Summer is an "ideal time" for St. Brigid's renovations

In his most recent letter to friends and supporters (dated June 19), Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, said that the construction manager, architects and contractors recently met to plan the first stage of the renovations, "which should start shortly." As he noted, "The summer months when the school is closed is an ideal time for the major construction." He continued: "I am confident that in ... no time St. Brigid's Church will be restored to her original splendor and we will ... realize what we almost lost."

Previously.

St. Brigid's and Matt Dillon, together again?

Late yesterday afternoon, I took a stroll by St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street... Just to check in on her...see what was what with the scaffolding. Nothing going on with the church. Across the street, though, Matt Dillon was standing there, borderline incognito in aviator sunglasses. He was talking on a cell phone.

I wouldn't usually note a sighting like this... but, as you know, Dillon supports the church... Maybe he was there to see St. Brigid's? Couldn't tell you. I didn't linger. I ran home as fast as I could to write this post! (Kidding! I didn't run.)



Dillon attended some Save St. Brigid's rallies in the past. The Villager had a story on it back in June 2007:

"After the rally, Dillon lingered for nearly an hour as he waxed on about St. Brigid’s uniqueness and 'minimalist' beauty, at one point throwing his arm around a Channel 2 news cameraman to show him the best angle to capture the cathedral.

'There’s a kind of spiritual energy that’s attached with this church. Something that’s very soulful,' offered Dillon. 'It’s more than any church that I’ve been around. Every time I come here, I’m more impressed by just how beautiful it is,' explained the actor, who also filmed 'The Saint of Fort Washington' in a squat around the corner from St. Brigid’s.

'There’s nothing ostentatious about this church. But there’s something very elegant,' Dillon continued. 'It was designed by a famous architect. It reflects the poor immigrants who came here. They built it the best they could. It should be preserved to tell that history, just like Ellis Island.'"

[Photo by William Alatriste, New York City Council]

The scaffolding will return to the front of St. Brigid's

We've enjoyed seeing the front of St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street since the scaffolding came down on May 26.





However, as we suspected, the scaffolding is down just for the short-term. Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, confirmed this for us in an e-mail. He said the scaffolding was interfering with testing that needed to be done inside the church. He had hoped to meet with the construction manager to find out how much longer before the new scaffolding would return.

Torres also posted a letter last Friday for supporters of the church.

Three photos of St. Brigid's

I love St. Brigid's. I'm going to keep taking photos of it (her?) while the scaffolding is down.

Looking at the front of St. Brigid's

As we mentioned yesterday, the scaffolding came down in front of St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street. We stopped by later to take a few photos. Been too long since we've seen the front of the church.

We sent an e-mail to Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, for an update. We'll report back soon as we hear from him. In his last letter to friends and supporters of the church (posted April 27), he said that the bids to repair the foundation were due that week. He also said that plans had not been submitted to the Department of Buildings.

The scaffolding is coming down at St. Brigid's

EV Grieve reader Empire also checks in with the above photos taken this afternoon at St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street. The scaffolding outside the church is coming down. Perhaps to make it easier for workers to access the church during the renovation process? Regardless, it's nice to see the church steps again.

Previously.

At St. Brigid's: That sinking feeling

In his most recent letter to parishioners (dated March 25), Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid’s, reported that the steeples at the church on Avenue B at Eighth Street will not be replaced as previously reported.

Torres also reported that the church's entire foundation needs to be stabilized. Why?

"The church sits on what is basically porridge," he wrote. "There is no bedrock until you reach 92 feet. There is also an underground stream which runs very close to the property."

However serious, Torres said he's confident the problem "is being addressed by well-qualified people with experience and knowledge in restoration."

Looking at the crack at St. Brigid's

The Villager recently has an article on the architectural plans to renovate St. Brigid's at Eighth Street and Avenue B....One of the major challenges: the large crack on the north side, which is partially detached from the church. Here's what it looks like:

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

At Eighth Street and Avenue B.

The Villager: No steeples for renovated St. Brigid's

Lincoln Anderson at The Villager has the details on the plans for the $10 million renovation of St. Brigid's at Avenue B and Eighth Street. The headline: "St. Brigid’s will have elevator and new A/C, but no steeples."

It's official, it's over: St. Brigid's won't be torn down

Well, this was really just a technicality...The Archdiocese had filed a motion to to render the court case moot. And moot it is. The Committee to Save St. Brigid's received their letter of withdrawal from the Court of Appeals. "It is officially over," Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid’s Church, wrote on Monday. Now if the church, at Eighth Street and Avenue B, can just get the power restored....

Plywood at St. Brigid's taken over by new (healthy!) fast-food restaurant posters

On the Avenue B side....


And on the Eighth Street side....

Scraping by

The other day, the Fresh Direct truck pulled in front of St. Brigid's between Seventh Street and Eighth Street to park...in doing so, the truck got a little too close to the scaffolding around the church...the truck scraped forward anyway (you can see the marks...) What a noise! To be honest, I was worried this might shake the scaffolding enough to cause a collapse. And it wouldn't be the first time there has been a scaffolding collapse here.

New signage for St. Brigid's

There are new signs up at St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street that note the upcoming restoration of the historic church...and its rebirth in the community.




An article in this week's issue of The Villager provides an update on the restoration:

Neighbors, elected officials and friends from near and far gathered on Feb. 1, the Feast of St. Brigid, to celebrate the victory of the Committee to Save St. Brigid’s in the group’s long struggle to prevent the demolition of the 1849 church on Tompkins Square Park.

The committee saw its dream come true last May when the Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced it had accepted a $20 million donation from an anonymous donor, including $10 million to restore and maintain the building and the parish and another $10 million to endow parish schools in the area.

The donor is still anonymous and the archdiocese has declined to identify the “angel” who made the gift.

Edwin Torres, leader of the committee, told the gathering on Sunday that the archdiocese had received the last $5 million installment of the $10 million for the building restoration on Dec. 16 and that architects and engineers have been working in the building at 119 Avenue B since the beginning of the year.

“We’ve been at the site at least once a week and we’ve spoken to the engineers — they’re testing the bricks and mortar in the church to see the extent of the problems,” Torres said, adding, “This will probably be the last meeting of the committee — we’ve achieved what we set out to 10 years ago. But we’ll continue to monitor the site,” he said.

By the way, there's also a new Post Office box there too...the old one at that spot was fairly battered looking...I liked it.


Previous St. Brigid's coverage on EV Grieve here.

Save the date/reminder...And the Archdiocese now has half of the money to restore St. Brigid's

Meanwhile, Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid’s Church, had the following news to report:

This year will bring a lot of change to St. Brigid’s Church. We would like inform you that work is progressing. There is currently on site testing going on. We will continue to monitor the situation.

The Archdiocese has informed us on Dec 16, 2008 the second installment (5 million) was received, a total of 10 million has been received and is earmarked for the restoration of the church. The Archdiocese will also be filing a motion to to render our case moot. We will inform everyone of the outcome through the website. The case is scheduled to be heard in The Court of Appeals on February 11, 2009.

Stocking stuffers for St. Brigid's?

Hmm, is that big enough to hold $20 million? On Avenue B and Eighth Street at the entrance to the St. Brigid's renovation.

The Times continues to pummel, er, examine the work of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

And now, part three in the paper's series: churches.

Houses of worship are among the most sensitive issues facing the landmarks commission. Mandating that a church be preserved can not only impose a heavy financial burden on a congregation, it also raises the specter of state interference with religious freedom. So the commission has been especially loath to take on churches or synagogues that don’t want to be designated.

According to the article, one of the most striking cases that the commission declined to hear was that of St. Brigid’s on Avenue B at Eighth Street.

Previous Landmark Commission articles here.

The renovation of St. Brigid's is under way; permit to demolish the church has been removed

You may remember that, despite the $20 million anonymous donation to save St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street, the Archdiocese of New York still had the demolition permits on file as of September. No more. Edwin Torres, chairman of the committee to Save St. Brigid's, told his supporters last month that the permits had been withdrawn. Phew. Meanwhile, the renovation begins/continues. We've seen several workers there during recent walks by the 160-year-old church.

Torres said that the Archdiocese has retained architects and other professionals necessary for the renovation. The first step, though: asbestos removal. No word on how long this could take...Aug. 15, 2009?

Hole in the wall revealed at St. Brigid's

This was the scene yesterday...




Some work has been done. The shot below was taken Oct. 2.

St. Brigid's gets prepped for something ugly

Curbed reported Sept 25 that the back wall will be coming down at St. Brigid's on Eighth Street and Avenue B. There has definitely been some activity out back the last few days, but nothing major...yet.