A Reprieve for Historic Brownsville Church

First of all, the campaign to save Our Lady of Loreto is not about Blacks, Catholics, Italian-Americans or former parishioners.

There is much more to this story then you will read about in the newspaper.

First of all, yes, it was the Italian-Americans and former parishioners that first started the campaign to saved the church. Not just because of their sentimental ties to the church. But because of the beauty, history and architectural design of this 103 year old building. Also, it was the people in the Brownsville community that were looking for someone to save this building and it was the former parishioners who answered their pleas for help.

So, at that point the Italian-Americans, former parishioners, African American and Latino Americans joined forces together to fight the Diocese to save the church and reuse it as a Cultural Art & Community Center.

But not just for the people in Brownsville, but for all of New York City and beyond.

Furthermore, the former parishioners never abandon the church. The former parishioners have always been there when the church needed money even though they no longer lived in the area. Over the years, they have done many fundraising to help raise money for the church. The church never used that money for the upkeep of the church. They put the money in their own pocket.

It was the church that abandon the people in the community.

And for those of you who keep saying “will they put their money where their mouth is and chip in to preserve the church”? The answer is YES.

If the property is sold to their developer who will build 102 new apartments, he will also restore the church. Then the people in the community along with the Italian-Americans and former parishioners will get many organizations to help support the new community center.

Mrs. Dean of the Brownsville Heritage House on Mother Gaston Blvd in Brooklyn will move her Art Classes into the new community center for her students. The Brownsville Heritage House is in a small space on the second floor of the Public library on Mother Gaston Blvd. Mrs. Dean has helped lead the campaign to save the church.

There will also be many educational programs for the people in the area. Many other organization will be using the new community center. For example, they will open a new Knights of Columbus chapter in the community center.

The following is a list of the initial plans for the Cultural Center. The goal, for success, is to work closely with schools, residents, local community groups, and historical societies.

Art Programs; during the school year classes for kids will be held on weekends and evening classes held for adults;

Summer sessions will be held as Art Camps.

Music Recitals & Shows; Ethnic, Holidays, Classics.

Special Historical & Cultural Classes such as the History of East New York, the Five Boroughs, Immigration past & present and the understanding of different cultures.

Genealogical Classes for adults and introduction levels for kids.

Special Events and Awareness coinciding with holidays such as Columbus Day, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Presidents Weekend, Kwanzaa, Chanukah and special monthly events such as Black History Month, Hispanic History Month, etc.

ESL/ Italian, Spanish, French, Asian, Russian language classes, etc.

Guest Speakers several times a year including well-known people, who were born, lived in or have a connection to ENY, Brooklyn or the boroughs.

History tours for Brooklyn and the NYC Boroughs; Book Signings and Reading Classes.

The creation of multi-cultural age groups to share cultures, foods and traditions.

A Cultural Center Gift Shop displaying, among other items, the history of Our Lady of Loreto, Brooklyn and the NY Boroughs and the impact of immigrants coming to America.

Town Hall Meetings; Blood Drives; Auctions; Toys for Tots; Food Drives; Senor Citizens; Alcoholics Anonymous.

Event Space for Weddings, Sweet Sixteen parties, Anniversary celebrations, etc.

So now you know some of the true story behind the campaign to save the church.

So stop bad mouthing the Italian-Americans and former parishioners for abandoning the church.

This was a joint force by the Italian-Americans, former parishioners, African Americans and Latino Americans.

We have finely come together for a common cause for the future of our younger generation.

Maybe this will be an example of what can be accomplished by working together.

Montrose Morris is incorrect in saying that “there are a lot more black Catholics than that, there are quite a few African American catholics not of Caribbean or African extraction…”. As the following link shows, blacks comprise a scant 3% of all Catholics in the US.

http://usccb.org/comm/backgrounders/african_american.shtml

I didn’t mean to get everyone all twisted up about Black catholics. My point was simply more or less Montrose’s — I didn’t think the article was population suggesting the area’s Black population was somehow responsible for the church’s decay. My point was a demographic one — smaller % on avg of Blacks than Italians are Catholic, and that any reasonable reader would have understood that, as the neighborhood changed, the church had an ever-smaller worship constituency with a vested interest in preserving the building. Neighborhood economic resources have something to do with it, but those don’t come into play until the building is repurposed. A building needs a constituency to devote resources to it in order to be maintained. While there are no doubt active Black catholic churches, my point is simply that I would not have expected a 1-1 replacement of Italian catholic churchgoers with black catholic churchgoers at this location as the neighborhood changed. I think that was the implication behind the post and the articles linked, and nothing more sinister.

this is a sensible deal
remember, if they do 50 units, they take care of fifty families…. the way i put, there are 50 families doubled up sleeping on coaches and two or three to a bed waiting for this housing…..