A Hidden Lower East Side

      At the end of this past February, Community Board 3 put their support behind the Cooper Square Committee Land Trust as a part of their broader motion to halt the planned $50,000,000 sale of the Church of the Nativity on Second Ave: " Community Board 3 urges the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, as well as other religious institutions, to declare a moratorium on the disposition of any Catholic Church or other religiously-owned and decommissioned properties for one year from the date the proposed Town Hall meeting is held to discuss alternative scenarios formulated by the broader community. " The full text of this motion can be read here , where CB3 lists seven primary reasons which should compel the Archdiocese to heed their call; from the Pope's general call for increased community participation, to the urgent need for affordable/senior housing in the neighborhood, and generally combat the implications of displacement on low-income families, the homeless,...

      The Archdiocese of New York announced early this February that, after 163 years, they will be closing St. Brigid's on the corner of 7th and Ave A –– as well as four other schools serving a large base of low-income students across the city (one in Harlem, two in the Bronx, and one in Staten Island). Citing low enrollment rates, this news came as a shock to many of the students, parents, and staff of these schools who must now suddenly navigate the vast NYC school system. Throughout the 20th century as schools crumbled, shuttered, and were re-built, affordable private education like St. Brigid's has provided a reliable and safe environment for low-income predominantly Black and Latino communities across the city. The Archdiocese's lack of commitment to these "underperforming" schools only mirrors the deeper struggles facing perhaps the most segregated school system in the country. St. Emeric's School on Ave. D        The St. Brigid S...