St. John Chrysostom Church

981 East 167th Street | also 1130 Hoe Avenue | Crotona Park East | built 1915

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1899

    Rev. Bernard F. Brady founds St. John Chrysostom parish for Irish immigrants

    Splitting off from the parish of St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom was set up in 1899 for a mostly Irish congregation in a neighborhood that also had many Jewish residents from Russia, Bohemia and Poland. Its twin-towered brick church with stone trim went up at East 167th Street and Hoe Avenue in 1900, and by 1913 the parish counted about 1,100 Catholics.

    “The parish was established in 1899 for a mostly Irish immigrant congregation, breaking from the parish of St. Augustine by the Rev. Bernard F. Brady.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1970

    St. John's stays open as a haven for children while the surrounding blocks burn

    By the mid-20th century, newcomers from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, along with African Americans, had replaced most of the area's Irish, Italian and Polish families. During the South Bronx's decline in the 1970s and 1980s, the blocks around St. John's were counted as part of the "Fort Apache" section. As nearby buildings burned and violence peaked, the church kept its doors open as a refuge for neighborhood children, earning the nickname "Little House on the Prairie."

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 2001

    November 5

    The church holds the funeral of anthrax victim Kathy T. Nguyen

    Kathy T. Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam, died in New York on October 31, 2001, of the inhaled form of anthrax. Her funeral was held at St. John Chrysostom on November 5.

    “Anthrax victim Kathy T. Nguyen had her funeral at St. John Chrysostom Roman Catholic Church on November 5, 2001.”

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 3 buildings with stories in Crotona Park East