St. Stanislaus Kostka parish processed through Greenpoint last Sunday for Divine Mercy Sunday.
With social distancing guidelines in New York and much of the country holding place through the Easter holiday season, a local church got creative with a procession last Sunday, bringing a Catholic Easter tradition to the streets of Greenpoint.
During Divine Mercy Sunday, the parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church (607 Humboldt St.) was seen and heard blessing homes in Greenpoint while riding in the back of a white pickup truck, holding a monstrance and praying through a loud speaker. Continue reading →
Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church – Illustration by Sara Harvey
Perhaps no local building defines Polish Greenpoint than St. Stanislaus Kostka Church at 607 Humboldt Street. St Stanislaus Kostka is home to the largest Polish Catholic congregation in Brooklyn. Each weekend nine masses are celebrated, five in Polish and four in English. This parish also has an elementary school with 300 students and another 300 who attend Sunday school. Each Sunday thousands of the faithful attend mass there. It is where many locals were christened, received their first communion and were married. When Pope John Paul II, the Polish Pope, visited New York he had to visit his people’s church. John Paul II, still as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, prayed in the parish during his 1969 visit when he spoke from the marble pulpit, prayed near the altar and received the heartfelt wishes of hundreds of local Catholics. There is a statue of John Paul II outside the church, which implores the faithful, “Nie Boj sie,” Don’t be afraid. Continue reading →
Justine posted about this last year, but it’s worth another mention along with photos. At St. Stan’s over on Driggs, there is an amazing flea market on weekends, a real flea market, with flea market prices. I always stop in after I hit up the Greenmarket. You won’t find overpriced vintage items, but useful things for your home, like glassware, sewing supplies, appliances, VCRs, and religious figurines.
Today they had a juicer, a crazy accordion, gently used coats, decent furniture and an entire room dedicated to toys and children’s books. Kids don’t need new anything. They grow out of their clothes after one wear and destroy everything. Aside from cribs and strollers, you can buy this pretend purple coffee maker to teach your kid to abuse caffeine. It was right next to the fake cigarettes.
You can drop off donations there and according to Justine’s post, there is a cafe on Sunday’s, which I’ve yet to check out. I will report back soon.
Here on “this side” of Greenpoint, we are very proud of our park that goes by the name of Winthrop or McGolrick depending on what century you moved or were born here. While we can’t agree on the name, we all love this hidden gem of a public park.
The McGolrick Park School Alliance has recently formed in order to get surrounding schools (P.S. 110, St. Stan’s & P.S. 34) to collaborate in clean-up and beautification of our park, starting March 2012 through November 2012.
There are some really cool events planned including a grass-seeding, tree planting, an art show, nature workshops led by the Hall of Science, a craft/painting day and a compost project. Count me in!
The group needs funding in order to accomplish these goals, which will make the park better for ALL to enjoy. The alliance needs a little over $2000 to make it all happen. You can donate to this project here. Even $1 helps, so fork it over!
Reader Christine sent me this tip about a weekend Flea Market and Cafe over at St. Stan’s.
The Flea Market is open 10am-3pm on both Saturday and Sundays and accepts donations during these times as well. The Cafe is open only on Sundays and sells delicious homemade pastries, pies and cakes along with coffee/teas.
Definitely on my list of things to stop by & check out this weekend!
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church 189 Driggs Avenue between Newel & Diamond Hours: 10am – 3pm Saturday & Sunday Cafe: 10am – 3pm Sundays
If you have a chance to view this great video from YesMan46, definitely do!
It’s a Polish wedding video from 1949 taking place in Greenpoint. It shows the beautiful bride getting ready, the wedding party exiting their home on Broome Street (gotta love the woman on the first floor just sitting in the window looking – totally old school Greenpoint!) and some brief shots of the drive to St. Stan’s. Bonus Poconos honeymoon footage, too!
A lot of love was put into this little 7 minute video and it’s just wonderful to watch. The fashions are fabulous!
