Friday, January 16, 2015
Parents fighting to save Most Precious Blood School
From WPIX:
Nearly 200 students in Queens have been left scrambling after hearing their Catholic school will be closing.
Parents at the Most Precious Blood School in Long Island City received a letter about the closure last week.
The parish reportedly says the building is in serious need of costly repairs and enrollment has been dwindling for years.
191 students form Kindergarten to 8th Grade are enrolled at the school.
9 comments:
The parish reportedly says the building is in serious need of costly repairs and enrollment has been dwindling for years. Translation....LIC property values at an all time high and we are getting out of the education business. If they do not sell it I am sure they will rent it out to the City.
The politicians and developers are destroying western Queens literately doing everything the can to break apart a once strong community.
I wonder how much they paid for all this new publicity like in Time Out NY.
Its a charade folks. The newbies are into food porn and the community is becoming one giant gin-mill.
See that guy killed in the 'luxury' building built on the garbage dump that sits under 21st Street? That is the person that is moving in.
Close it, sell it, let the next owner actually pay some property tax!
I attended St. Gabriel's Catholic Elementary School from 1953-1961 (OK, I know, I'm an old guy). Taught by the Sisters Of Charity from 1st-5th, and the Irish Christian Brothers from 6th-8th. A tough old-style school where you behaved or else. Found out recently that the school had been sold to the city and was going to be converted into a Public School. Never followed up, so I don't know what happened.
Could not the same thing happen here? Maybe the city could take it over and convert it to a public school?
Would that make more sense than the inevitable new condo?
That certainly looks like a modern building that could be converted to a P.S.
If it is 58 years "old" it would be a waste to tear it down for more condos. It is a concrete and steel building. There can't be that much wrong with it.
Explain why the Catholic Church, holder of infinite riches, cannot find a way to keep its neighborhood schools open. The continual closing of these schools which provide a good education to many families in all boroughs -in particular working class and struggling families--is outrageous.
I know someone will say this is a local problem not connected to the world wide church blah blah, but I'm tired of the Catholic Church hierarchy in NYC abandoning it's mission by crying poverty.
Also considering that pre-k is well funded these days, it should be easier to stay solvent.
Waiting for the Church to step up and open their wallets is a lost cause.
Remember how they let St. Vincents' NYC close? Their flagship hospital and provider of health care to tens of thousands of poor New Yorkers and AIDS sufferers.
That was a crime.
This school? Sell it! Maybe someone will open it as a charter.
Why hasn't MPB become an academy? Such a shame to close a school with such a rich heritage of education for more than 50 years!
While I am not knowledgable about this school, I am involved in the fight to save one of the churches slatted for closure/merger and we have been told that it boils down to selling property to pay for the out of control costs to renovate Saint Patricks Cathedral coupled with payouts in the abuse cases brought against the Catholic Church. In that situation, we've been told that parishioners left hanging by the church experience a sense of abandonment from which they never really recover, either leaving the church altogether or seeking refuge in some other faith. Feel free to help by signing the petition at :
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/412/217/546/save-our-lady-of-peace-church-e-62nd-street-new-york-city/
and a more detailed account of one churches fight can be found on their fb page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1529940633884724/
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