Look Out for St. Mary's in Yonkers' St. Patrick's Day Parade This Saturday

In the NY metro the Feast of St. Patrick is a month, not a day.  Cities, towns and villages each have their own parades, some before, some after the big one down Fifth Avenue in NYC on March 17th.  Yonkers is throwing their party on Saturday, March 21, with a parade up McLean Avenue followed by festivities in Coyne Park at the end of the march. 

A contingent from St. Mary's will be joining in honor of the Irish immigrants that built the church with their own hands and monetary donations.  We will march with gratitude for our Irish forbears who laid a firm physical and spiritual foundation for successive waves of immigrants.  And as we march we will be praying to St. Patrick, patron of the Archdiocese of New York, to drive out some snakes here, too.

The parade kicks off from McLean and Hyatt Avenues at 1:00 PM.  It will be a happy madhouse, so visit the Yonkers St. Patrick's Day Parade website for details.  There will be shuttles running to and from free parking at Empire City Casino on the corner of Yonkers & Central Avenues.  Details about that are available on FAQ page of parade site under "Where can I park the day of the parade?"

St. Mary NYC News Item Missing?

On Friday the 13th I saw a headline in Lo-Down, a Lower East Side news site, announcing that St. Mary's had been landmarked.  Wait...what?  Reading further I learned that St. Mary's on Grand Street was designated an individual landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

The sentence that stood out like a neon sign observed that the Archdiocese of New York did not oppose the application.  A preservationist that supported the application noted that it was rare for a Roman Catholic church to be landmarked.

When I went back to read and post, the article was gone!  I thought I had verified the designation on the LPC site, but maybe my hunger for good news caused me to misread the designation of St. Mary the Virgin, aka "Smoky Mary."

Maybe the editor of Lo-Down is waiting for the New York City Council to approve the designation and make it official.  I sure hope this piece returns.  In the meantime, please read this excellent item about St. Mary NYC's journey toward this moment.  It provides a lot of context:  Campaign to Landmark Church of St. Mary Inches Ahead

First there is a...then there is no...then there is.  Hit it, Donovan. 

Jo Dereske on Saving/Losing Churches

"I wish Nostalgia and tradition were money! We could have bought these places many times over."

"I recall the losing battle of saving various Lithuanian-based churches, which I imagine is still ongoing.  I think the Sisters of St. Casimir (who taught me) sold their convent a while ago."

-from an e-mail from Jo Dereske

RIP Jo Dereske

I first encountered Jo Dereske through Miss Zukas, specifically her novel "Miss Zukas Shelves the Evidence."  I was being facetious because Our Lady of Vilnius had its own Miss Zukas.  I read the book, loved it and read the rest of the series.  Dereske's Miss Zukas is a Lithuanian-American librarian living on one of the islands of Washington State.  She is smarter and tangier than the average "cozy mystery" heroine and the books share some pointed but subtle social commentary about gentrification.  She shares her Lithuanian heritage in the persona of Zukas's grandmother, whose very good recipe for kugelis appears in one of the novels.  There is even a Lithuanian Catholic church in Zukas's midwestern hometown.

I think one encounters a lot of Jo Dereske in Ms. Zukas and some of Ms. Zukas has filtered into me.  I now say "Oh, Faulkner" instead of the alternative and refer to any oppressors as "Dos Passos."

I had the pleasure of exchanging a few e-mails with her and learned of her passing via Google, as I was checking up on her because I had not written to her in a long time.

My condolences to all who are suffering her loss.

Here is her obituary:  Jo Dereske,  October 1, 1947 - July 5. 2025

A tribute from a friend on SleuthSayers blog: Farewell, Ms. Dereske

Playing Chess with the Archdiocese of New York: Church of the Most Holy Redeemer

When you hear that your church is being closed or your parish is merging with another it is news to you.  But it isn't news to the Archdiocese of New York.  They are playing a game of chess from a playbook of time tested moves.  The reasons put forward for closing or merging may be true, but they are not necessarily causal.  The standard reasons:

• Reduced attendance
• Shortage of priests
• Problems with the structure or condition of the church

The unvoiced causal reasons: the Archdiocese needs money,  a party expressed interest in the property, a party made an offer on the property, anticipated legislation forecasts revenue from the property.

Phyllis Eckhaus's piece, Battle to Save East Village Church Goes to the Vatican in the Village Star-Revue is a very readable introduction to the machinations used to close churches and the methods parishioners can use to save their spiritual home.

St. Mary's Needs Another Easter Miracle Because Last Year's Fizzled Out

Last year on April 16th News 12 aired an item announcing that the Vatican overturned Cardinal Dolan's decree changing St. Mary's from a parish to a secondary church in the Parish of St. Peter-St. Denis.  St. Mary's would once again be a parish.

That Vatican decree was issued on March 31, 2025.  In News 12's "Easter Miracle" piece a spokesman for the Archdiocese is on record saying that they are reviewing the notice from the Vatican and figuring out the next steps.  Here's what those steps turned out to be:

• Nothing:
• No new pastor appointed.
• No parish council created
• Mass schedule unchanged: still only 1 Sunday Mass at 10:00 AM
• Litigation against the City of Yonkers, et al, to remove landmark designation from St. Mary's Church, Rectory and Parish Hall continued.
• Issuing a repeat Decree of Merger with St. Peter-St. Denis on December 17, 2025.
• Ending the landmarking lawsuit with a settlement that removed landmark status from the Parish Hall, the Rectory and the inside of the church.  Only the exterior walls of the church are now landmarked: the very walls the Archdiocese alleged were in bad condition and in need of repair to the tune of $10 million.

Despite the recent disappointments in canon and civil law, the parishioners of St. Mary's continue to pour their hearts out in prayer at 10:00 AM Mass every Sunday.  On February 4th they sent an appeal of Cardinal Dolan's repeat decree to the Vatican.

St. Mary's Loses Most Landmark Protections - "Proposed Judgement" Now Final and Official

The proposed judgement, e-filed on 3/5/2026 by Jacob Amir representing the Archdiocese of New York was signed by Judge Melissa Loehr and filed with the County Clerk.   The now final judgement removes landmark status from the parish hall, the rectory and the interior of St. Mary's Church.  The document, signed by Judge Melissa Loehr and dated 3/6/2026, makes it official that now only the "exterior facade," outlined in pink on Exhibit A, above retains landmark protection.  

The protection that it now offers St. Mary's is as weak as a that pink outline on Exhibit A because the Archdiocese has previously alleged that the facade is in bad condition and would require $10 million in repairs.  

Now that the deal has been signed, sealed and delivered parishioners are stunned and and are trying to figure out why attorneys representing Yonkers signed a proposal that was so favorable for the Archdiocese.

Documents for the case are available online. Because this case was brought before the Supreme Court of Westchester County, you can use the WebCivil Supreme Case Search Form.  The index number for the case is 75204/2024.

Under Proposed Judgement Only 4 Exterior Walls of St. Mary's Church, Yonkers, Will Remain Landmarked

The proposed judgement, e-filed on 3/5/2026 by Jacob Amir representing the Archdiocese of New York, removes landmark status from the parish hall, the rectory and the interior of St. Mary's Church.  David Imamura signed the stipulation representing the City of Yonkers.  

The only element retaining landmark protection under this proposed judgement is the "exterior facade," of the church (incorporating the chapel) as outlined in pink on the image above, identified as Exhibit A in the document.

An interested party sent the proposed judgement to a parishioner last evening in response to a Facebook post.  It was like a bombshell, as many thought that landmark status was an unassailable golden dome assuring that St. Mary's would continue to stand forever.

The parishioners trying to save the church and have its status as a parish restored were shocked that the attorney representing Yonkers had signed a proposal that removed most of the protections from the landmark designation.  The City of Yonkers and its City Council had been staunch defenders of landmark protection for this beleaguered church.  

Documents for the case are available online. Because this case was brought before the Supreme Court of Westchester County, you can use the WebCivil Supreme Case Search Form.  The index number for the case is 75204/2024.