Bay Ridge convent is converted into home for disabled
Sister Dolores Ferry said she couldn’t believe how beautiful her old home is looking these days. “And it has an elevator now, too!” she said Tuesday upon paying a visit to the convent located next to Saint Anselm Catholic School that she moved out of a couple of years ago. Ferry was the last of a group of nuns who had been living in the convent for decades. When she moved to Park Slope, the Rev. Msgr. John Maloney, pastor of St. Anselm Church, and parish leaders decided to rent out the building.
The new tenant is YAI, a non-profit organization that proves services to the developmentally disabled and their families. YAI operates a group home for 16 elderly disabled clients in the former convent at 361 83rd St. in Bay Ridge. The former convent is located around the corner from St. Anselm Catholic Church. Following months of renovations and interior decorating, the group home opened in December. On April 9, Maloney joined YAI representatives for an Open House to celebrate a grand opening. The event gave the home’s residents the chance to present themselves to the Bay Ridge community.
“Welcome to my home!” resident Robert Aronoff said into the microphone at the start of the ceremony. Elected officials, civic leaders, and residents of 83rd Street all came to the former convent to see the new group home.