Saint Brigid's Roman Catholic Church, New York

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"Save St. Brigid" rally on August 24, 2006; later that day a judge stayed demolition of the historic church
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"Save St. Brigid" rally on August 24, 2006; later that day a judge stayed demolition of the historic church

St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church, or St. Brigid's, or Famine Church, is located on Avenue B and East Seventh Street, on the eastern edge of Tompkins Square Park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village of Manhattan. In September 2004 the Archdiocese of New York disbanded the parish and in 2006 began to demolish the church. On August 24, 2006, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick extended an order staying the demolition of the church.[1]

Contents

[edit] Construction

The architect of the church was Patrick Keely, who handcarved the gothic reredos himself.[2] Building was begun in 1848 by Irish shipwrights for those fleeing the Irish potato famine.[3]

[edit] School

Associated with the church, but not similarly scheduled for demolition, is the St. Brigid School, in existence since 1856. In 1995 a spokeswoman for the Schools of the Archdiocese of New York stated, "The Cardinal believes very much in the school. We are all operating on the premise that St. Brigid will be with us for a while." The school was ailing: attendance had plummeted from 200 students to 74 in two years, teachers fell from nine to five.[4] A priest with the parish blamed local poverty, but more reported as the cause was anger by local parents at Reverend George Kuhn, the church pastor. He fired the principal, Maureen Delaney, and three teachers. He opened a weekend homeless shelter in the school basement, and proposed a center opposite the school for homeless drug addicts with AIDS. The center never opened.

[edit] St. Brigid's and the East Village

Throughout its history, St. Brigid's opened its doors to people who were more accustomed to having them shut in their new city. Beginning with its construction by Irish immigrants, the church accepted whoever showed up in its pews, even as the East Village changed from German to Irish to Puerto Rican to whoever landed on its doorsteps, in whatever shape.

[edit] Rev. Mooney and Bull Run

The second pastor of the church, Reverend Thomas Mooney, also served as pastor to the nearby U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment, based at Tompkins Armory. Upon its formation in 1851 it was called the 2nd Regiment of Irish Volunteers, a citizen-militia made up of Irish-Catholic diaspora from the Great Famine. In 1860, Michael Corcoran, Colonel of the 69th, refused to parade them past the Prince of Wales to protest the British response to the famine. They were deployed in 1861 in the first Battle of Bull Run.[5]

[edit] Rev. Kuhn and the riots

During the 1988 Tompkins Square Park Police Riot the church allowed homeless advocates and protestors of the police action to mobilize under its roof.[6] A year later when a shanty town in the park was dismantled, church pastor Rev. George Kuhn led a group of parishoners took food to protesters and homeless people holed up in an abandoned school on East Fourth Street. Father Kuhn was arrested when he defied orders to not cross a police line to deliver the food, saying, "I'm working under orders, too. The order I have is to feed the hungry, and that comes from a higher authority."[7]

[edit] Closing

Edwin Torres, a parishioner who was married in the church and whose four children were baptized there, has been a leader in the fight to save St. Brigid's
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Edwin Torres, a parishioner who was married in the church and whose four children were baptized there, has been a leader in the fight to save St. Brigid's

The church's main building closed in 2001 because of a crack in the structure and the last mass was held in the adjoining school in September 2004.[8] "It's a hazard. It could have literally fallen over at any point in time," said a spokesperson for the archdiocese. The spokesperson further insisted the property would not be turned into condominiums or apartments, a fate that befell nearby St. Ann's Church (on East Twelfth Street), which was converted into a dormitory for New York University. The church claims there is no interest in selling the property. "It will be used for some other form of ministry, whether for educational or charitable or healthcare purposes, possibly senior housing," said a spokesperson for the archdiocese.[9]

[edit] Criticism of Archdiocese

The Archdiocese of New York came under heavy criticism from parishoners and the community for what New York Times columnist Dan Barry called its "tone-deaf" actions.[10] In September 2003 an application to convert the church into apartments was filed with the city. In denying this as the plan for St. Brigid's, a spokesperson said the Archdiocese was only protecting its options. In 2004 only one church was closed--St. Brigid's--yet Cardinal Egan did not explain his June 2001 decision himself to its parishoners. Instead, the vicar general announced it hastily during a mass that St. Brigid's would close in two weeks, then left without answering questions. Edwin Torres, a witness, recalled, "He was obviously in a rush to get out."

On July 26, 2006, Judge Barbara Kapnick declined to halt demolition plans, but asked lawyers on both sides to appear in her courtroom to hear arguments on the building's ownership. Before those arguments, the Archdiocese sent out a demolition crew. They reportedly smiled at parishoners, who stood agape, caught unaware the destruction was to commence before the court appearance. The crew smashed out the stained glass windows, knocked an eight-foot hole into one wall, demolished the remaining pews, and erected scaffolding. Times reporter Michael Luo called it "an ignominious end for a church more than 150 years old, one of the oldest houses of worship in Manhattan...."[11]

[edit] Destroyed antiquities

The seven, 25-foot-tall, painted, stained-glass windows depicted Jesus’ life and bore the names of victims of the Irish potato famine and benefactors of the church.[12] "When I saw those crowbars destroying those stained-glass windows this morning, I thought about the Taliban destroying those Buddhas in Afghanistan," said Matt Metzgar, a witness.[13] A stained-glass expert familiar with the windows estimated they were worth $100,000 apiece. That afternoon community leaders mobilized quickly, including St. Brigid's parishioner and city Councilmember Rosie Mendez; the then current Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer; State Senator Martin Connor; and Assemblywoman Sylvia Friedman. They made statements denouncing the demolition and accusing the Archdiocese of greed during an overheated real estate market.[14] A spokesperson for the Archdiocese said the demolition had nothing to do with money, again pointing out that there are no designs to sell the property. He also stated that there are no definitive plans for the property yet.

[edit] Lawsuit

Earlier in 2006, Justice Kapnick ruled against the Committee to Save St. Brigid's (CSSB) in and allowed plans for demolition to proceed. In June, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court upheld that decision. Then in August Kapnick agreed to hear a separate suit. CSSB pointed out that under New York law a church is to be governed by a five-person board of trustees (including two parishioners). CSSB says this board never existed, although the archdiocese said it convened the board's first and last meeting on July 18, where it agreed on demolition.[15] The archdiocese also pointed out that the city did not question the church's ownership when they filed the building permits for demolition.

[edit] Proposed optional uses

The archdiocese turned down offers to repair or buy the building[16]

[edit] Trivia

  • St. Brigid is the patron saint of babies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers; children whose parents are not married; dairymaids; dairy workers; fugitives; infants; Ireland; Leinster, Ireland; mariners; midwives; milk maids; newborn babies; nuns; poets; poultry farmers; poultry raisers; printing presses; sailors; scholars; travellers; watermen[17]
  • St. Brigid's Church in Gdańsk, Poland, allowed Lech Wałęsa of the then-outlawed Solidarity union to speak to 10,000 supporters and say, "Solidarity exists and the union is indestructible."[18]
  • St. Brigid's Church in Boston held the funeral for John Moakley. In attendance were George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Cardinal Bernard Law, and Edward Kennedy.[19]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sarah Ferguson, St. Brigid's Gets 2nd Reprieve, August 24, 2006, via VillageVoice.com.
  2. ^ Sarah Ferguson, Secret Angel Still Wants to Save St. Brigid's, The Village Voice, August 3, 2006, via VillageVoice.com
  3. ^ David Scharfenberg, Coming Back to Fight for the Church of Their Ancestors, The New York Times, June 18, 2006, Section 14, Page 6.
  4. ^ Monte Williams, As Pontiff Visits, An Ailing School is Seeking Hope, The New York Times, October 8, 1995; Section 13, Page 6.
  5. ^ Ailbhe Jordan, Supporters want mayor's position on St. Brigid's, The Irish Echo, August 23-29, 2006, via IrishEcho.com.
  6. ^ George James, Ward is Critical of Police in Clash, The New York Times, August 11, 1988; Section A, Page 1.
  7. ^ Jake Mooney, When the Bell Tolls, The New York Times, March 20, 2005, Section 14, Page 1.
  8. ^ See, above, Jake Mooney, The New York Times, March 20, 2005
  9. ^ Sarah Ferguson, St. Brigid's: Arcdiocese Says No Condos, The Village Voice, July 27, 2006, via VillageVoice.com.
  10. ^ Dan Barry, A Prayer For a Church Unsaved, The New York Times, July 30, 2006; Section B, Page 1.
  11. ^ Michael Luo, Demolition Starts at Historic Catholic Church in East Village, The New York Times, July 28, 2006; Section B, Page 2.
  12. ^ Peter McDermott, Windows Smashed; Demolition Halted, The Irish Echo, August 23-29, 2006, via IrishEcho.com.
  13. ^ Lincoln Anderson, Attempt to raze St. Brigid’s tests East Villagers’ faith, The Villager, August 2-8, 2006, via TheVillage.com.
  14. ^ See, above, Michael Luo, The New York Times, July 28, 2006.
  15. ^ Peter McDermott, Windows Smashed; Demolition Halted, The Irish Echo, August 23-29, 2006, via IrishEcho.com.
  16. ^ See, above, Sarah Ferguson, The Village Voice, August 3, 2006
  17. ^ Catholic Forum website profile on St. Brigid
  18. ^ Walesa Says Solidarity is Indestructible, The New York Times, June 4, 1984; Section A, Page 5
  19. ^ B. Drummond Ayres, Politicians Bid Farewell to Moakley at Funeral, The New York Times, June 2, 2001, Section A, Page 8.

[edit] External links

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