By Dan Murphy
At their July 16 special meeting, the Yonkers City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to Landmark St. Mary’s Church. Built in 1948, St. Mary’s is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers.
St. Mary’s is in jeopardy of closing its doors, after the Archdiocese of New York recently called for the church to merge operations with nearby St. Denis and only offer one mass per week.
The Landmarking of St. Mary’s includes the exterior façade, interior, rectory and parish hall. The Landmarks Preservation Board voted to landmark the church, and the City Council voted to adopt the recommendation of the Landmarks Board, making the status official.
Hundreds of Yonkers residents and former parishioners of St. Mary’s have come forward to call on the hallowed church to remain open.
Many Hispanic residents of Yonkers who now attend St. Mary’s have been rallying in support of what is called “The Cathedral of the Hudson River Valley.”
City Council Majority Leader John Rubbo said, “St. Mary’s is a very important building in Yonkers. The Landmarks Board and Planning Board thought long and hard about it. I have received letters and emails from parishioners and former parishioners across the country to save this institution.”
Councilwoman Tasha Diaz said, “I was delighted to see this legislation on our agenda. I attended St. Mary’s school for six years and they had a good impact on my life.”
Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy, who was one of the first elected officials to call on the church to be preserved, said, “As a community, Yonkers has spoken. They have told us to landmark this church, so we voted today to take it out of committee. “
Many Yonkers residents have been pushing for the council to grant landmark status to St. Mary’s, for fear that the church would be demolished.
The Archdiocese of NY has told parishioners at meetings held earlier this year that the church is in need of $10 Million in repairs. Some parishioners who are in the construction -engineering industry claim that the number is closer to $6 Million, and the repairs can be made in phases.
This would give supporters of St. Mary’s the opportunity to raise $2 Million for the first phase. A nonprofit, St. Mary’s Friends has been formed to do just that. “The non-profit organization St. Mary’s Friends is working to ensure the preservation of St. Mary’s (Church of the Immaculate Conception) Yonkers, New York. The mission of the organization is to save the church, so parishioners can continue to express their faith. We have been instrumental in filing an canonical appeal to stop the archdiocese from merging St. Mary’s Parish with St. Peter’s/St. Denis. We are working to gain landmark status from the city of Yonkers for both the external as well as internal physical structures. We are also working to submit an application for the National Historic Registry.
“We are also working to raise the funds necessary for building preservation and maintenance, including, but not limited to, the pursuit of grant opportunities and the launch of a capital campaign, to ensure the integrity of the buildings for future generations. We will work to preserve the church buildings, not only as a place for mass, but as a chapel or a shrine, where people can pray. It is our aim to protect the legacy of St. Mary’s Church as an enduring beacon and Sacred Space of the Roman Catholic faith in the city of Yonkers,” from St. Mary’s Friends.
Anyone interested in joining St. Mary’s Friends can contact Bob Lynn goblynn1@juno.com.
The two key factors in granting Landmark status were the history and the architecture of the church.
St. Mary’s sits on .52 acres and is a valuable piece of real estate. The church recently celebrated its 175th anniversary.
In other business, the City Council approved a temporary moratorium on any development of battery energy storage systems, and an 8 month moratorium on any new self storage facilities.
