Asbestos removal starting at St. Brigid's

And Mrs. Grieve thought it would be funny to take my picture while I was taking a picture...

Balloons and St. Brigid

My blue heaven

The blue construction netting is now up at St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street.




Previously.

New scaffolding reaching to the heavens at St. Brigid's

At Eighth Street and Avenue B.

Previously.

More scaffolding for St. Brigid's

After receiving photos from a reader on Friday morning, I had to go over and see the exterior work being done on St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street for myself... There was plenty of activity here on Saturday...

Workers begins shoring up St. Brigid's exterior wall (and crack)

Thanks to the EV Grieve reader for these photos.... As the renovation continues at St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street, crews are setting up scaffolding this morning to start one of the major challenges of this project: repairing the large crack on the north side, which is partially detached from the church. (The Villager had an article on the architectural plans last March)






Here's a closer look....

Restoration update at St. Brigid's (with new photos)

Here's the latest message from Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's:

"The restoration continues. The south and north walls have been reinforced. They are currently working on the center support."

Torres also posted new photos from inside the church on Avenue B at Eighth Street...





Looks rather heavenly...

Rectory also part of St. Brigid's renovation

We've noted the progress on the renovations at St. Brigid's. However, we never heard if the plans including repairing the rectory next door to the church on Avenue B.

The other night, we noticed that lights were on inside the rectory.




So we asked Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, what was happening with the rectory.

The rectory is part of the renovation. It will be fully restored and will serve several functions, one of which will be the home for the pastor. The current church I attend does not have a rectory and the priest rents an apartment [nearby]. It will be a luxury to have a rectory.

P.S.

We've always liked this aerial shot that Gothamist published back in 2006....




Previously.

Fundraiser for Calvin Gibson

Read The Villager's profile on Gibson here.

Posts that I never got around to posting: New fence at St. Brigid's

Before!



Now!



That should keep out those squatters...

Previously on EV Grieve:
We hope the Archdiocese didn't spend any of the $10 million on the new "no parking" sign for St. Brigid's

Looking at the work that will "enable St. Brigid's Church to last another two hundred years"

Work continues on St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street...Can't tell a whole lot from the outside...



Here's the latest message from Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's:

"The entire foundation is being strengthened; this will enable St. Brigid's Church to last another two hundred years."

He also posted these photos of the work being done in the lower portion of the church...

Posts that I never got around to posting: Post no bills on the St. Brigid's plywood

Making it official at St. Brigid's: "The construction and restoration has begun!"

Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, posted a brief note today ... the lead:

The construction and restoration has begun!

He notes that not much happened at the church in recent months. "Most of the summer was spent correcting minor conditions the City of New York insisted be corrected before work could begin." He said the city approved the plans for the restoration on June 28; work officially began at the site on Avenue B at Eighth Street this past Tuesday.

Previously.

The lights are back on inside St. Brigid's

As noted yesterday, the renovation of St. Brigid's has begun -- the sidewalk shed along Avenue B is back ... And, last night, we had to walk over to check on the progress ... and we saw one of the loveliest scenes that we've seen in many years (since the church closed in 2001?) ... the lights inside St. Brigid's were on last night...peeking through the boarded-up windows... the photos here really don't do it justice...

Photographic evidence of the St. Brigid's construction/renovation

As per the reader a little bit ago...

Previously.

Construction crew spotted at St. Brigid's

A reader said that he/she noticed a construction crew at work behind St. Brigid's. Like real work, moving big chunks of stuff. Hmm. Photos to come...

Previously.

Sidewalk shed returning to St. Brigid's; restoration to follow? (Meanwhile, Matt Dillon also returns)

Back on May 26, the sidewalk shed in front of St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street came down... At the time, Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, told me that the scaffolding was interfering with testing that needed to be done inside the church.

This morning, the sidewalk shed is ready to return....



And I never had the chance to truly appreciate the weed tree thing that started growing from the foundation....




However, as much as I'll miss seeing the front of the church, the return of the sidewalk shed likely signals the beginning of the restoration process. Otherwise, it has been awfully quiet at the church this summer. Earlier in August, I asked Torres for an update. According to Torres: He was told by the site's construction manager that the city was holding them up. Several violations needed to be cleared up before they got the go ahead to start. "The work should have started Aug. 3," Torres wrote in an e-mail.

I took a look at the DOB Web site. There seems to be an open complaint dated from Sept. 1. And what is it for?

FAILURE TO MAINTAIN BUILDING. MAJOR CRACKS, BULGING, AT REAR OF BLDG. FACADE. WITH SEPARATION AT BASE

Um, isn't that why they're restoring the church, to fix these things? Issuing a complaint only holds up the renovation process...



And all this is happening when St. Brigid's supporter Matt Dillon has moved back to the East Village. (Fourth item in Scoopy's column in The Villager.) COINCIDENCE? (Which explains why I've seen him so much the last few months...)

Previous St. Brigid's coverage here.