[4] The church was demolished around July 1901 and the site redeveloped in conjunction with the erection of the Williamsburg Bridge (1903) and public housing.

A new church was begun shortly after property was purchased in July 1900 at Grand and Lewis Streets.

Apart from its first pastor, The New York Times reported in 1886 that the church had raised $800 to assist the Irish national leader Charles Stewart Parnell, who was then just beginning to deal with the divorce scandal that would cost him his political career and force him to live in exile.

[14] Among the many colorful events in the social history of the parish was the establishment of the Young Men's Catholic Society, led by the Rev.

[15] Construction of the Williamsburg Bridge, which opened in 1903, destroyed much of the original parish's housing, including the church, rectory, and school.

William Starrs, Vicar General, laid the cornerstone for a larger church on the adjoining lot July 31, 1870, which was dedicated April 23, 1871 by Archbishop John McCloskey in the name of St. Rose of Lima.

Over the altar there are two stained glass windows, one bearing the representations of St. Rose and St. Columbkill, and the other St. Patrick and St. Bridget.

The interior of the chancel is beautifully decorated, and the columns on either side, supporting the arch, contain Gothic niches, in which are statues of Joseph and Mary.

The pews are of walnut and oak, ornamented with satin-wood, and the beautify of the design and finish harmonizes well with the entire interior, which is hardly equaled by any church in the City.

[2] As reported in 1896, the church and school, which were referred to as neighborhood "landmarks," were to be demolished to make way for the new East River Bridge development (the initial name of what became the Williamsburg Bridge), which intended to clear "nearly all of the buildings in the blocks below Delancey Street between the East River and Clinton Street."

[17] Due to the imminent demolition caused by the Williamsburg Bridge, the Trustees of the Church of St. Rose de Lima, purchased property in July 1900 at Grand and Lewis Streets for $58,000.

It was reported that "ground for the erection of a handsome new edifice, to cost not less than $100,000, will be broken within a fortnight.”[8] Figures cited in that article regarding the predecessor church differ dramatically (more than double) from the original reported cost of the same structures in contemporary newspaper accounts.

Apart from high-rise housing, the site also includes the elegantly detailed Beaux-Arts PS-110 building, constructed after the redevelopment of the area.

Plans for a parochial school were begun as early as 1887, with meetings and fund-raising held in the basement of the church.