Fight to Preserve Ocean Hill Church
A big preservation struggle is coming to a head out in Ocean Hill, reports The Brooklyn Eagle, where a group of Italian Americans is fighting to prevent the Catholic Diocese from tearing down the beautiful Our Lady of Loreto Church; the neighborhood, which was predominantly Italian from the 1880s to 1970s, is now one of…
A big preservation struggle is coming to a head out in Ocean Hill, reports The Brooklyn Eagle, where a group of Italian Americans is fighting to prevent the Catholic Diocese from tearing down the beautiful Our Lady of Loreto Church; the neighborhood, which was predominantly Italian from the 1880s to 1970s, is now one of the poorest in the borough. The preservationist group Save Our Lady of Loreto has rallied the support of Sen. Diane Savino (D-Bay Ridge/Staten Island), Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Assemblyman William Boyland. The church was determined to be eligible in 2009 to be listed on the National Register of Historic Sites by the New York State Office of Historic Preservation and The New York Landmarks Conservancy has called the church historically significant: It’s one of the first examples of a Catholic church built in a igh Italian baroque style as well as one of the first instances of concrete construction being used in an artistic way. The Diocese argues that restoring the church would be prohibitively expensive. It’s a question of where we’re going to put our resources,” said Msgr. Kieran Harrington. Plus, the preservation effort is being led by people who do not live in the community and did not support the church when it was open, he says. Instead, the Diocese said it wants to tear the church down and build affordable housing, despite the fact that the preservationists along with the Conservancy has come up with an alternate plan for affordable housing nearby. Very sad.
Preservationists Seek To Save Historically Italian-American Church [Brooklyn Eagle]
Photo from the Bridge and Tunnel Club
Montrose;
I have to go, but I’ll just say that it is people who make up an organization, not buildings. When folks abandon these social and religious organizations, but insist on preserving their legacy buildings, one is just advocating for the preservation of eye candy.
another thing to note is that most people who attend church and religious services do it online from the comfort of their own home these days.
*rob*
Yes, you were missing the point, because you went off about them not serving the congregation when in fact there is none!
More than just that church. It’s not the only Catholic church in that area. It’s been closed for some time.
Sure, they could sell it, but maybe they think it is better put to use using the land for affordable housing instead.
“any other faith than Catholics” rather
ncarty97- I’m not missing the point at all. The point is why tear it down and not rethink it or sell it? Someone else will have the imagination to reuse the building- its happened all over the country. And my question becomes, if there is no church for congregants to worship in, who is the Msgr serving? Where is that congregation?
Make fun of Catholics all you want, you don’t go into poor neighborhoods and see anything other faith than than “Catholic Charities” serving meals to seniors for $1. And I am not a Catholic.
“In other news, the Boy Scouts are selling off their campground in Staten Island, as this organization has virtually ceased to exist in NYC.”
The Boy Scouts were the minor league draft for many priests. No wonder that the Catholic church is downsizing in NYC.
You can’t have your ire both ways, Benson. You decry preservationist’s desire to keep our historic streetscapes, (which include houses of worship, BTW), yet throw out a flip “tear it down” for one of those houses of worship. Then complain that no one in this city cares about social or religious institutions.
I understand downsizing by the Church. I personally think they often do not take the communities they downsize in into consideration, and look at closing churches and schools more from the dollars and cents/population numbers side of the issue, and not the people side. I think that’s what gets people so angry, because if your church doesn’t care about you, who will? But, realistically, not every church and school can be saved. Since, in this case, there is ample evidence of historic and cultural prominance, as well as a group of people and historians who are interested in saving the building, that every effort should be made to do so. The old “we’re going to build affordable housing” excuse for tearing down buildings should not fly when viable alternatives are offered. Besides which, those plans have a habit of never being put into fruition, because of inevitable budget issues, and what you end up with is another brick filled empty lot for a number of years, when the church could have stood, even empty, while alternatives were pursued.
Bxgrl;
A few facts:
-Brooklyn and NYC is not the world. The RC Church is still growing, just not in NYC. There has been a wholesale movement of the “white ethnic” Catholics out of NYC.
-The Vatican has nothing to do with this matter. It is a Diocesan matter.