Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Video: Idiots Break Angel Statue Outside Williamsburg Church


By

Emma Whitford

Published Dec 13, 2016

Modified Dec 13, 2016


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .


By

Emma Whitford

Published Dec 13, 2016

Modified Dec 13, 2016


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Police are searching for two men who allegedly broke an angel statue outside of a Williamsburg church on Saturday night. Surveillance footage shows several men climbing on a pedestal supporting an angel statue, alongside a Virgin Mary statue and two other angels. One of the men poses with prayer hands while a second, presumably his buddy, throws down a cigarette and clamors up behind him, knocking the first man and the angel statue to the ground.

Police said that the suspects approached the statue in front of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church at 184 Metropolitan Avenue just before midnight on Saturday. A priest reportedly alerted cops early Sunday morning.

An NYPD source told the Daily News that the men were "likely intoxicated," but a spokesman for the department said Tuesday that he couldn't confirm this, as no arrests have been made and police were not on the scene when the incident occurred. "We don't know that. The Daily News must have special antennas," he said. "I guess the assumption that they were drunk was because of the way they [the men] were moving back and forth."

This is hardly the first time people have been caught making bad decisions in close proximity to religious statues. (In Williamsburg, no less!) As recently as September, a man was caught high-fiving, kissing and apparently breaking a statue of Jesus outside the Saints Peter and Paul's Rectory on South 3rd Street near Berry Street. And in February, CBS reported that a teenager had alleged knocked down a guardian angel statue at the very same church where Saturday's vandals made a mess. At the time, Church pastor Wlodzimierz Las told the Daily News that the church's statues had been vandalized at least six times in the last four years.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

Tagged

angels

church statue

dcpi

vandalism

Virgin Mary

williamsburg


Emma Whitford

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE news

Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits

Nearly 1 million in the city risk losing benefits as a result of new federal restrictions.

By

Caroline Lewis

Published Oct 19, 2026 at 12:43 p.m. ET


Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence

A 26-year-old died after being shot on the platform at the Midtown station. Commuters are rattled.

By

Ramsey Khalifeh

News

Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence

A 26-year-old died after being shot on the platform at the Midtown station. Commuters are rattled.

By

Ramsey Khalifeh


These are the NYC neighborhoods that will get free 2-K next fall

By

Karen Yi

Early Addition: Get to know Wanda, the donkey in the Met's 'La Bohème'

By

James Ramsay

Eric Adams' NYC buildings boss Eric Ulrich heads to trial, 3 years after arrest

By

David Brand

and

Samantha Max


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .