In a decision dated March 6, Westchester County Court Judge Melissa Loehr issued an order approving a settlement between the Archdiocese of New York, the City of Yonkers, the Yonkers City Council, and the Yonkers Landmarks Board, which removes the Landmark status of the interiors of St. Mary’s Church on South Broadway.
The decision is bad news for those of us who wanted The Friends of St. Mary’s to have the opportunity to raise the funds needed to repair the church, which the Archdiocese has wanted to close for at least 4 years.
Under the order-settlement-judgement, only the 4 Exterior Walls of St. Mary’s Church will remain landmarked, meaning that the only element retaining landmark protection under this proposed judgement is the “exterior facade” of the church.
The archdiocese had challenged the landmark resolution on procedural and First Amendment grounds, with the Constitutional argument alleging that landmarking the interior restricts the practice of religion and that interior parts of the church (the rectory) cannot be landmarked because they are not open to the public.
The order comes one year after parishioners and supporters of St. Mary’s got an Easter Miracle in the form of a successful appeal to the Vatican. Here was our reporting in 2025: “St. Mary’s Friends has announced that the appeal made to the Vatican for St. Mary’s Church to remain as an independent parish has been successful. The Holy See has revoked the decree issued last year by Cardinal Timothy Dolan that eliminated Immaculate Conception Parish in Yonkers.
“The decree, issued by Cardinal Dolan on May 31, 2024, merged Immaculate Conception Parish (known as “St. Mary’s”) with the parish of St. Peter-St. Denis in an “extinctive union,” meaning that following the merger, only one parish containing three churches existed. The revocation of this decree returns things to the way they were prior to the merger.
“After Cardinal Dolan’s decree was issued, three St. Mary’s parishioners filed an appeal with Cardinal Dolan on June 8, 2024, arguing that St. Mary’s should remain an independent parish. After Cardinal Dolan rejected this appeal, these parishioners made a higher appeal to the “Dicastery for the Clergy of the Holy See,” a Vatican department that hears appeals against the elimination of parishes and the permanent closure of churches. Those who made the appeal recently learned of its success—Cardinal Dolan’s decree was revoked.
“This is the first time in the history of the New York State Archdiocese that a decree was revoked by the Vatican. The decision also marks only the ninth time in modern Catholic history when a decree eliminating a parish has been revoked by the Holy See.
“In its decision, the Dicastery for the Clergy found Cardinal Dolan lacked a sufficient canonically “just” cause to warrant the merging of Immaculate Conception Parish with the Parish of St. Peter-St. Denis. While Cardinal Dolan had argued in his decree that the COVID-19 pandemic had reduced attendance at Immaculate Conception Parish, the Dicastery for the Clergy found in the year immediately prior to the parish’s closure that there had been a 76% increase in attendance.”
This is one of the critical arguments that parishioners and supporters of St. Mary’s have in fighting to keep the church open. Neighboring Parishes, including St. Peter-St. Denis does not have the capacity to accommodate St. Mary’s parishioners.
Cardinal Dolan’s decree also resulted in the elimination of Spanish-language masses, leaving only one bilingual mass. Actually, there was an increase in Spanish-speaking Catholics in the parish, who sought to attend mass. Spanish-speaking parishioners were forced to attend St. Peter’s Church, but many were turned away due to overcrowding and limited parking. These factors weighed heavily in the Dicastery’s decision to revoke Cardinal Dolan’s decree.
St. Mary’s Church (Parish of the Immaculate Conception) was founded in Yonkers in 1848 as the city’s first Catholic parish. Mass is presently celebrated in St. Mary’s Church for English-speaking and Arabic-speaking Catholics.
More good news for St. Mary’s came on July 16, 2024, when the City Council of Yonkers unanimously approved landmark status. While it did not restore St. Mary’s as a parish, it offered hope for the future, as the building would continue to stand.
In 2025, the Archdiocese of NY sued the City of Yonkers to remove St. Mary’s from the Landmark Protection status. The Archdiocese estimated that $10 Million in repairs were needed to keep St. Mary’s safe and operational.
A group, Friends of St. Mary’s (https://stmarysfriends.org/), is raising funds and awareness to save the historic church. Some former Parishioners have come forward to offer their expertise in construction and have proposed breaking the $10 million price tag into separate parts to save the church.
There are several unanswered questions regarding this settlement:
1-If the Archdiocese decides to sell the building, church, rectory, and school, they will have to keep the exterior portions of the church intact, because they are still landmarked. Will a developer or buyer want to purchase it?
2. Is there a buyer for the church?
3. What were the consequences for the City if they did NOT settle?
4. Was the City under pressure to settle, and by whom?
5. Did the city council get to vote on whether to settle?
Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s are obviously not happy with the agreement. One wrote to us, “The secrecy accorded to this significant case may be a story unto itself. The suit was filed on November 14, 2025, and neither the Archdiocese nor the City of Yonkers publicized it.
“It would have flown totally below the radar of parishioners if it hadn’t been brought to my attention two months later by a Google news alert presenting a link to a legal database.
“The outcome of the agreement is not a ‘win-win.” Landmark protection for the Parish Hall, the Rectory, and the interior of the church was lost. The only part of the church landmarked now is the outer walls, which the Archdiocese alleges are in such poor condition that they have surrounded them with a scaffold at the parish’s expense.
“I suspect that there will be no publicity from City Hall because they know they gave too much away. The Archdiocese is not going to celebrate the outcome because merely filing the suit would make them seem like good money-men but not good shepherds.
“Peering into the documents, the parties had been in negotiation for a settlement since 1/9/2026. A proposed settlement was filed on 3/6 by Jacob Zarin, representing the Archdiocese. He signed for the Archdiocese, and David Imamura signed representing Yonkers et al.” David Imamura is with the firm Abrams Fensterman, and is also a County Legislator.
Another Friend of St. Mary’s wrote, “I’m shocked that the attorneys representing Yonkers had signed a proposal that removed most of the landmark protections from St. Mary’s because Yonkers and its City Council had been staunch and vocal advocates for this beleaguered church.”
While Friends of St. Mary’s continues to explore its options, there appears to be no other recourse.
