There are still two masses here on Sunday mornings.
Anyway, seeing this fund-raising sign made me wonder.... Whatever happened to the sale of the former school's playground?
It has been nearly a year since The Real Deal reported the following:
Two thirds of a 15,000-square-foot East Village playground that was home to a popular flea market is under contract in a quiet, all-cash sale for $10.4 million to the Archdiocese of New York, court documents said.
The playground, divided into three ownership lots, is adjacent to the shuttered Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church on the east side of Avenue A between 11th and 12th streets. The Archdiocese owns the church located on a 13,000 square foot lot, city records show.
The two parcels, under contract since July, total 7,500 square feet and are owned by a Roman Catholic order called the Salesian Society, based in New Rochelle, NY. The third part of the playground, totaling 7,500 square feet, is owned by the Archdiocese, records show.
The Archdiocese did not respond to requests for comment, but real estate professionals speculated the church parcel and playground would be sold and developed into residential housing.
The only thing growing here now are weeds. Which is fine by me. Couldn't this space be turned over for community use? Do we really need another condo or dorm?
The Mary Help of Christians market vendors relocated last fall to the playground behind Earth School, Thompson Square Middle School and P.S. 64 on Fourth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. I believe the flea market is done for the summer, though...
For further reading:
Bob Arihood has posts on the faithful souls who come to the church steps every night to say the rosary. Here.... and here. (The third photo in this post is one of my all-time favorites...)
The Church Ladies (The New York Times)
