By Dan Murphy
A plan to use the vacant St. Ann’s School on 40 Brewster Avenue for migrant teens during weekday hours has been rejected, by St. Ann’s Pastor Stephen Norton, and the Archdiocese of New York. The school, which has been closed since 2019, due to budget cuts in the Archdiocese, was said to preparing for a staff of 100 and for 200 mostly male migrant children to attend the school during the week arriving by bus in the morning and leaving at the end of the day.
“For many reasons, and after speaking with the Archdioceses, we have decided not to go in that direction,” said Father Norton, who had the primary authority to make the decision. “We are looking for a buyer or another renter for the school, but at this point, Rising Ground is not an option.”
Rising Ground would have been the operator of the program for the Federal Government. Migrant teens would have been at the school for 90 days and then reunited with their families in the US.
Several meetings were held at St. Ann’s with the community to discuss the proposal. Most of the parishioners attending the meetings opposed the plan, despite the $500,000 in rent that the parish was to receive and is in need of.
“There were so many factors in addition to the opposition from the community. It just wasn’t viable at this juncture, and for so many reasons we just had to step away,” said Father Norton. The school is located several blocks away from St. Ann’s Parish on Midland Avenue.
City Council Minority Leader Mike Breen, who is also running for Assembly in the 90th District, said, “I think this was the right decision for the community. I understand that this was a difficult decision for Father Norton to make, but after sitting through one of the discussions with the community, it was clear that they did not want the school to be used for this purpose. We will find another use for the school.”
Father Norton made a compelling case for using the school for this purpose in a letter to Councilman Anthony Merante, who had asked questions and had also opposed the proposed use. “A parish must do more than simply meet the religious worship needs of parishioners; it has an obligation to utilize its resources to meet the charitable, educational needs of its people whenever possible, and the surrounding communities. Our service to those in need is an important tenant of what makes our faith so strong… .
Most of the children are from Central America and most are Catholic,” wrote Father Norton in March.
Father Norton told Yonkers Rising, I hope any person of faith understands the need to help those regardless of race, creed or color. That’s our challenge as a Catholic, Christian people.”
The issue of flights coming into Westchester Airport late in the night continues to be a politically hot issue. Many Westchester residents have expressed concern about where the migrants getting off the planes are going. The proposal from Rising Ground to St. Ann’s was one answer to that question.
