There will soon be a rooftop swimming pool where the copper-domed bell towers of Mary Help of Christians once rose.<\/p>\n
Formerly a hub of the East Village\u2019s Italian-American community, the site of the Roman Catholic church is now slated for a 158-unit rental building, complete with basement gym and rooftop gardens \u201d\u201d a familiar trajectory for a growing number of houses of worship as church attendance falls and real estate values soar.<\/p>\n
In the rubble-strewn lot on Avenue A between 11th and 12th Streets where Mary Help of Christians and its school and rectory long stood, a rusty basketball hoop and strip of blacktop are all that is left. But perhaps unknown to those mourning the church\u2019s passing, much of what was precious inside it \u201d\u201d and other now-closed Catholic churches \u201d\u201d sits in a Staten Island warehouse, awaiting a second chance.<\/p>\n