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CB3 Calls Upon the Archdiocese to Halt the Church of the Nativity Sale


      At the end of this past February, Community Board 3 put their support behind the Cooper Square Committee Land Trust as a part of their broader motion to halt the planned $50,000,000 sale of the Church of the Nativity on Second Ave: "Community Board 3 urges the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, as well as other religious institutions, to declare a moratorium on the disposition of any Catholic Church or other religiously-owned and decommissioned properties for one year from the date the proposed Town Hall meeting is held to discuss alternative scenarios formulated by the broader community." The full text of this motion can be read here, where CB3 lists seven primary reasons which should compel the Archdiocese to heed their call; from the Pope's general call for increased community participation, to the urgent need for affordable/senior housing in the neighborhood, and generally combat the implications of displacement on low-income families, the homeless, and the elderly. While the Cooper Square Committee Land Trust and CB3 are planning a yet-to-be-announced town hall for this Spring, there has been no clear response from the Catholic Church. As Rebecca Amato, associate director of the Civic Engagement Initiatives and Urban Democracy Lab at NYU has discussed, the Church's recent motivation to sell inflated Lower East Side real estate is not solely a product of their position as Manhattan's largest property owner, but is a calculated decision which liquidates assets in the face of settlement payments for sexual abuse cases, as well as the passing of the Child Victims Act this past February, which significantly raised the age with which criminal and civil charges can be brought against perpetrators of assault (from 23 to 28 years of age for criminal charges, and up to 55 years for civil cases).
     

      While the Church of the Nativity has been the focus of CB3's efforts, it is not the only property the Archdiocese owns on the Block between 2nd and 3rd Street on Second Avenue. The two buildings at 44 and 38 Second Avenue, are rumored to be on the chopping block alongside the Church of the Nativity. I am not exactly clear on the age of these buildings; however, from what I can gather, the La Salle Academy was established after the Christian Brothers'-established, St. Vincents School, moved to Second Avenue in 1856. At the time, the block looked vastly different; the Church of the Nativity had moved into the large white Greek Revival church building which once stood at 46-48 Second Ave in 1842, and the buildings between it and Second Street were red brick residences. In 1909, at the corner of 2nd and 2nd, one of the first fine-dining Jewish restaurants, Moskowitz and Lupowitz opened. The school, which had been renamed the La Salle Academy in 1887, would eventually purchase the restaurant in 1966, reopening it as an annex and to housing various facilities. Considering the La Salle Academy's move to 6th Street in 2010, it seems like a safe bet that these properties on Second Avenue could easily be folded into any development plans for this stretch of land –– and as such, their fates would be determined alongside that of the Church of Nativity's.


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