By Katie Vasquez
New York City has launched an interactive online map that lets users explore the stories behind nearly 25,000 co-named streets, parks, and public spaces across the five boroughs. The new tool is giving communities a fresh way to connect with local history and the people honored on neighborhood signs.
By Jessica Easthope
In 2004, Joe Macken was settled near Albany, but he missed New York City, having grown up in Middle Village, Queens.
To ease his homesickness, Macken decided to make tiny replicas of iconic buildings from the Big Apple’s skyline. It was fun, so the truck driver kept on going during whatever free time he had, aside from when he was at work or raising his three children.
Now, 22 years later, his hobby has morphed into a labor of love titled “He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model.”
This model landscape, 50 by 27 feet, comprises 320 individual sections to account for all five boroughs. It is on display through Labor Day Weekend in the Dinan Miller Gallery of the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Ave.
“This is like a third of my life,” Macken said on March 9 during an interview at the museum. “It’s a passion that I started 22 years ago, and I just couldn’t stop.”
Macken said he had grown up playing with Lincoln Logs and Legos, but it wasn’t until he was in his 40s, after relocating to Clifton Park north of Albany, that he considered dabbling in “miniatures.”
“I kind of missed the city,” he recalled. “And I knew I wasn’t going to be seeing it much anymore. But I had all this balsa wood. So, I figured, ‘Let me go down to the basement and just build one building.’ And I did.”
“A couple of days later, I built another one, and I just kept building,” Macken said. “Then I realized how big it was getting. And I was getting better at it, faster.
“It was the consistency of it, and the love of doing it, that made me finish it.”
Macken said the model was displayed for the first time at a fair in upstate New York last September. His eldest child, daughter Erika, 22, helped him publicize it on social media, and interview requests from news organizations ensued.
The team at the Museum of the City of New York also noticed and invited Macken to display the model in the Dinan Miller Gallery. He happily accepted, and he assembled it there in February, a task that took 14 hours, he said.
Nearly one million structures are represented, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center, and major connectors such as the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Verrazzano bridges.
Macken used history books, photos, and later satellite images to ensure accuracy.
Observers can use binoculars tethered at the model’s edges to peer down on the Ferris wheel and boardwalk of Coney Island, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, the jail complex at Rikers Island, the Hudson and East rivers, plus the New York Harbor.
The only things out of place are the Twin Towers, lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Here, they retain their original spots, with the Freedom Tower alongside. Macken said it’s his way to honor their legacies and the lives lost in the attacks.
Virtually every place of worship in Queens and Brooklyn, famously called the City of Churches, is also represented.
Included is Macken’s home parish, St. Margaret Church, and its school, where he was educated in his old neighborhood, Middle Village. He graduated from Christ the King High School, also in Middle Village.
“I remember actually building St. Margaret because there’s a parish center right next door to it that’s kind of new, and I wanted to make sure I got that in there,” Macken said. “I built my block, the park that’s across the street, and then the school five blocks away.
“And I remember building my high school.”
Macken has fond memories of his neighborhood, like his dad taking him to Mass every Sunday. He said his mother, who now lives on Long Island, regularly asks if he makes it to Mass, but he usually drives trucks on Sundays.
He visited the old neighborhood on March 8, took photos of his old school, and entered the church where a 5 p.m. Mass was underway.
“I sat in one of the pews,” he said. “And I was looking at my old church, and I was thinking, like, ‘wow.’ I grew up a Catholic, and I’m very happy and very proud of that.”
Macken said he plans to build more model landscapes. Next stops: Westchester County and areas of Connecticut.
WANT TO GO?
For more information about the exhibit, visit:
mcny.org/exhibition/he-built-city
By Jessica Easthope and Paula Katinas
Joe Oppedisano’s favorite item in his restaurant isn’t margherita pizza, penne vodka, or calamari Napolitano. In fact, it’s not even on the menu — it’s in the basement.
Underneath the dining room at Il Bacco Ristorante, Oppedisano’s popular dining spot on Northern Boulevard in Little Neck, is a life-sized, copper statue of St. Padre Pio.
The statue will soon have a new home, thanks to Oppedisano, 67, who is putting the finishing touches on a park he is having built on Little Neck Parkway, around the corner from the restaurant, where he plans to place the statue for all to see.
The restaurateur has a deep devotion to Padre Pio, whom he said has helped him through two major turning points in his life — including surviving a plane crash — and is eager to share it with others.
Construction is in the final stages for the park, which is located on a plot owned by Oppedisano. When it’s completed, the park will feature the statue of Padre Pio, statues of the Holy Family and other saints, and a seating area with benches.
Designed to be a quiet, peaceful oasis where people can pray, meditate, or just sit and contemplate life, the park will have its grand opening on April 26 and will be open to the public from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
“It’s going to be open to everyone,” he said. “Whoever needs it.”
Oppedisano, who was born in Calabria in 1958, moved from southern Italy to the U.S. at the age of 13 and grew up to become a restaurateur, explained that he hasn’t always had a devotion to Padre Pio.
“I can’t wait to get him out of the basement and put him where he belongs — where people can see him,” says Joe Oppedisano, talking about the statue of Padre Pio he brought over from Italy. The statue is currently in the basement of his restaurant, Il Bacco Ristorante in Little Neck. (Photos: Paula Katinas)
“I heard of him, of course,” he said. “But to me, he was a saint like any other saint. No difference.”
Padre Pio (1887-1968) was an Italian friar of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin who bore the stigmata — the wounds of Jesus Christ on the cross, on his hands and feet — and was known as a mystic. He was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002.
Oppedisano, who has made numerous trips to Italy to visit Padre Pio’s tomb in San Giovanni Rotondo in southern Italy, said he saw the statue during one of his journeys and decided to buy it and have it shipped home. The statue depicts the saint with his arms raised, as if greeting a visitor, and features images of the stigmata on his hands.
The first time Oppedisano felt Padre Pio’s presence in his life was 15 years ago, in 2010, when he was about to open Il Bacco Ristorante at its current location. He had operated the restaurant for many years in another spot on the same Little Neck block, but needed a bigger place as his business grew.
Three days before opening, he was sitting at a back table talking to one of his servers about the mother of another worker who had given him a gift — a candle with Padre Pio’s image — which she said would ensure that the saint would bring him good luck. She explained that her grandfather was Padre Pio’s cousin.
While talking to the waiter, Oppedisano pointed to the candle. At that moment, he felt a sensation throughout his entire body “like someone was grabbing me,” he recalled, “and I started crying like a baby.”
He was convinced that it was Padre Pio.
“And I’ve been a firm believer ever since,” he added.
Joe Oppedisano had a grotto erected on the vacant lot he owns, in which statues of Padre Pio and the Holy Family will be placed before the grand opening on April 26. Oppedisano said he envisions the spot as a park where people can sit, pray, and enjoy quiet time to reflect.
The second time he felt Padre Pio’s intercession was on Oct. 4, 2020, when he survived a plane crash on the Long Island Sound near the Throggs Neck Bridge that killed one of his friends. Oppedisano, who has a pilot license, was operating a single-engine Cessna with two friends, Maggie O’Neil and Jose Urena, aboard and was getting set to land when a boat obscured his path.
“In just one second, everything changed,” he recalled.
In trying to avoid the boat, the plane crashed into a pier and was destroyed. O’Neil was killed. Oppedisano and Urena survived, but both sustained multiple injuries.
Oppedisano, who suffered a fractured spine, 16 broken ribs, and a pulverized ankle and heel, underwent 10 surgeries and was hospitalized for four weeks.
He asked for Padre Pio’s intercession every day during his recovery.
“I truly believe Padre Pio helped me. I’m alive, and I’m here today,” he said.
With his park dedicated to Padre Pio, Oppedisano said he hopes others will also ask for the saint’s intercession.
“Look at what he did for me,” he said. “He can help you, too.”
By Alexandra Moyen
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — As Maria Monge guided 15 young adults from across the Diocese of Brooklyn through the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph on April 18, she made sure to highlight the many works of art that filled the ceiling.
“Through art, you can find truth — and that truth is God,” said Monge, the coordinator of parish communications and outreach at the co-cathedral.
Monge hosted the walking tour of the co-cathedral on behalf of the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The day’s journey, which began at the co-cathedral and ended with Mass at St. Francis of Assisi-St. Blaise Parish in Prospect Lefferts Gardens was intended to teach the young adults about the history of the parishes.
RELATED: Social Media and Social Outings — Young Catholics Are Flocking to Mass
Abigail Castro, a parishioner at Ascension Parish in Elmhurst, said she has heard beautiful stories about the parishes in Brooklyn and participated in the walking tour to learn more.
“It was very beautiful. When I walked in (to the co-cathedral), I felt a peace and something that was very welcoming, without being said,” Castro said. “Walking into the church and seeing the different images of Mother Mary from different countries — it was very beautiful.
“I’ve never seen this in other churches.”
Beginning outside the co-cathedral before making their way inside — where they took in the many colorful murals lining the cathedral’s ceiling as tourists snapped pictures — the young adults learned about the history of the cathedral, which was built in 1912 and can hold over 1,000 parishioners.
They also found out about the symbolism behind the bronze statue of St. Joseph at the entrance (St. Joseph teaches Jesus how to hammer while holding the nail — representing his trust in God), the artwork throughout the co-cathedral (including 20 images of the Blessed Mother from around the world), the emblems of the bishops who have led the diocese, and the American saints depicted above the church entrance.
After touring the co-cathedral, the group made its way to St. Francis of Assisi-St. Blaise — with rosaries in hand and praying the Sacred Mysteries along the way — where Father James Kuroly, the diocese’s director of youth and young adult ministry, celebrated Mass, which marked the ongoing Franciscan Jubilee.
RELATED: Holy Girl Walk — Praying the Rosary Grows Faith, Forms Friendships in Central Park
“I think, especially for the young adults, they wonder, ‘Where am I in the church?’ They can feel alone,” Father Kuroly said. “But something like this, a simple gesture of walking, is symbolic to them, and shows they are not alone.”
Luceros Manzanares, associate director for the diocese’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry, said this was the second walking tour they hosted, explaining they are meant to foster community while showcasing the beauty of parishes around the diocese.
“It was beautiful,” Manzanares said. “We got to meet some new faces and for them to see each other, like, ‘Oh, there’s other young adults here, I don’t have to go somewhere else, I can foster a community here.’ ”
Catholics around the world are remembering the legacy of Pope Francis one year after his death.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Equatorial Guinea and reflected on the legacy of Pope Francis during his trip through Africa.
Young adults from across the Diocese of Brooklyn went on a walking tour through Brooklyn, using art to dive deeper into parish history.
A Little Neck restaurant owner is opening a prayer space dedicated to Padre Pio after crediting the saint for blessings in his life.
By Currents News and Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – One year ago today, Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m., April 21, 2025.
It came the day after Easter, when – barely able to raise his hands – he gave his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).
Looking drawn and worn, the 88-year-old pope from Argentina took his final ride in the popemobile, spending about 15 minutes among the crowd.
But then, the next morning, which was a major holiday in Italy, church bells tolled the death knell after U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis had died just a few hours ago.
“His whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his church,” Cardinal Farrell said in a video announcement broadcast from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lived.
RELATED: Special Coverage – Remembering Pope Francis, the ‘People’s Pope’
The Wikimedia Foundation said that its “Deaths in 2025” entry, which included Pope Francis, was their second most-read entry during the year.
And plenty of people took the occasion to learn more about his life too, adding that “His English Wikipedia article was the 11th most-read (page) of the year.”
Elected March 13, 2013, Pope Francis was the first pope in history to come from the Southern Hemisphere, the first non-European to be elected in almost 1,300 years and the first Jesuit to serve as successor to St. Peter.
Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pope Francis was an untiring voice for peace, urging an end to armed conflict, supporting dialogue and encouraging reconciliation.
RELATED: At Final Memorial Mass, Pope Francis Remembered as Tireless Shepherd
He gave new energy to millions of Catholics – and caused concern for some – as he transformed the image of the papacy into a pastoral ministry based on personal encounters and strong convictions about poverty, mission and dialogue.
His simple lifestyle, which included his decision not to live in the Apostolic Palace and his choice of riding around Rome in a small Fiat or Ford instead of a Mercedes sedan, sent a message of austerity to Vatican officials and clergy throughout the church.
Although he repeatedly said he did not like to travel, he made 47 foreign trips, taking his message of Gospel joy to North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
He was elected after Pope Benedict XVI retired in 2013.
Then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was already a known and respected figure within the College of Cardinals, so much so that no one disputed a respected Italian journal’s report that he had received the second-highest number of votes on all four ballots cast in the 2005 conclave that had elected Pope Benedict.
Elected on March 13, 2013, Cardinal Bergoglio chose the name Francis to honor St. Francis of Assisi.
“Go out” was Pope Francis’ constant plea to every Catholic, from curial cardinals to the people in the pews.
More than once, he told people that while the Bible presents Jesus as knocking at the door of people’s hearts to get in, today Jesus is knocking at the doors of parish churches trying to get out and among the people.
By Jessica Easthope
Success has come in abundance for Joe Oppedisano. He owns a thriving restaurant that draws customers from across New York City and beyond, with business booming.
But lately, Oppedisano has been directing much of his time, money and energy toward a deep personal devotion to St. Padre Pio.
Pope Leo XIV’s longest apostolic journey thus far is continuing on as the Holy Father travels to Cameroon, the second destination on his tour of Africa.
A church in Fort Greene, Brooklyn has gotten a major upgrade. Now efforts to preserve the parish, which had long been in disarray, are being recognized.
A group of NFL players visited the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture to bring the sounds of R&B, Gospel, and Soul to Catholic school students in New York City.
By Katie Vasquez and Bill Miller
FORT GREENE — Father Henry Torres recalled how just a couple of years ago, motorists on the elevated Brooklyn-Queens Expressway could look down on Mary of Nazareth Parish and behold a church with a dingy facade and decrepit roof.
“There are people who have lived in this neighborhood for years, and, given the condition of the church, they thought it was closed,” said Father Torres, pastor since 2021.
Therefore, Father Torres and parishioners embarked on a major renovation project that’s expected to wrap by year’s end. The roof is new. The facade has been thoroughly cleaned and painted. Interior renovations are underway.
But the work has already won recognition.
The New York Landmarks Conservancy will honor Mary of Nazareth Parish on April 16 with a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award.
Father Torres said he is excited to receive the accolade during the ceremony at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Still, he noted, the renovations involve more than making the historic church more appealing to attract more parishioners.
“It really is a preservation of history,” Father Torres said. “This area, at one point, was predominantly Irish. The Italians came later, and then the Latinos.
“This is where they found their refuge, they found their faith, they found their strength.”
Mary of Nazareth was completed in 1877 under a different name — Sacred Heart Parish. Its Gothic Revival design was drawn by Thomas Houghton, a son-in-law and protégé of the famed 19th-century church builder, Patrick Keely.
RELATED: Diocesan Designer: The Remarkable Unsung Legacy of Church Architect Patrick Keely
Sacred Heart was one of several Catholic churches in Fort Greene — a bedroom community for people employed at the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard.
However, over nearly 150 years, the other parishes closed due to shifting demographics. Sacred Heart absorbed those congregations, and, in 2008, changed its name to Mary of Nazareth.
Father Torres resolved not to let the memories of the other parishes fade into obscurity.
To that end, the altar from St. Lucy-St. Patrick Parish, which closed in 2021, will be used against the back wall of the sanctuary at Mary of Nazareth.
RELATED: St. Lucy-St. Patrick Shuttered Due to Changing Demographics, Costly Repairs
The revamped sacred space will also feature an image of the Sacred Heart to honor the parish’s former name, as well as portraits of St. Michael and St. Edward the Confessor.
Those saints were the patrons of two other Fort Greene parishes that merged in 1942 but later closed and consolidated with Sacred Heart Parish in 2008. That’s when Sacred Heart’s name was changed to Mary of Nazareth.
“The history of all of the churches is represented here,” Father Torres said.
Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, said the Lucy G. Moses Awards — or the “Lucys” — help showcase great preservation projects and the people who do the work.
“We modestly call them the ‘Oscars of preservation,’ ” Breen said. “We were very happy to see Mary of Nazareth come before us. We’re great fans of Patrick Keely and Thomas Houghton, but this is a lovely example of Gothic Revival architecture.”
She said the parish is especially worthy of the award for its rebuilding of the facade, the side-brick masonry parapets, and the monumental rose window. Stained glass windows were removed, cleaned, and reinstalled, Breen said.
“I think the people have done such a beautiful job at Mary of Nazareth,” Breen said.
Overseeing the work is Zaskorski & Associates Architects, which also handled the renovation of another property in the Diocese of Brooklyn, St. Raphael Church in Long Island City, which also received a Lucy award last year.
RELATED: St. Raphael Church Honored for NYC Preservation Efforts
She added that “ecclesiastical architecture” is some of the finest in America.
“It shows immigration patterns,” she said. “And so many of these buildings offer social services or cultural programs that help people beyond the congregation. They’re a real anchor to their communities.
“And Mary of Nazareth has been doing that near the Brooklyn Navy Yard for nearly 150 years.”
Father Torres said his renovation to-do list includes replacing the bells. He recalled how a bell company representative described how peeling chimes “give voice” to a parish.
“So, if we are able to get bells, it would serve as a sort of announcement — an announcement that we’re here,” Father Torres said. “Now, for everyone who’s looking for a parish to be home, they can contribute their histories to be part of Mary of Nazareth’s history.”
By Katie Vasquez
Hundreds of Catholic school students from the Archdiocese of New York took a break from their schoolwork Tuesday for a lively and faith-filled gathering at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture.
The students quickly filled the venue with smiles and cheers as they jumped out of their seats to the sounds of The Pro Players, an inspirational choir made up of former NFL athletes. The group performed a mix of gospel, soul and R&B music, energizing the crowd.
“I came in, I touched every chair here because I want our influence to be more than just a singer. I want people to feel something and I want lives to change,” said KeShun Freeman, a member of The Pro Players. “So coming in here this morning to pray over each chair was my way of saying, you know, God be with each person.”
The students are part of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, which provides families with financial needs the opportunity to give their children a quality, values-based Catholic education within the Archdiocese of New York.
Many students said the experience brought them closer to their faith.
“They mostly talked about God and how they went to a lot of churches and church is good to go,” said Jonas De la Rosa, a seventh grader at Our Lady Queen of Angels School.
“I think that God is a really important part in faith,” added eighth grader Judah Nuno. “And like the gifts that they were given, they sang so wonderfully. And it was a really, like, great vibe that they created, which was all about love and gratitude.”
Another highlight of the event came when Frank and Lynn Mara were honored for their commitment to Catholic education.
“I’m one of 11 siblings and all 11 of us had 16 years of Catholic education, so we know how important that is,” said Frank Mara, senior vice president of community relations for the New York Giants.
“The closer you come to God, the more you want to be around that and proclaim it and live it,” said Lynn Mara, a board member of the Sheen Center.
The Sheen Center has additional faith-based programming scheduled in the coming months. Meanwhile, The Pro Players will continue performing throughout the tristate area over the next week.