Sts. Peter and Paul, Williamsburg

The long-established parish of Sts. Peter and Paul has accomplished a remarkable makeover of a large building on Berry Street in Williamsburg. A lengthy explanatory article is linked HERE. I think the building once included the parish elementary school. Land values in Williamsburg have risen, and the parish earned the renovation cash by leasing other properties on the same square block.  Apparently, the parish never owned the entire block. 

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Please read also my previous post about this parish, taking care to note the helpful comments at the end of the post.

On reusing churches

The Atlantic Monthly website on 11.25.2018 published an essay by Jonathan Merritt, "America's Epidemic of Empty Churches." In the second paragraph he describes the conversion of the church of St. Vincent de Paul, Williamsburg, into apartments, with a one-bedroom unit renting as high as $4,812 per month. The article is worth reading, as it discusses the types of church conversions across our country. 

North Brooklyn Catholic

The Greenpoint News has run a story on the coordinated efforts of fifteen Catholic churches of Greenpoint and Williamsburg.  The geographic boundaries of parishes used to be much more important in our cities, so it is encouraging to see this combined work. The article link is below:
http://www.greenpointnews.com/news/6095/once-competitors-north-brooklyn-s-catholics-churches-unite-to-draw-new-congregants
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Please also see
http://northbrooklyncatholic.org
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I note 42 celebrations of Sunday worship on a chronological list.  Years ago, I saw the same sort of coordination in Avila, Spain, to help people find a Sunday Mass at a certain hour, the complete list of all celebrations posted on a placard outside each church.
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Also, please see the active Facebook page, "North Brooklyn Catholic," linked HERE.

St. Vincent de Paul, Williamsburg

This post concerns the sale and conversion of three properties of the former parish of St. Vincent de Paul running through from North 6th Street to North 7th Street, Williamsburg.  To the west is Bedford Avenue, with a thronged subway station of the L train.  To the east is Driggs Avenue, with a secondary entrance to the same station.  The photos and narrative are generally in reverse chronological order.  The church was designed by Patrick Keely and dedicated on October 17, 1869, according to several sources, including a report by Fr. Sylvester Malone printed in the Brooklyn Eagle of October 12, 1890.
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It seems that in 2014 lodging in the church was in the form of rental apartments.  The February 12, 2015, issue of Time Out New York has a quarter page story of an actual renter, under the title "Property peep show: Cathedral condo."  I have not been able t find a link to the article and its photos.
Back on May 28, 2014, ny.curbed.com ran a story, linked here.
The Awl on June 30, 2014, ran this critique.

The former rectory has been converted to apartments and is inhabited.

The above photo shows new construction at the north end (apex) of the church.  Acqua Santa restaurant, at 556 Driggs Avenue, is not part of the property.

Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.  The 49th Street address given for the owner is a mailbox store in Borough Park. It would appear that one project, conversion of the rectory into apartments, is complete.  The conversion of the church is under way, and the drawing in the above photo details the preservation of the facade on North 6th Street.  The skylights in the church roof seem new. Some work has been done on the former school on North Seventh Street, but there appears to be a hiatus in renovation.  Entrances to the Bedford Avenue subway station are only a half-block away.

The next two photos were taken in 2012.

The above photos, taken April 4, 2012, may be enlarged by clicking on each.  Obviously, the buyer of the St. Vincent de Paul property has moved quickly towards gutting and some demolition.  The top photo looks from North 6th Street towards the parish school on North 7th Street, a 1950's building vacant for a few years.  The second building seems to indicate that the senior center used by Catholic Charities, perhaps a former convent, was not sold.  (Yes? No?)  The third photo shows the gutted rectory.
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(Update, October, 2012: I much appreciate this comment from Howard Weber:
The Catholic Charities building referred to as a former convent was actually at one time the residence (friary) of the Franciscan Brothers who staffed St. Francis Prep at 186 North 6th Street ( across the street from St Vincent De Paul) from 1952-1974.

If you look at the cornerstone of that it would appear it was built expressly for that purpose.)

(Update, August, 2013: I much appreciate this comment from Terri White:
I believe that the school located on North 7th street was actually built in the 1960's as I was in the first graduating class in 1969. The original school was on Driggs Avenue and North 6th street and was adjacent to the original St Francis Prep boys high school which is now Boricua College. The convent was also adjacent to St Francis prep on north 6th street just before the row of houses. Terri White.)

A friend mailed me a clipping from the Greenline newspaper, dated March 1-31, 2012, page 4, with the headline, "St. Vincent de Paul Church to Become Apts.; Historic Edifice Will Remain Intact."  The developer The North Flats, according to the story, has applied to the Buildings Department to turn the church into 33 apartments, and the parish house into ten apartments.  The adjacent vacant school on North 7th Street and the parking lot were also part of the purchase.  Please read the notes below in view of this latest news.  I must note that there are similarities with the conversion of the buildings of St. Peter's parish some years ago (at Warren and Hicks Streets, Cobble Hill).
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On December 6, 2011, the Brooklyn Paper linked here reported that the church of St. Vincent de Paul has been sold to a developer.  In recent days, the diocese has removed the bell and stained glass windows for storage in East New York.  The article is not clear about the other buildings adjacent to the church, to the left in the photo below and the school on the adjoining block behind.  It says that zoning restricts development to residential buildings no taller than fifty feet.
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On December 20, 2011, BrooklynEagle.com reported here that the sale price was $13.7 million and the size of the property 37,500 square feet (0.86 acre).  The buyer "plans a new residential project."
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On April 4, 2011, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio issued a decree linked here, stating that the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel could no longer afford to maintain the church of St. Vincent de Paul on North 6th Street and that said church could be sold for profane use after June 30, 2011, except for sordid purposes.
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The photos below date from March, 2010.

For a few years, Armenian Catholics used this church and rectory.  Please see the link here. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction is the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg.

This 1960's school on North 6th Street (photo of March 2010) was in the process of being gutted when I saw the shovel and dump trucks at work 4.5.2012.  Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy has superseded Northside Catholic Academy.  In November, 2013, scaffolding and some debris obscured this side of the building.

St. Vincent de Paul, Williamsburg

The above photos, taken April 4, 2012, may be enlarged by clicking on each.  Obviously, the buyer of the St. Vincent de Paul property has moved quickly towards gutting and some demolition.  The top photo looks from North 6th Street towards the parish school on North 7th Street, a 1950's building vacant for a few years.  The second building seems to indicate that the senior center used by Catholic Charities, perhaps a former convent, was not sold.  (Yes? No?)  The third photo shows the gutted rectory.
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(Update, October, 2012: I much appreciate this comment from Howard Weber:
The Catholic Charities building referred to as a former convent was actually at one time the residence (friary) of the Franciscan Brothers who staffed St. Francis Prep at 186 North 6th Street ( across the street from St Vincent De Paul) from 1952-1974.

If you look at the cornerstone of that it would appear it was built expressly for that purpose.)

(Update, August, 2013: I much appreciate this comment from Terri White:
I believe that the school located on North 7th street was actually built in the 1960's as I was in the first graduating class in 1969. The original school was on Driggs Avenue and North 6th street and was adjacent to the original St Francis Prep boys high school which is now Boricua College. The convent was also adjacent to St Francis prep on north 6th street just before the row of houses. Terri White.)

A friend mailed me a clipping from the Greenline newspaper, dated March 1-31, 2012, page 4, with the headline, "St. Vincent de Paul Church to Become Apts.; Historic Edifice Will Remain Intact."  The developer The North Flats, according to the story, has applied to the Buildings Department to turn the church into 33 apartments, and the parish house into ten apartments.  The adjacent vacant school on North 7th Street and the parking lot were also part of the purchase.  Please read the notes below in view of this latest news.  I must note that there are similarities with the conversion of the buildings of St. Peter's parish some years ago (at Warren and Hicks Streets, Cobble Hill).
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On December 6, 2011, the Brooklyn Paper linked here reported that the church of St. Vincent de Paul has been sold to a developer.  In recent days, the diocese has removed the bell and stained glass windows for storage in East New York.  The article is not clear about the other buildings adjacent to the church, to the left in the photo below and the school on the adjoining block behind.  It says that zoning restricts development to residential buildings no taller than fifty feet.
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On December 20, 2011, BrooklynEagle.com reported here that the sale price was $13.7 million and the size of the property 37,500 square feet (0.86 acre).  The buyer "plans a new residential project."
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On April 4, 2011, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio issued a decree linked here, stating that the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel could no longer afford to maintain the church of St. Vincent de Paul on North 6th Street and that said church could be sold for profane use after June 30, 2011, except for sordid purposes.
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The photos below date from March, 2010.

For a few years, Armenian Catholics used this church and rectory.  Please see the link here. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction is the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg.

This building on North 6th Street (photo of March 2010) was in the process of being gutted or leveled when I saw the shovel and dump trucks at work 4.5.2012.  Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy has superseded Northside Catholic Academy.
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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.
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Please see the parish website, linked HERE. 
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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.
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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. 
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St. Nicholas parish was established in 1865, St. Cecilia in 1872, and St. Francis of Paola in 1918.
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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.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Williamsburg

The mailing address of the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is 275 North Eighth St., Brooklyn NY 11211, telephone 718-384-0223. For the informative parish website, click here, and peruse the menu items. For the renowned parish feast each July, click here.

Above is the intersection of Havemeyer St. and North 8th St. About fifty years ago, the older church was in the way of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. In a sense, Robert Moses paid for the new church.
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On the parish website, please notice the Saints Chapel.  I was unable to count the devotions to Mary (under many titles) and the saints.
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Architects did not consider the difficulty some people have climbing steps, as I observed before Mass 3.27.2010.

The size of the parish might be judged by the number of Masses scheduled on weekends.  In August, 2016, it is four in English, one in Italian, plus two at the nearby Church of the Annunciation: one in Lithuanian, and one in Spanish. 

Above is the former parish school at 10 Withers Street. Catholic elementary education is now provided at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy, 11 Catherine Street.  Clicking on any photo will enlarge it. 
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Two of the above photos show a new, taller building on Union Avenue behind the church and school. This is a rather typical view of Williamsburg and Greenpoint in 2010. Among houses of two or three stories are higher modern condos, perhaps not yet fully sold. One encounters these structures on all shapes of tracts, small or large, buildings of three centuries in a block.
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On February 16, 2019, the Tablet reported that Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello is pastor of the MERGED parishes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Annunciation. The merger will be celebrated at an 11 a.m. Mass at Annunciation on March 24, 2019.



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Our Lady of Consolation, Williamsburg

The mailing address of Our Lady of Consolation parish is 184 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211, telephone 718-388-1942. The church is on the south side of Metropolitan Avenue, between Berry St. and Bedford Ave., Williamsburg or Northside. Metropolitan Avenue replaces North 2nd Street. The parish website is linked HERE.
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The parish is staffed by Polish Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.S. A third of the worship services seem to be in English, two-thirds in Polish.

The Saturday afternoon I stopped by this church, the vestibule was open for prayers at a painting of Our Lady, presumably under the title Our Lady of Consolation. The church itself was locked. Regarding the above schedule, please check the website instead.  The photo is several years old.




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Holy Ghost, Williamsburg

Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic church is located at 160 North Fifth Street, Brooklyn NY 11211, telephone 718-782-9592. It belongs to the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford.

The church is on the south side of North Fifth Street east of Bedford Avenue.

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Sts. Peter and Paul, Williamsburg

Update in June, 2021. Please see the dedication of a church at 288 Berry Street. [url]https://thetablet.org/saints-peter-and-paul-parish-celebrate-new-church-in-historic-building/[/url]

The mailing address of the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul is 71 South Third St., Brooklyn NY 11211, telephone 718-388-9576. The church, pictured above and constructed in 1963, at 82 South Second Street between Berry St. and Wythe Avenue, will be closed April 3, 2016. Please take note of this decree from the bishop concerning the church building.  A news story in the Tablet (linked HERE), explains how parts of a former school will ultimately be rebuilt for worship.  Please check the dialogue in the comments below!

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The above photo and the two photos below were taken in 2010.   
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To the left of the church is a convent of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara. This link describes their work. They, with the initials S.S.V.M., are connected to the group of I.V.E. priests from Argentina working in East New York parishes.
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Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

The pastor and staff serve a merged parish. This church is a few blocks north of the Williamsburg Bridge. Epiphany is a few blocks south of the Williamsburg Bridge. The website of the merged parish is lined HERE.

The parish, founded in 1844, was one of the first Catholic parishes in Williamsburg. From 1848 to 1957 this parish was graced with architect Patrick Keely's first church. Above is the 1963 church that will soon close.  Below is the building in which a church will be constructed.

This is the former parish school on Berry Street.

Sister Helen Patrick Howley, a Brentwood Josephite, was principal of the parish school. For a brief and inspiring biography, please scroll down on this link.

Above: the rectory at 71 South Third St.
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(Edit of 1.11.2017:) Because of inquiry in the comments below, "Where was the original church?" I refer the reader to this link.  On an aerial photo collection of the entire city taken in 1924, the church appears to be on the east side of Wythe Avenue between South 2nd Street and South 3rd Street.




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Transfiguration, Marcy Ave., Williamsburg

The mailing address of Transfiguration parish is 263 Marcy Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211,telephone 718-388-8773.  The home page of a new website is linked HERE.  The church is located at Marcy Avenue and Hooper Street, only two blocks south of the Hewes Street station of the J elevated train.

A correspondent has inquired which windows in the church are Tiffany windows.  He recently sent me a list that probably dates from 1910: Four Evangelists, St. Agnes, St. Cecilia, St. Mary Magdalene, Madonna and child, St. Dominic, Sts. Peter and Paul, ornamental windows and gable and porch lights.   I took the above photo before I learned about the possible Tiffany source.  Would anyone be able to identify the above windows or verify that the listed windows are currently in the church?  Please email the inquirer at wab104(at)hotmail.com    Thank you.

The window in the north transept depicts the Transfiguration.  It is probably not a Tiffany.

The above photo was taken in 2010, and schedules may have changed.

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it. Bryan Karvelis, a deceased pastor, is commemorated on the street sign. See the link here for more information. A description of the church organ is here.

Transfiguration parish was founded in 1874, and 1889 is the date on the church cornerstone.

The parish school closed in 2005. Nearby on Marcy Avenue is a large public school now an academy for Satmar Hasidim.


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Annunciation, Williamsburg

These photos were taken in October of 2006. Please read below, as the information may have changed.


Many thanks to the author of the parish website (link here) for posting an informative history of this parish and its recent status. The address of Blessed Virgin Mary of the Annunciation parish is 259 North Fifth Street, Brooklyn NY 11211, at Havemeyer Street, just west of the din of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and very close to Metropolitan Avenue. The diocesan website in July, 2009, provides no phone number, so one might search through the above parish link.
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My interest in this parish came when a distant relative said her uncle, son of German immigrants, was baptized here in the 1890's. This parish was originally German. It became Lithuanian in 1914, and it remains a Lithuanian center that also welcomes the congregation of a Mass in Spanish. There is no resident priest. According to the AIA Guide, the present church was built in 1870 by the architect F. J. Berlenbach. The guide gives the shape was "basilica," that is a rectangular hall, Roman court house style, with Lombardian Romanesque designs. In the above photo, one can see a Lithuanian cross.
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The 1889 convent on Havemeyer Street is a condominium. The Dominican Sisters of Amityville (and from Regensburg, Bavaria, in the mid-1800's) apparently staffed the school for decades. The school closed in 1973.




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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.
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Please view the website of Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy at 11 Catherine Street.




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