Prayers Answered: Church of St. Mary Is Finally Landmarked! Parish Bicentennial Coming

If the hallelujahs have resounded a little louder at Grand and Ridge Streets lately, it’s because, after years of uncertainty, recent whispers of a miracle proved to be true: the Church of St. Mary has been landmarked!

For Lower East Side preservationists, the April 7 annoucement was as exciting as a white puff of smoke from the Vatican signaling the election of a new pope. For many St. Mary’s parishioners, it was a relief beyond words. For the New York City agency who made the decree, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), it was an occasion for accolades the likes of which they don’t often receive.

Besides the Church of St. Mary at 440 Grand Street, the LPC granted landmark status to two other buildings, the Lithuanian Alliance Building at 307 W. 30th St. in Chelsea, and the Public School 15 Annex at 372 Schermerhorn St. in downtown Brooklyn.

If linking the three structures to New York City’s “Rich Immigration History,” as LPC did seems reductive or redundant, since everyone but Lenape Indians who met the first explorers and colonists are part of Gotham’s “immigration history,” it’s not wrong either.

“Immigrants built New York City,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “Their stories live in every block, every neighborhood, every corner of the five boroughs. Today, I’m proud to recognize three more sites that carry that legacy forward—places that, for generations, have opened their doors to newcomers and helped define what it means to belong in the greatest city in the world.”

“New York City’s history is the history of immigration,” echoed Landmarks Preservation Commission Executive Director Lisa Kersavage, “and the three landmarks designated today provide a tangible connection to places that helped communities establish roots and create lasting opportunities.” Kersavage is Mandami’s pick to be the next LPC Chair, a decision hailed by Friends of the Upper East Side, among other historic preservation groups.

“St. Mary’s Church tells the story of Lower Manhattan. It is one of New York City’s earliest Catholic parishes, built by and for immigrants, and it has remained a vital institution on the Lower East Side for nearly two centuries,” said New York City Councilmember Christopher Marte. “From its roots in the Irish immigrant community to its role today serving many Spanish-speaking parishioners, St. Mary’s reflects the history, resilience, and diversity of our neighborhood. This landmark designation is a recognition that this history matters and must be preserved.”

The words of the downtown solon, who is himself of Dominican Catholic heritage, are of special interest, as his advocacy St. Mary’s predates his election to City Council. As any Manhattan Catholic can attest, recent decades have been difficult ones for the Archdiocese, with parish closures, consolidations and property sales common. Indeed, Marte is graduate of St. Agnes Boys High School on the Upper West Side, an institution that closed in 2013.

In 2023, when the Archdiocese proposed merging St. Mary’s with Our Lady of Sorows, Marte eloquently expressed his concerns, noting that “The communities of St. Mary’s and Our Lady of Sorrows are very distinct and well deserve their own congregations and pastors. A merging of these two churches would go against the trends of residential growth and community needs in the Lower East Side, and would fracture a congregation that continues to grow in size and strength. I urge you to consider continuing the term of Father O’Connor as pastor at St. Mary’s, and to make sure that the robust programming that has supported the Lower East Side up to this point can continue to flourish under his leadership.”

Though the Archdiocese was unswayed, the fact they didn’t object to St. Mary’s landmarking suggests Marte’s eloquence—and vigilance—wasn’t for naught. Whether Marte can effect further preservation wins as chair the City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, Resiliency and Dispositions remains to be seen.

200 Years of Fortitude

If it wasn’t quite planned this way, the annoucement of St. Mary’s landmark status could hardly have been better timed, as the parish is celebrating its bicentennial from Saturday May 16 to Sunday May 24.

Founded in 1826 in a former Presbyterian Church on Sheriff Street for the areas’s growing Irish Catholic population, St. Mary was built in a Greek revival style in 1832-1833. The original fieldstone is still visible on the church’s sides, while its brick Romanesque facade includhing two handsome spires was added in 1864.

St. Mary’s birthday bash begins with Bicentennial Gala in its Grand Hall and concludes with a 10:30 a.m. Pentecost-Bicentennial Mass, with a coffee and cake celebration following. In between there will be a Bingo Night, a Night of Prayer and Music, a Bicentennial Concert, and a number of historical tours, which persons of all faiths are welcome to attend.