Two more elementary closures

Please see the press release dated 7.9.2020 HERE.
The two closures in the borough of Brooklyn are Queen of the Rosary, Williamsburg, and St. Gregory the Great.
Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy has occupied 11 Catherine Street (former St. Nicholas Commercial High School) in East Williamsburg for several years. The academy was Our Lady of Mount Carmel school "on the move."
In similar fashion, St. Gregory the Great Catholic Academy moved from its location on St. John's Place to the property of Holy Cross parish on Church Avenue a distance away.

St. Nicholas, East Williamsburg

This lengthy article suddenly appeared on the internet from the website Bedford + Bowery. I have to read it more closely, as I believe the ordained staff may live at Mount Carmel.
http://bedfordandbowery.com/2018/12/an-east-williamsburg-church-was-home-to-germans-latinos-and-now-uncertainty/

St. Nicholas Ukrainian church

In my walks about Park Slope, I neglected a church of the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, St. Nicholas at 256 19th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215.  The onion-domed church with a high stoop is on the south side of 19th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The parish appears to have been established in 1911.

Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy

Sorry, this school closed permanently in 2020.  In September, 2013, Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy moved into new quarters at 11 Catherine Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY 11211.  The telephone number is 718-388-7992. The former St. Nicholas Commercial High School was renovated for the Academy as a state-of-the-art facility. 
---
In a sense, this Catholic Academy replaced four parish schools: St. Cecilia, Holy Trinity (more recently named Sts. Joseph and Dominic), Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and St. Nicholas.

Divine Mercy, Williamsburg (triple merger)

Effective January 31, 2011, three parishes in Greenpoint and Williamsburg were canonically suppressed to create a single parish (Divine Mercy parish) with three "worship sites" or churches.  The parishes merged are St. Cecilia , St. Nicholas, and St. Francis of Paola.  An administrator, a parochial vicar (or assistant), and two deacons have been appointed to Divine Mercy, located at 219 Conselyea Street, Brooklyn NY 11211, telephone 718-387-0256.  The territory, assets and obligations of the three parishes were transferred to the new Divine Mercy Parish.
----
Please see the parish website, linked HERE. 
----
The March 6, 2011 parish bulletin from St. Francis of Paola church carries this declaration: One parish created in the heart of Divine Mercy to serve God's people in the Churches of  Saint Cecilia - Saint Francis of Paola - Saint Nicholas as a sign of Jesus' merciful love.
---

 

The above photo shows the rectory (with a red awning) and church.  Most photos may be enlarged by clicking on them.

On the south side of Conselyea Street is a grotto.  In September, 2014, I received an e-mail with this wonderful explanation:

My name is Don Massetti, and my grandfather, Vito Abate, built the grotto at St. Francis of Paola over seventy-five years ago.  As a young boy, I lived on Engert Avenue between McGuinness Blvd. and Graham Avenue.  Recently, I was able to return to Brooklyn and revisit this very special place that I totally took for granted as a child.
THIS LINK connects to my blog, which tells the story of my grandfather, and how this most spectacular grotto came to be.  I promise you that you will find it to be a most interesting and very touching piece of St. Francis of Paola history.
It is my hope that one day, in lieu of a plaque meely stating his name, an inscription explaning that he single-handedly built this tribute to our Holy Queen, may take its place.  I don't now how to go about started on such a project, and was wondering if perhaps you can guide me to taking the proper channels.  
Thank you, and may God bless you.

West on Conselyea Street is the former parish school, now Francis of Paola Early Learning Center of the New York AHRC.  In the distance can be seen some of the many new apartment houses constructed in Williamsburg during the housing boom. 
----
St. Nicholas parish was established in 1865, St. Cecilia in 1872, and St. Francis of Paola in 1918.
----

Concerning the name Conselyea Street:  It seems that only two years before the English took New Amsterdam in 1664, Jan Conselje (Jean le Conseille) arrived and went to Bushwick.  Please see an explanation here.

St. Nicholas, Olive Street, Williamsburg

Effective January 31, 2011, the historic parish of St. Nicholas was merged with two other parishes to form the parish of Divine Mercy. Olive Street, Williamsburg, is about two miles inland from the East River, away from the center of Williamsburg. Here is St. Nicholas parish, founded about 1865 for Germans too distant from Montrose Avenue and Most Holy Trinity parish. 

The Dominican Sisters of Amityville staffed this school for many years.
---
Please view the website of Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy at 11 Catherine Street.




-----