use the money to drop tuition at the local catholic schools and serve the community where the church can do more good and develop catholicism. The restoration of St. Brigid was a mistake. The school should have been renovated and the tuition dropped to keep catholicism alive and better serve the public.
You do see a growing number of elder institutions tryna sell off real estate. The Irish building on 5th Ave, etc.
Most Holy Redeemer is not just a "building". It is a historic church with a rich history and is a pilgrimage site with many relics of the saints. The parish had been growing when it was joined by the parishioners of the closed Nativity Church on Second Avenue and when Father Sean became pastor. Father Sean initiated many events, concerts, breakfasts, etc and was a inspiring pastor who brought new life to the parish. However I think the the diocese had $$ in their eyes and had to remove the popular Father Sean in order to cause the church to lose it's worshipers.
What a shame.
In addition, I bet anything that either the church (maybe someone at Immaculate Conception who is now in charge of St. Brigid's and what's left of Holy Redeemer) or some developer initiated the "visit" by the DOB.
To be realistic the Lower East Side these days is majority Atheist. The Archdiocese probably figures, "Why Fight a Losing Battle on the Lower East Side when we can devote our resources to neighborhoods where a majority of the people actually believe in God!"
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