Historic Hell's Kitchen Church In Danger Of Redevelopment

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A historic church in Hell's Kitchen that housed New York City's the first black Catholic congregation is under risk of redevelopment after being deconsecrated by the Archdiocese of New York.

Members of Manhattan Community Board 4 — which represents Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen — discussed efforts to preserve St. Benedict the Moor's Church on West 53rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenue during a land use committee meeting last week.

The church was deconsecrated on June 30, reducing it to "profane but not sordid" use and opening up the land for sale, according to a decree from the Archdiocese of New York. The Archdiocese merged the church with a nearby church in 2007 and has since gone unused, according to the decree. In May 2007, Father Jose Gabriel Piedrehita suggested the church be deconsecrated "because of the immense financial burden to repair and maintain the building," according to the decree.

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Community Board 4 members noted the building's "important" history and "handsome" architecture. The board committee agreed to send a letter to the city Landmarks Preservation Commission to request the church be calendared landmarks designation.

Photo by James Russiello via Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons