3 BRONX WEEKLY July 19, 2020 www.BXTimes.com
Six Bronx Catholic schools close
Archdiocese of New York cites fi nancial struggles due to COVID-19
NYBG head steps down after two years
BY JENNA BAGCAL
The New York Botanical
Garden announced that Dr.
Carrie Rebora Barratt is stepping
down as the institution’s
CEO and William C. Steere Sr.
President following her two
year tenure.
Barratt assumed the role in
July 2018 and became NYBG’s
fi rst female president. While
the Board searches for Barratt’s
successor, NYBG Director
J.V. Cossaboom will fi ll in
during the interim.
“My two-year tenure at
the Garden, including leadership
in this unprecedented
time, has helped me see our
changing world with new perspective.
The Garden has the
strong foundation in place to
seize new opportunities of signifi
cant scope in our community
in the Bronx and beyond,”
Barratt said in an offi cial statement.
Among her myriad contributions
to the Garden included
staff and Board Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion committees
which created an institutional
DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion)
plan, a $17.7 million
restoration of the palm dome
of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory,
developing vital educational
programs and enriching
and expanding digital content,
expanding biodiversity studies
and presenting the largest
botanical exhibition in history,
“Brazillian Modern: The
Living Art of Roberto Burle
Marx.”
“I express my profound
gratitude and respect for the
staff and Board and am immensely
proud of the work
we have done together to
strengthen the Garden’s role
as a world leader in the botanical
and horticultural dimensions
of climate change, sustainability,
food security, and
human wellness in body and
mind. I depart after a period of
considerable thought about my
own path and have chosen this
moment as an opportune time
to act, when we have closed
out our fi scal year with a balanced
budget and are ready to
welcome the public back,” said
Barratt.
Prior to working at NYBG,
Barratt spent 34 distinguished
years at The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, where she worked
as a curator. The Chicago native
earned her B.A. from the
University of Illinois, an M.A.
in art history from UCLA and
a Ph.D from CUNY. She currently
lives in Manhattan.
“We are grateful to Dr. Barratt
for the important contributions
she has made to the
institution,” said J. Barclay
Collins, chairman of the Board
of Trustees. “We especially appreciate
her role in leading the
institution through the challenges
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She leaves the Garden
in a strong fi nancial and operational
position as we head
into our reopening, scheduled
for later this month.”
BY ALEX MITCHELL
The Archdiocese of New York
announced that fi nancial struggles
brought on by coronavirus
has pressed the closure of 20
Catholic schools downstate, with
six of the schools located in the
Bronx.
The Bronx’s Saints Philip &
James School in Williamsbridge,
St. Thomas Aquinas School in
Crotona, St. Luke School in Mott
Haven, St. John’s School in Kingsbridge,
Nativity of Our Blessed
Lady School in Edenwald, and
Our Lady of the Assumption
School in Pelham Bay will be
shutting down its operations in
the near future.
In addition, three schools on
Staten Island, two in Manhattan,
and others in surrounding suburbs,
will also be part of the closures.
Manhattan’s Corpus Christi
School in Morningside Heights
and Our Lady of Pompeii School
on Bleecker Street will be closed
in addition to Staten Island’s St.
Joseph-St. Thomas School in
Prince’s Bay, Our Lady of Mt.
Carmel-St. Benedicta School in
Port Richmond, and Saints Peter
& Paul School in Randall Manor.
It is expected that 2,500 students
and 350 staff will be impacted
by the closures, according
to the archdiocese.
The report cited that many
families were unable to pay current
tuition due to COVID-19 related
unemployment, leading to
“a signifi cantly low
rate of reregistration
for the fall.”
Some cast the
blame on months of
canceled masses and
fundraising, which
went toward scholarships,
as being a
critical blow to the
schools’ permanent
closures.
“Too many have
lost parents and
grandparents to this
insidious virus, and
now thousands will
not see their beloved
school again,” said
Cardinal Timothy
Dolan, Archbishop of
New York.
“Given the devastation
of this pandemic,
I’m grateful
more schools didn’t meet this fate
and that Catholic schools nearby
are ready to welcome all the
kids,” Dolan added.
Meanwhile, Superintendent
of Schools for the Archdiocese,
Michael J. Deegan, is fearful
that this is only the beginning of
larger school closures to come.
“If more assistance is not
forthcoming in the longed for HEROES
Act now before Congress, I
am afraid even more might close.
This is a very sad day for everyone
in the extended Catholic
school community,” he said.
Other Catholic schools closing
in the Hudson valley include:
Holy Family School in New Rochelle,
Our Lady of Perpetual
Help School in Pelham Manor,
both St. Ann School and St. Paul
School in Yonkers, Sacred Heart
School in Suffern, Divine Mercy
School in New Windsor, St. Elizabeth
Ann Seton School in Shrub
Oak, St. Patrick School in Bedford,
St. Peter School in Poughkeepsie.
The archdiocese also announced
that both Sacred Heart
School in Monroe and St. Stephen
St. Edward School in Warwick
will combined with St. John
School in Goshen.
Saints Philip & James School in Williamsbridge. Photo via Google Maps
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