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.

No pearly gates

The demolition continues behind the fence on the Mary Help of Christians lot on Avenue A...



Photos today by EVG reader pbc3.

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.

Mary Help of Christians down to last floor

[April]

A quick check in on the ongoing demolition at the former Mary Help of Christians property on Avenue A at East 11th Street and East 12th Street... the school appears to be down to its last floor...


[Photo by Bobby Williams]

Meanwhile, this past weekend, former parishioners returned to say prayers in front of what remains of the church on East 12th Street...


[Photo by Paul DeRienzo]

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

Previously.

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 disappearing Mary Help of Christians

An East Village resident has been keeping tabs on the destruction at the former Mary Help of Christians lot... workers are taking down the rectory on East 12th Street first to make way for the new residential development...

Wednesday...








Thursday...





...three stories gone by the end of the day...



...and the garage with the familiar Mary Help of Christians mural is gone. Here's a last look yesterday... next to the machine that eventually crushed it...




And from the ground, a few end-of-day-shots via Bobby Williams... not much else to say.

Workers arrive this morning to prep Mary Help of Christians Catholic church for demolition

An update on our Mary Help of Christians post from this morning.

Workers are now on the scene putting up the scaffolding and construction netting around the church on East 12th Street... as these photos by EVG reader Greg Masters show... the church, which opened in 1917, is the last building on the property to be prepped for demolition...







...and an East Village resident shares an aerial view...





Previously.

Prep work continues for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

[June 30]

Workers continue to prep the properties on the Mary Help Of Christians lot for demolition to make way for a new residential complex. The scaffolding and netting arrived on Tuesday for the school on East 11th Street near Avenue A ... and workers were still erecting the scaffolding yesterday afternoon...





Meanwhile, workers have already wrapped the former rectory on East 12th Street... only the church, which opened in 1917, remains free of the demolition bondage... miracle time has likely passed, though...



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

H/t Shawn Chittle.

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