Makeshift altar arrives at former Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church

[Photo by EVG reader Matteo]

Last summer, workers demolished the church, school and rectory on the Mary Help of Christians lot on Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 11th Street. Developer Douglas Steiner awaits city approval for his retail-residential complex at the now-empty lot.

In the meantime, someone has created a makeshift altar on the East 12th Street plywood… which includes a frame around the plywood portal…


[Photo by EVG reader Matteo]

..and EVG reader Alta Tseng shared these photos…







Despite the demolition, former church regulars continued to hold their daily sidewalk prayer service on East 12th Street through August.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New residential complex at former Mary Help of Christians lot may include rooftop swimming pool

Meet your new neighbor on Avenue A

Permits filed to demolish Mary Help of Christians church, school and rectory

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians

New residential complex at former Mary Help of Christians lot may include rooftop swimming pool

Details are emerging about the residential complex slated to take the place of the former Mary Help of Christians complex that developer Douglas Steiner bought last fall for $41 million.

Plans filed yesterday with the city show that the proposed new building will stand 7 stories with 158 residential units. In total, the complex will be 164,720 square feet. (The building's address will be 438 E. 12th St., not 181 Avenue A as we originally thought.)

Here's more information (PDF) via the CB3 website:

The Project will contain 22 affordable units that will be designated as Inclusionary Housing units under HPD’s Inclusionary Housing Program. These 22 Inclusionary Housing units will consist of 4 studios, 14 one-bedroom units, and 4 two-bedroom units.

CB3's Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee will hear more about the Inclusionary Housing proposal during a meeting on Nov. 13.

Also, via the CB3 website:

The seven (7) story building will be "U" shaped, with interior units facing onto a landscaped courtyard. The building’s façade will be primarily comprised of brick, with metal panel at the penthouse setback level and storefront at the ground floor retail. The building will have residential apartments on all floors, including garden apartments on the cellar level. The first floor apartments will be elevated approximately 3’ above grade, and will be accessible not only by stairs but also by a rear-opening elevator. Approximately 10,000 square feet at the first floor and 8,000 square feet in the cellar are reserved for retail use. To enliven the courtyard façade and offer outdoor space, twenty-five (25) of the courtyard units will have balconies, five (5) of which will be IH Units.

The entrance to the building will be on East 12th Street, and the building will be staffed 24 hours a day by a concierge. Loading and move-ins will take place through a service corridor and entrance on Avenue A. Resident amenities will be housed in the cellar, opening to a landscaped courtyard, and on the top roof of the building. The amenities program is currently contemplated to include a fitness center and lounge in the cellar, as well as a swimming pool and landscaped deck on the roof. Access to these amenities will be fee-based. The fee will be reduced for the residents of the IH Units.

Find the renderings on this EVG post.

Last summer, workers demolished the structures on the Mary Help of Christians lot on Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 11th Street.



Photos by Bobby Williams.

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

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians

What can we expect on the former Mary Help of Christians property?

There was something about Mary

Photos from yesterday of the late Mary Help of Christians complex by Dan Efram.





Previously.

Mary Help of Rubble

[Greg Masters]

Demolition complete at the Mary Help of Christians lot on Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 11th Street.

Next: Luxury residences and months of noisy construction.

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

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians

Tonight marks the last of the sidewalk rosary vigils outside Mary Help of Christians

Back on June 21, the scaffolding and sidewalk bridge arrived on East 12th Street ahead of the demolition of Mary Help of Christians... despite this, former church regulars continued to hold their daily sidewalk prayer service ... like last night... (something that the group has been doing since the end of 2007)...







Neighbor Anton van Dalen, who took these photos, notes that the remaining faithful will hold their last sidewalk rosary vigil tonight at 7.

He shares the following:

Lately many of us have watched in horror as one of our neighborhood's churches is being violently torn down.

Especially difficult for some of our neighbors whose stations of life were honored and celebrated where now is only debris.

The Mary Help of Christians Church had been a steady presence for generations in our ever changing neighborhood.

Generations of immigrants formed communities there to help each other find a path into the American dream.

For more then a year now I have watched them quietly gather and pray outside exposed to every kind of weather.

They are the very last few of an once huge vibrant mostly Italian, Irish and then Puerto Rican community.

So [tonight] they will gather for the last time in front of what was their church and recite the rosary once more.

I will be there, as I hope many of our neighbors, to pay respect to the dignity of their expression of community and its history.

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Bob Arihood captured the parishioners on film several times for Neither More Nor Less...



Find these photos here... and here.

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

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians

Last sign of the cross at Mary Help of Christians

EVG reader S. Wylie took this sequence of photos as the workers lowered the second dome/cross from Mary Help of Christians on East 12th Street this morning...

A heartbreaking last look at the Mary Help of Christians bell tower

A starling takes a look last at the eastern bell tower on the Mary Help of Christians Catholic church.

Because it's coming down right now...



Workers removed the western bell tower on Wednesday. The lot is being cleared to make way for a new housing development.

Photos via an East Village resident.

Previously.

The Mary Help of Christians bell towers are coming down

The western tower is down ... and the demolition continues.

Photo by an East Village resident.

The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians

The photos and illustration are courtesy of Anton van Dalen

Dear neighborhood friends,

Made this drawing today and yesterday, also took the photos.

It's about a church that since 1917 has been an important integral part of our immediate neighborhood and community.

I, as so many of my neighbors, looked on in disbelief through a crack in the forbidding veil covered sidewalk fence.

We tried to comprehend, as the wrecking appeared done surreptitiously, this senseless shocking self-destruction.

And the complete betrayal of a family oriented community and a history that has endeared me since 1971.

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

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

Demolishing the 96-year-old Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church

Demolition day arrived yesterday at the Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church on East 12th Street. Workers are making their way forward as these photos from a variety of residents show.

For part of the day, workers left the gate on Avenue A open, which provided a clear view of the carnage.


[Via an EV resident]

Reactions were varied. At one moment, standing nearly side by side on Avenue A and East 11th Street, we spotted a woman saying a prayer... and another woman hopping out a cab, frantically searching for Westville East.

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The following photos are by Paul DeRienzo, which show the start of the church's demolition...











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From East 12th Street resident Kym Gomes, who has lived across from the church the past 20 years...





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From Bobby Williams...







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From an East Village resident...



...workers are also bringing down the former school on East 11th Street...



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... and the end of the day... via @surajstar ...



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The church opened in 1917. Developer Douglas Steiner bought the property last fall for an unspecified residential complex.

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

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

The bell towers of Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church

A look at the bell towers at the doomed Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church on East 12th Street via EVG reader Ruth... from last night (above) and this morning...



Workers have prepped the church for demolition to make way for a new residential complex.

No help likely to spare Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church from demolition

Last week we reported on the ongoing prep work to demolish the former Mary Help of Christians school and rectory. The church on East 12th Street, which opened in 1917, remains free of the demolition bondage as of last night.

As previously reported, East Village community and preservation groups were hoping that the historic church that developer Douglas Steiner plans to develop can be spared... the groups learned that a large cemetery was formerly found on this site, and called for a complete archaeological evaluation of the site before any work proceeded.

And what became of that request following the press conference on May 23?

"We did hear back from the Landmark Preservation Commission that they abdicated all responsibility to even require an archeological survey," said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. "So Steiner may end up digging up bodies, and the public may never know."

As far as next steps with trying to preserve the church, Berman said that their options are limited.

"Thus far common sense, decency, reasonable alternatives, and appeals to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to do their job have not stopped Steiner from moving ahead with his cemetery-condos plan," he said.

Steiner bought the property last fall for an unspecified residential complex.

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

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

Continuing to chip away at Mary Help of Christians

The sidewalk shed arrived outside the the Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church and rectory on East 12th Street yesterday... today, we spotted a few workers atop the church ... this one had some kind of hammer and was banging away on foundation holding up the cross in the center...







Developer Douglas Steiner bought the property last fall for an unspecified residential complex.

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

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site