Sunday's parting shot

Christo atop St. Brigid-St. Emeric on Avenue B and Eighth Street late this afternoon ... thanks to Steven for the photo!

A blue jay harasses Christo atop St. Brigid's

Multiple sources said that Christo the red-tailed hawk was taking a break from the egg-watching duties in the nest in Tompkins Square Park... when a pesky blue jay moved in for an unprovoked dive bomb atop St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street... EVG correspondent Steven captured the attack...

Christo and Dora celebrate Holy Week by mating atop St. Brigid's

You guys!





Photos today from Eighth Street and Avenue B today by Steven.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Christo and Dora are pretty much doing it all the time now

Updated: Skylight falls from St. Brigid's; Virgin Mary destroyed

There was some drama on East Eighth Street at Avenue B early this morning after one of the skylights from the Church of Saint Brigid – Saint Emeric came crashing down from the roof... @MediaJorge shared these two photos showing the FDNY on the scene...



As far as we know there weren't any injuries... we'll update when we get more information on what happened...

The combined parish reopened on Jan. 27, 2013.

Updated 10:18 a.m.

EVG reader Peter from 8th St. shared these photos from this morning...





The plastic encasement that houses the statue of the Virgin Mary was also damaged...



... as well as the Virgin Mary...

Noted

The camel is here for the live nativity at St. Brigid-St. Emeric on Avenue B at East Eighth Street.

Per the church's website: "Living Nativity for Children … Show only at 4 pm; Show & Mass at 8 pm."

A quick update!

@evgrieve screenshot of the camel NOT having it going into church @7BHorseshoeBar pic.twitter.com/2iqj3PR89x

— Theo Stockman (@TheStockmanO) December 19, 2014

Cross examination

Red-tailed hawk parents Christo and Dora spotted this afternoon atop the Church of Saint Brigid – Saint Emeric on Avenue B at East Eighth Street … photo by Bobby Williams…

Want a bus?

Last Tuesday, during the Polar Vortex, this bus broke down in front of St. Brigid's on Avenue B at East Eighth Street. A week later, it's still there. We're told that no one from the bus operator has attempted to make any repairs… or haul it off somewhere…

Until then, what can we do with it?

More speculation on the 'saint' who saved St. Brigid's

In May 2008, the Archdiocese of New York announced that it had accepted an anonymous $20 million donation to restore St. Brigid's on Avenue B and save it from demolition.

To date, the donor's name was never made public. But there was a lot of speculation... including, but not limited to: Matt Dillon (he spoke out to help save the church), Donald Trump and George Steinbrenner.

Now another name has emerged from a reliable source — Mel Gibson.



Apparently the actor-director donated to a lot of religious causes, including for preservation... (And this was pre-divorce settlement.)

If this is true, then thank you Mr. Gibson. Nice that one historic church was spared the condo after-life here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
13 keys dates in the 165-year history of St. Brigid's, reopening on Sunday

Saint Brigid-Saint Emeric gets mass-schedule holder display cases

Since reopening, Saint Brigid-Saint Emeric has had its mass schedule taped to the front doors here on Avenue B. But! In a new development captured by Dave on 7th yesterday, the church has installed display cases out front for the schedules and other announcements... (still hoping for bingo night...)

A more traditional St. Patrick's Day celebration at St. Brigid's this morning

During the 10 a.m. mass today ... Avenue B and East Eighth Street...

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Morning tweets

Flea market today -- St Brigid's at 7th and B. twitter.com/evgrieve/statu…

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) March 16, 2013

Mass schedule for St. Brigid-St. Emeric

Meant to note this earlier... in case you wanted to see the inside of the recently unveiled Church of Saint Brigid-Saint Emeric on Avenue B and East Eighth Street... (And, of course, to attend a mass.) Signs went up last week showing the times for the various masses... (And the church has a new website here.)

Good chance to practice up to be the next Pope.

Inside St. Brigid's, once again

A few more photos of St. Brigid's, which reopened Sunday, via Bobby William...

Previously.

[Updated] Inside the renovated St. Brigid's

-----

...and to see how far the church has come... Clayton Patterson shared these photos from a neglected church circa December 2005...

Updated 1-28

The New York Times has a piece on St. Brigid's in today's paper. The article goes into detail on the church's "daunting structural problems" and the challenges of the restoration.

A quick excerpt:

The pews were replaced and the exterior restored to resemble the original brownstone. Stained glass windows were brought from St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Harlem, which closed in 2003.

[Architect Michael F.] Doyle also restored an elaborate inscription along the top of the east wall that had been painted over in the 1960s, although there was not enough money to put the original bell back in the tower.

The parish has been merged with St. Emeric’s nearby, and the parish and the church are now known as St. Brigid and St. Emeric.

Read the whole article here.

From St. Emeric's to St. Brigid's

This afternoon, parishioners traveled from St. Emeric on East 13th Street between Avenue C and Avenue D ... to the newly reopened St. Brigid's on Avenue B and East Eighth Street...

As The Villager first reported in June, St. Emeric’s, built in 1950 at 740 E. 13th St., will close and merge with St. Brigid's.

Bobby Williams took the following photos...

St. Brigid's reopened today after more than 11 years ... in a special mass presided by Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

Here's the WABC report... with bonus Casey Anthony coverage tacked on...

St. Brigid's opening act

This afternoon... photo by EVG reader Jolene... More photos tonight...

St. Brigid's reopens: 'We are very blessed to have the church restored'

As you know, St. Brigid's reopens today at 5 with a special invite-only mass for parishioners presided by Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan. We asked Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, if he ever thought he'd see this day after the church on Avenue B and East Eighth Street closed in 2001:

I must admit there were times when I felt very low and discouraged. But this is the way the Lord works to test your faith. He will bring you almost to the edge and how one respond defines who you are. Although I was very discouraged, I never lost faith and I never got angry. A trap many fell into. The Lord put many people in my path. All served a purpose, different talents and skills came togather to achive this goal ... We are very blessed to have the church restored.

Previously on EV Grieve:
13 keys dates in the 165-year history of St. Brigid's, reopening on Sunday

13 keys dates in the 165-year history of St. Brigid's, reopening on Sunday

[May 2012]

As we first noted on Jan. 14, St. Brigid's will reopen with an invite-only mass Sunday at 5 presided over by Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan. Nearly 11 years have passed since the last mass in the main church (there were services in the school basement next door until 2004).

This piece in the Times from 2006 provides a quick summation of the drama involving the near-demolition of the historic church ... and the work of the parishioners and neighbors who never gave up hope that they could save the church. (The Villager thoroughly covered this story through the years. Check out the paper's archives. And we've noted even the most mundane construction detail through the years here.)

Here then are a few key dates in the church's history:

1848 — Workers place the church's cornerstone

1858 — St. Brigid's School opens on East Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C

1861 — Church holds a Requiem Mass for the men of the 69th New York State Militia who had been killed during the Civil War

[1869]

[1880s]

1889 — Church finally consecrated

1890 — the first Greek Catholic Mass in New York City was celebrated in the basement by Rev. Alexander Dzubay

[1928]

[1935]

1954 — New St. Brigid's School opens on Avenue B and East Seventh Street, where it remains today

1962 — Church spires removed because of safety concerns

1988 — Church allows homeless advocates and protesters of the police action to mobilize under its roof during the Tompkins Square Park Riots

[EVG, circa 2008]

1992 — East wall begins separating from the building

2001 — Cardinal Edward M. Egan closes the church

2006 — Demolition begins; parishioners file suit against the Archdiocese, temporarily halting work

2008 — Anonymous "angel" donates $20 million to restore church

2013 — Church reopens

Sources: Wikipedia and Dayton in Manhattan. Oh, and Wikipedia

Photos via the NYPL Digital Gallery.

For further reading:
Dry Dock, shipyards, and St. Brigid's (EV Transitions)

Here's to the next 165 years...

[This morning]