An East Harlem Roman Catholic church could be headed for complete demolition, according to a permit filed with the New York City Department of Buildings this month.
The Holy Rosary Church, built in 1894 in the Romanesque Revival style, was shut down in 2015 as part of a massive restructuring undertaken by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, fueled by declining church attendance and financial constraints. By 2015, the Parish of Holy Rosary merged with St. Paul Parish, located in a historical landmark church on 117th Street, to establish the St. Paul and Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church. The downsizing, according to the New York Times, consolidated 112 parishes to 55.
This August, the Archdiocese moved to finalize a sale of the deconsecrated site to property developer Golani Development LLC for $5 million, according to records. Because the church is a religious site, the deal required state court oversight. In court records obtained by Gothamist, images inside the church show peeling walls, a broken staircase, and dusty pews.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York confirmed to Hyperallergic that the church was sold, adding that the neighboring St. Paul’s church was still a “functioning parish.” The spokesperson deferred comment on future plans for the lot to the building’s current owners.
Hyperallergic has contacted the engineering firm that filed the demolition petition for the former Holy Rosary Church and has attempted to contact Sharon Kahen, owner and principal of Golani Development LLC.
A year before the Catholic parish restructuring began, Kahen told the New York Times in 2013, “In the next five years, we will invest $75 million to connect East Harlem to the Upper East Side.”
On a Facebook group named Restoration Campaign of Holy Rosary Church of East Harlem, created in 2014, a post reads, “How is it possible that anyone would consider closing such a beautiful pilgrim church that has been an oasis to so many generations of friends, neighbors, and parishioners at Holy Rosary Church in East Harlem?”
According to the demolition petition, it would cost $450,000 to tear down the two-story structure.
The site is located on a block zoned for residential buildings, which may provide a clue for what comes next.
