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History of Saint Brigid's Church |
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Donor funds the restoration |
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A
History of St. Brigid's Church
The choice of architect for St. Brigid's was
Patrick Keely, an up-and-coming Catholic Church architect. Born
in County Tipperary in 1816, Keely emigrated to the U.S. at age
25 and settled in the Williamsburgh section of Brooklyn, where he
worked as a carpenter. Because Keely's formal training in
architecture is undocumented, it is believed he learned design
and construction from his father, a builder. After completing an
altar and reredos (altar screen) for St. James Pro-Cathedral and
going on to build St. Peter and Paul's Church in Brooklyn in
1846, |
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Sources:
Compiled for Save St. Brigid's by Mary (B.G.) Firmani, who can be reached at 212-477-1075 or bgfirmani@yahoo.com |
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— article appearing in the 16 February 2006 issue of The Catholic New York, the official archdiocesan newspaper… Court Ruling Clears Way For St. Brigid's Razing A Manhattan judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block the archdiocese from demolishing St. Brigid's Church in the East Village, citing legal precedent related to religious property. "This court finds that it would be an 'impermissible intrusion' into Cardinal Egan's ecclesiastical authority" to order that he reopen the building as a church using money collected by the former pastor to make repairs and! or require him to operate a parish there, said Justice Barbara R Kapnick of State Supreme Court in her ruling earlier this month. The lawsuit, brought by a group of former parishioners and the ad-hoc Committee to Save St. Brigid's, asked the court to order that repairs be made to the church using the $103.000 collected by a former pastor, Father Michael Conway, O.Ss.T., for that purpose. The archdiocese ordered the church closed in 2001 after the city's Buildings Department declared it unsafe. The archdiocese estimated the cost of repairing the church to be $6.9 million, a sum it said was prohibitive. The Buildings Department has granted the archdiocese a demolition permit so that housing can be built on the site. St. Brigid's was closed as a parish in 2004, although its school still operates under the auspices of the archdiocese. The money collected by Father Conway will be refunded to donors who can document their contributions, an archdiocesan spokesman said. — article appearing in the 20 July2006 issue of The Catholic New York, the official archdiocesan newspaper… by Mary Ann Poust Ruling Clears Way for Church Demolition An appellate court ruling has cleared the way for the demolition of St. Brigid's Church in Manhattan's East Village, a 157-year-old building that has been closed for five years due to structural problems. In a unanimous decision June 30, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that permitted the archdiocese to demolish the church. A group of former parishioners and community residents had been fighting to save St. Brigid's, which was built for Irish immigrants arriving in New York. The effort, including a lawsuit that prompted the court rulings, was aided by several Irish groups and public figures who took up the cause. The appellate court ruled that the lower court judge was correct in dismissing the parishioners' lawsuit, saying that it was within the authority of the archdiocese to decide how the property will be used. Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said in mid-July that "it is still our plan for the building to come down," although no date had been set for the demolition to begin. “The hazardous conditions remain, and we intend to move forward with our plans,” he said. The archdiocese plans to use the property for other Church related programs, possibly for a Catholic Charities facility, a Department of Education program or a Catholic nursing home”, he said. "That still needs to be determined," Zwilling said. "But it is our intention to use it for other Catholic ministry purposes." He added that whatever is eventually built on the site will: include a chapel where liturgical services can be held Cardinal Egan ordered the church on Avenue B and Eighth Street closed in June 2001, after serious defects found in its structure made it unsafe for use. Consulting engineers retained by the archdiocesan Building Commission at the time found that the rear wall was separating from the main church building. They traced the root of the problem to the demolition more than 20 years earlier of a school building that was attached to the church and had helped to support it. Masses were held in the school cafeteria for several years after the church was closed, celebrated by priests of the Trinitarian order who had been staffing the parish. Under the archdiocesan realignment plan released in March, it was recommended that St. Brigid's parish be converted to the status of a mission or chapel to St. Stanislaus parish on East Seventh Street. If that plan goes forward, the parish records of St. Brigid's will be transferred to St. Stanislaus. *************************************************************************** Article appearing in Catholic New York, May 22, 2008 Donor’s Gift to Enable Restoration of St. Brigid’s Church From Catholic New York 22 May 2008 by CLAUDIA McDONNELL St. Brigid's Church in the East Village section of Manhattan, which has been closed since 2001 because of structural damage that made it unsafe for use, will be repaired and reopened as a parish church following a large donation for its restoration, the archdiocese has announced. A donor who has asked to remain anonymous has given the archdiocese $10 million to restore the church building and an additional $2 million to establish an endowment for the parish, to ensure that St. Brigid's will be able to meet the religious and spiritual needs of those in the community. The donor also has made a separate gift of $8 million to support St. Brigid's School and other Catholic schools in need. The donor made the offer to Cardinal Egan after a private meeting at the Cardinal's Residence. The cardinal said in a statement, "This magnificent gift will make it possible for St. Brigid's Church to be fittingly restored with its significant structural problems properly addressed. The two additional gifts, to create an endowment for the parish and to support the parish school, are a powerful testament to the donor's goodness and understanding. He has my heartfelt gratitude, as I recently had the pleasure of telling him." St. Brigid's, on Avenue B at Eighth Street, has a long history in the East Village. Opened in 1849, it originally served a large congregation of Irish immigrants. Successive waves of newcomers from other countries became parishioners through the years. Gradually the building developed structural problems. The rear wall was found to be sinking, causing it to pull away from the building. Consulting engineers retained by the archdiocese around the time it was closed, in June 2001, traced the problem to the demolition more than 20 years earlier of a school building that was attached to the church and had helped to support it. The archdiocese announced that it would demolish the church building and use the property for other Church related purposes. But a group of former parishioners, local residents and conservationists protested and formed a group to prevent demolition. Though making no financial commitment to the parish, they initiated a lawsuit that was the first step in a legal dispute. Preliminary demolition work was begun in 2006 and stained-glass windows were removed, but the group obtained a temporary restraining order that halted the process. In 2007 a judge ruled that the demolition could go forward. Opponents filed an appeal and were able to halt it again. Joseph. Zwilling, spokesman for the archdiocese, said in an interview that the church will be thoroughly evaluated before the renovation begins. "We'll have a full architectural and construction review of the building to determine precisely what needs to be done to make the building physically sound," he said. "That will be the first step. After we know that the building is safe and sound, we will be able to begin the interior renovation to return it to a fully functioning parish church." It is not yet known how long the renovation will take, or when the church might reopen. Zwilling noted that Masses continued to be celebrated in the school auditorium until the departure of the Trinitarian Fathers, who had staffed the parish. "There will need to be discussions with the other parishes in the vicariate about the reopening of St. Brigid's," Zwilling said. It has not yet been determined how the donor's gift to St. Brigid's School will be used. Dr. Catherine T. Hickey, archdiocesan secretary for education, told CNY, "We are at the discussion stage for now." Renovations will be made, she added, but specific projects have not yet been determined. "The school building will be brought up to speed to make it an ever more modern educational institution," Dr. Hickey said. Following is the text of an announcement released by the archdiocese. Saint Brigid's Church, 119 Avenue B, Manhattan, will be repaired and will reopen as a Parish Church following the donation of $10 million to restore the building and an additional donation of $2 million to establish an endowment for the parish so that it might best meet the religious and spiritual needs of the people living in the community. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, made the offer to Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York, who accepted the unexpected but very welcome gift following a private meeting at the Cardinal's Residence. The donor has also made a separate gift of $8 million to support Saint Brigid's School, and other Catholic schools in need. The Archdiocese has been supporting and maintaining the parish school in order to provide quality education for the elementary school children in the East Village. The renovation and restoration of this parish church and the establishment of the education endowment supports the ongoing evaluation by the Archdiocese of the pastoral needs of the people of God on the Lower East Side. Cardinal Egan expressed his deep gratitude for the extraordinary generosity of the donor. In a statement released on May 19,2008, he said: "This magnificent gift will make it possible for Saint Brigid's Church to be fittingly restored with its significant structural problems properly addressed. The two additional gifts, to create an endowment for the parish and to support the parish school, are a powerful testament to the donor's goodness and understanding. He has my heartfelt gratitude, as I recently told him at a meeting in my residence."
Article appearing in The Journal News, Saturday, July 29, 2006 Judge halts demolition of St. Brigid's Church St. Brigid's Church will stay standing, at least for a little while longer. A day after crews erected scaffolding and punched through a wall, a state Supreme Court judge yesterday temporarily halted the demolition of the 158-yearold building, which once served as a haven for Irish famine refugees. The two-page order from Judge Barbara Kapnick — issued minutes after workers began smashing stained-glass windows — boosted the hopes of preservationists trying to save the deteriorating Manhattan building, but it did nothing to sway the Archdiocese of New York from plans to level it. "We have another shot to keep this church alive," said Harry Kresky, a lawyer for The Committee to Save St. Brigid's Church, who first raced to court Thursday to petition for a stay. Longtime parishioner Edwin Torres said yesterday that he was relieved. "It’s our church. We want to continue the good fight and save it for our children's children," he said. "We're one step closer." The judge's order did not specify why she chose to halt demolition but set a hearing in the case for Aug. 24. Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said yesterday that he is confident the judge would eventually allow the demolition.
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Reminiscences
Of The Old Eleventh Ward MY recollections of the old Eleventh Ward date back to the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion, when I moved into it with my parents from Woodstock, Connecticut. Neat brick dwelling houses containing at most two families occupied the greater portion of the area lying between Third and Ninth streets and Avenue C and the East River and there were also many such houses in other parts of the ward. A few houses of that kind are still standing in Seventh Street, between Avenues C and D, where I lived for many years; in Fourth Street, between the same avenues, where I lived just after my marriage and where my children were born; in Third Street, between Avenues C and D, and in Seventh Street, between Avenue D and Lewis Street. It would take up too much time to state in detail the great changes which have taken place in the old neighborhood and the various causes which led to them. They have been the subject of newspaper articles from time to time in connection with the so-called Political Row. A reading of a few excerpts from some of them will, I am sure, interest all of you: "The Sun" of September 1, 1895, referring to Political Row, said: "The resistless pressure of population from the teeming region to the southwest of it is pressing in hard, and soon it will be buried and forgotten, with its hideous seven-story monstrosities of brick and iron for its monuments. Already the old inhabitants have begun to move away. * * * East Seventh Street, the Fifth Avenue of the Eleventh Ward, as it was called, still shows catholicity of architecture in its rows of sturdy, roomy brick houses, decorated with vines, and here and there shaded by a surviving ailantus. Political Row' is little known in politics now, though once it was a name to conjure with, but the old names of municipal prestige have given way to new." An article which appeared in the "New York Times" of May 11, 1902, is of especial interest because it, among other things, mentions our departed friend and neighbor, City Chamberlain Patrick Keenan. Al-though nearly thirteen years have elapsed since his death, his memory is still treasured in the hearts of his old neighbors and friends. Speaking of Political Row, the article in question states: "None of the old residents of the present day remembers just when the street received that name. Patrick Keenan says that fifty years ago he often heard discussions among the old residents of the district as to the date when the name was applied to the block, but cannot remember that any of the old-timers knew themselves." The article then proceeds as follows ; "Two score years ago the old Eleventh Ward, which had the centre of its circle in Political Row, was distinctly an American district, and any foreigners who found their way into the ward were promptly made to feel so uncomfortable that they moved out. At that time East Seventh Street was well uptown, and there was hardly a house in the ward that contained more than one family. The streets were then lined with trees covered with luxuriant foliage, and each house had its green patch of yard. Then Avenue D, which now runs between two towering walls of tenements, teeming with men, women and children of foreign birth, was a thoroughfare that was made brilliant every Sunday by a promenade of all the youth and fashion of the neighborhood. Then there were eight churches in the ward : one Episcopal, three Baptist, two Methodist and two Roman Catholic. Now there is but one Methodist church left, which is to be soon given up, as all members of the old congregation have moved away. There is one Catholic church left, St. Brigid's at Eighth Street and Avenue B, but even this church cannot boast of anything like its old attendance. "The Eleventh Ward was long known as the Dry-dock district. It got its name from the number of drydocks along the river front. At one time there was nothing but shipyards along the East River, including the yards of William H. Webb and John Roach. When these yards were in full blast, according to Mr. Keenan, it was almost impossible to pass through the streets at noon, as an army of from 6,000 to 7,000 men would leave the yards in regiments to go home to their dinners." The article, again reverting to Political Row, states that it was almost twenty years ago that the residents thereof moved away and that among the first to go was William H. Webb, the shipbuilder, who lived in the ward with his family for many years. The writer of that article is in error as to the number of Catholic churches which he says had then survived the change. There were then, as at present, two of such churches, viz.: the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, at the corner of Pitt and Stanton streets, which was erected in 1866, and St. Brigid's church, which was dedicated in December, 1849. He also forgot to make any mention whatever of synagogues, notably the one in Clinton Street, which is still standing. I may be permitted to say in passing that my wife and I attended many a hassena in that famous house of worship. The writer also overlooked the German Lutheran church at the corner of Avenue B and Ninth Street, which is one of the few remaining Protestant houses of worship in the ward. The Jefferson Club house is still an architectural ornament to Political Row. The old Eleventh Ward Savings Bank building still stands as a monument to the business acumen of the Loew brothers. The old Eleventh Ward Bank building in Tenth Street is still standing, the bank having in recent years been taken over by the Corn Exchange Bank. The old Dry Dock Savings Bank building in East Fourth Street near Avenue D has survived the change, but its use for banking purposes ceased many years ago when the bank moved to its new building at the corner of the Bowery and Third Street. The old Union Market building still stands, but its doors are closed. The old station house adjoining it still continues to be, as it has for many years past, an efficient protection to the inhabitants of the old ward. The doom of Political Row which the writers of newspaper articles have predicted has not come to pass. Political Row is still there and it occupies at present a most conspicuous place on the political map! The leaders of the two great political parties in the district reside there. Former New York Secretary of State Samuel S. Koenig, the astute Republican leader of not only the assembly district but of New York County as well, lives in the same house occupied by the late Senator Lewis S. Goebel for many years. Commissioner David Lazarus, the alert Tammany Hall district leader, lived in the same house where Coroner Henry Woltman, also a district leader of that party, lived for some years. Our esteemed friend Judge Benjamin Hoffman continues to dwell in the same house he has lived in for the past quarter of a century. His wife has the honor and distinction of being the women's Tammany leader for the district, while the wife of Mr. Samuel S. Koenig leads the Republican women. No history of the old ward would be complete with-out mention of the Old Mechanics' Bell. That famous bell, says Mr. A. W. Moynihan in his book entitled, "The Old Fifth Street School," was first rung in 1831, to celebrate the triumph of the workingmen of this city in a struggle for an abridgement in the hours of labor. * * * The bell continued to ring at the usual periods until October, 1880, when it one day suddenly cracked and ceased to ring. Right here it may be well to state that, mainly through the efforts of Mr. Moynihan, the old bell was taken down and. recast and hung once more in the old tower, amid the greatest enthusiasm ever witnessed in the old ward. The book in question, which was published in 1887, further states, "Though the Old Mechanics' Bell still rings its notes of warning to the sons of toil, the ship-yards which gave employment to thousands are things of the past." In those earlier days, and in fact for some years afterwards, no attempt was made by the public authorities to remove the snow from the streets and, during the winter months, while the snow was there, sleighs were used to transport passengers on the stage lines and for the delivery of goods. For some years street cars were heated by coal stoves, which commonly emitted strong fumes of gas. When windows were opened to let the gas out, the heat went with it. In cold weather this method of heating was wholly inadequate and straw was placed on the floor of the cars to mitigate the discomfort of the passengers. Travel at all times and even in the most favorable weather was very slow in those days. Blockades arising. from various causes were frequent and the cars often ran off the track by accident or were intention-ally forced off by the drivers. Then it became necessary for the passengers to alight in order to help push the car over the rough cobblestone pavement around the obstruction or to get it back on the track. Then there was a scramble to get back upon the car, which often resumed its journey without its full complement of passengers. I remember one indignant citizen who denounced the driver for leaving him behind when he had, as he said, "some gooses on his arm." Speaking of cobblestones, it should be borne in mind that in the good old days no applicant for citizenship was deemed worthy of admission unless he had previously taken part in a political parade over the rough cobblestones, with which the streets on the east side were then paved, and carried aloft a flaming torch composed of a material which discolored the face and hands to such an extent that it took days of diligent and violent application of soap and water to remove the stains. Needless to add that, when final naturalization papers were subsequently applied for, the applicant was prepared to prove full compliance with this essential prerequisite. No portrayal of old times is complete without including the volunteer fire department, which was disbanded fifty-five years ago. Most of the brave men who composed it have passed away and the few remaining members are now old and feeble. The cry "Old Times Rocks" is no longer heard, and yet those of us who are old enough to have seen them at work recall them with admiration and respect. The old ward had its full quota of volunteer companies, scattered in different parts of it. Most conspicuous among them were Live Oaks No. 44, in the lower end of the ward, and Forest Trees No. 3, in the upper end. The boys of that time were ardent champions of the companies located in the neighborhood where they resided and frequently fought street battles with boy sympathizers of rival companies in which stones and "Irish confetti" were frequently used. The casualty lists of those battles are incomplete, but I venture to say that many of the more elderly gentlemen present are entitled to wear wound stripes as a result of their participation in the volunteer firemen's wars. Bells in signal towers located in various parts of the city summoned the firemen to duty. At the first sound of the bell, all business would cease and every one counted the number of strokes of the bell in order to determine whether the fire was within their fire zone and, if it was, there was a wild rush by the firemen for their respective engine houses. After putting on their uniforms, the firemen would take hold of the rope attached to the fire engine and drag it rapidly to the scene of the fire. Bystanders would follow in the wake of the engine and the neighbor-hood where the fire occurred was in an uproar until the fire was extinguished. Conflicts for the possession of a fire hydrant often occurred but, notwithstanding all this, the department as a whole was as efficient as it was brave. The old-timers no doubt remember the target companies that flourished in the seventies and early eighties. On a fair average, there was at least one of such companies for every square block in the ward. The congenial spirits who composed most of them neither hurried nor worried. They had all kinds of names. I recall particularly the Ham Guard Warriors, the Gentlemen's Sons and the Eighth Street Guard. All these organizations are now only memories. In conclusion, let me say that I shall never forget the old ward and the old friends and old associates. There is not a day that my mind does not revert back to the old neighborhood and the pleasant memories that cluster around it. |
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