St. Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church (Bronx)

St. Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church is a parish located in the Riverdale section of The Bronx, New York. The parish was created in 1939 by Francis Spellman, then the Archbishop of New York, as the successor to the St. Gabriel's Church on East 37th Street in Manhattan, which was razed in 1937 to accommodate the construction of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel.^[1] A total of 28 lots were purchased on the south side of West 235th Street between Arlington and Netherland avenues to house the new church, school, and rectory.^[2]

St. Gabriel's Church
40°53′6.66″N 73°54′42.62″W
Location	3250 Arlington Ave The Bronx (Riverdale), New York City
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.stgabrielsinthebronx.org
Architecture
Completed	1939
Administration
Archdiocese	New York
Parish	St. Gabriel
Clergy
Pastor(s)	Rev. Brian P. McCarthy

The pews, altars and statues of the original church were relocated to the new structure, and many of the church's Irish-American congregants also moved to the Bronx to be near their parish.^[3] The Right Reverend Francis W. Walsh, pastor of the Church of the Assumption in Peekskill, New York, and president of the College of New Rochelle, was named pastor ^[4] – a post he held until his retirement in 1969.

The St. Gabriel's complex encompasses a church, elementary school and rectory. In 2004, St. Gabriel's was at the center of a zoning debate when a real estate developer unsuccessfully attempted to pay $7.2 million to build a new church and rectory and to renovate the church's school in exchange for the sale of air rights to build a 30-story condominium on the site of the rectory.^[5][6]

References

1. "St. Vartan Park". NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
2. "Church Buys Plot for Home in Bronx: St. Gabriel's Plans Erection of Riverdale Buildings". The New York Times. January 11, 1940. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
3. Ronald H. Bayor and Timothy J. Meagher (1997). The New York Irish. JHU Press. p. 675. ISBN 0-8018-5764-3.
4. "New Parish in Bronx; Spellman Reveals St. Gabriel's Church Will Be Established". The New York Times. December 8, 1939. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
5. Kevin Murawinski (August 1, 2004). "Zone Change Bedevils Riverdale church plan". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
6. Alan Feuer (March 2, 2004). "Quiet Street Reaps Price of Progress; Bronx Developer's Offer Wins Over Longtime Residents, One at a Time". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-06.

External links

• St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church website
• St. Gabriel's School website