Bay Ridge Residents Rally to Save Historic Visitation Academy

Residents of the Bay Ridge neighborhood have submitted a formal request to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the Visitation Academy and Monastery complex as an individual landmark. The initiative, led by Visitation alumnus Caroline Cardillo, was filed earlier this month for the entire 7.5-acre property located at 8902 Ridge Boulevard. The group aims to protect the site’s historic buildings from potential redevelopment as a sale of the property appears imminent.

The preservation effort has gained rapid local support. Since the Visitation Academy & Monastery Landmark Initiative formed, it has recruited more than 120 volunteers, including neighbors, alumni, and parents. Cardillo reported that promotional materials for the campaign have been translated into Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese to reach a wider audience within the community.

The site’s history dates back to the mid-19th century. Before the Sisters of the Visitation arrived in 1903, the land housed the Kings County Inebriates Home, a substance abuse treatment center established in 1867. The original two buildings, constructed in the late 1860s and 1888, were repurposed when the Sisters took over. The first building became the monastery, while the second became the academy for women.

Religious and educational structures have been added to the site over the decades. In 1911, the Visitation Alumnae Association funded the construction of the Sacred Heart Chapel, designed by architect Franz J. Berlenbach Jr. and dedicated in 1913. The chapel features cream-colored brick with limestone details, including cornices and window surrounds. A 2014 report by the Historic Districts Council described the complex as an elegant composition of Renaissance Revival style buildings, with the church serving as the centerpiece.

The interior of the church contains significant architectural elements, including Carrara marble, historic lighting, a vaulted ceiling, and an organ by Reuben Midmer & Sons. Stained-glass windows originally from the Sisters’ previous Clinton Avenue church were installed in the new chapel. In 1922, alumni financed an enclosure wall built by J. Carlin, and the Stations of the Cross were installed on its interior in 1923.

Cardillo emphasized that the buildings represent the educational, social, and architectural history of Brooklyn. She argued that once these physical structures are gone, they cannot be replaced by pictures or plaques. The group’s 430-page submission to the commission also includes an emergency burial ground notice to the Archaeology Department, based on oral histories suggesting a historic monastery burial ground exists on the site.

This is not the first attempt to landmark the property. In 2024, when the academy closed, the nonprofit Historic Districts Council submitted a similar request and gathered more than 2,000 signatures on a supporting petition. Frampton Tolbert, the executive director of the Historic Districts Council, stated that the organization supports the neighborhood’s efforts to preserve the site as a vital community asset since 1903.

Local Council Member Kayla Santosuosso supports the landmarking push and has been advocating for the site to be calendared by the commission. She described the upcoming rally as a demonstration of community care and frustration with a process that she felt was conducted behind closed doors. Santosuosso noted that she has not yet received updates on the status of the sale or communication from the buyers regarding the large plot of land.

The preservation group plans to hold a rally at Monastery Square on Saturday, November 14, at 11 a.m. The event aims to draw the attention of the Landmarks Preservation Commission to the level of local support for the designation. A representative for the commission told Brownstoner that staff has determined the main chapel could merit individual landmark status but that further investigation is needed regarding the site as a whole.

The commission noted that it has received multiple requests for evaluation for the Visitation Academy in recent months. The representative added that a request for evaluation does not automatically lead to a designation process, which is controlled by the commission’s priorities and policies. The site, bordered by 89th and 91st streets, Ridge Boulevard, and Colonial Road, continues to draw attention from those seeking to preserve its physical and historical legacy.