The Archdiocese of New York is finalizing the sale of a historic East Harlem Catholic church to a property developer, citing the building’s severe disrepair.
Documents filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday show the Holy Rosary Church and its adjoining rectory on East 119th Street are set to be purchased by Kahen Development Group for $5 million. The sale includes 4,930 square feet of “air rights” on the lot, records show.
The church dates back to 1900. However, the property was purchased by the church’s first pastor, Joseph Byron, in 1884.
The Romanesque Revival church was constructed before New York City’s first subway lines, when East Harlem was still transforming from a rural area into a dense residential neighborhood. It’s stood for more than 124 years — but property records show it’s become decrepit in recent decades. The Archdiocese merged the parish with the Church of Saint Paul on East 117th Street before decommissioning the building in 2017, records show.
Erica Fernandez, whose family has lived next to the church for 20 years, fondly remembers sitting in its pews on Sundays. She recalled how parishioners would pray for her mother when she became ill and passed away before the church closed.
“It’s very beautiful, and it really stands out in this neighborhood,” said Fernandez, 48. She said its demolition “would be a loss for the community.”
The church is located on a block zoned for residential buildings, which may allow its new owners to tear it down and replace it with apartments. The developers did not respond to a request for comment. Ariel Property Advisors, the real estate agency aiding the Archdiocese with the sale, declined to comment on the future of the church.
The sale is pending final approval from the state court, which is necessary because the property is a religious site.
“I’m scared a little bit because I don’t know what kind of building they’re going to make here,” said Daniel Fernandez, Erica’s father.
Photos published in court records show the church’s pews and altar are covered in dust, and at least one of its stairwells is falling apart. Records state a developer affiliated with the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art planned to buy the church earlier this year and convert it into a museum, but rescinded their offer after construction estimates found it would cost up to $44 million to bring the buildings into a state of good repair.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan wrote in a 2017 decree that the Archdiocese planned to sell the church “because of the immense financial burden to repair and to maintain the building, the lack of parochial resources.” He wrote that all all sacred objects, including relics and stained-glass windows in the church would be removed and kept by the Catholic Church.