WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES FEBRUARY 6, 2020 3
St. Pancras Church in Glendale relocates statue amid
ongoing negotiations with School Construction Authority
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
In a move that portends the arrival of a new secular
school in the St. Pancras School building in
Glendale, St. Pancras Church hoisted down the
statue of Jesus that topped the school’s entryway on
Friday morning.
But after neighbors lamented the removal upon
seeing pictures of the church strapping Jesus
to a flatbed truck on Facebook, the religious
statue ended up traveling across the street on the
church’s lawn, where it will find a new home.
“We may be leasing the school to the Department
of Education, and if that takes place any religious
symbols, statues, iconography could not remain,”
said Rev. Francis J. Hughes, the church pastor.
“And so we have long planned to keep the statue by
placing it one the rectory lawn. It is now in place
and the parishioners who have seen it are already
very happy with it.”
In the summer of 2018, the Catholic school closed
its doors aft er 110 years of existence, citing low enrollment
and resulting fi nancial losses. The student
population of St. Pancras dropped by 100 students
from 2012-2018, according to the church.
More public school space is sorely needed in
the Glendale-Ridgewood area. The school falls
in Community School District 24, which has the
fourth-highest level of overcrowding in the city,
according to a report the City Council released
St. Pancras School’s religious statue found a new home across the street. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
in 2018.
Hughes said that the DOE is in the process of
looking into the space for a new Queens public
school. St. Pancras, which served kindergarten to
eighth-grade students, had a student population
of over 200 before its drop in enrollment.
As a result of ongoing negotiations between the
School Construction Authority and the Diocese,
the DOE declined to comment on the status of the
project.
VISION:
FOCUS ON SAVING
9–MONTH CD 1.85%
3–MONTH CD 1.65%
APY1
$2,500 minimum to open and earn interest. $500 minimum to open and earn interest.
myNYCB.com • (877) 786-6560
APY1
1
!
" ""
imposed for withdrawals before maturity. Fees could reduce earnings. The Promotional CDs must be opened with new money not currently on deposit with the Bank.
Rates are available for accounts opened in branches located in New York, New Jersey and Florida only. Offer may be withdrawn at the discretion of the bank at any time.
©2020 New York Community Bank
/myNYCB.com
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
