NYU cleared to buy church from Archdiocese
December 30, 2008 08:00AM By Adam Pincus
58 Washington Square South
New York University has won approval to purchase a long-sought-after church property owned by the Archdiocese of New York on the south side of Washington Square Park for $25 million.
The school had wanted to purchase the building, known as the Catholic Center at New York University, at 58 Washington Square South, at Thompson Street in Greenwich Village, for years.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Martin Schoenfeld gave his approval for the sale of the 21,639-square-foot building on a 12,622-square-foot parcel on Dec. 24, according to court records published Monday.
NYU has been expanding. Just this month, the school snapped up a 10-story building at 726 Broadway, between Waverly and Washington places, for $210 million.
A developer bought the Catholic Church's St. Ann's Church at 124 East 12th Street for $15 million in December 2004, a site which is being converted to a 26-story dormitory building for the university.
NYU spokesperson John Beckman said the site would not be used for dormitories.
"The site will be used for multi-faith and academic purposes, and there will continue to be a Catholic presence there," he said in an email. "It will not be used for student housing."
He said there remained several procedural steps before the sale was completed.
The Archdiocese was not immediately available for comment.
The New York Times reported that the university tried to buy the parcel in the 1990s as part of the development of a student complex, but the deal fell through. The school built the center next door.
The court must approve the sale of property by non-profits and religious organizations.
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Comments
Anonymous
No doubt NYU will demolish the Church and build the Center for Lesbian Multicultural Agnostic Global Philosophy.
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
Catholic Church still hasn't learned their lesson. I'm Catholic and despise the clergy in charge of this. Why don't you start emptying out the catacombs of its art and sell it? You piece of...
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
Maybe we could buy the Catholic Church with debt and flip for a huge profit.
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Another case of NYU taking over Greenwich Village. And they don't care at all about being good neighbors to the residential community. Right next to my building on Washington Square North NYU has a gut renovation project going on for more than six months now, and it makes living here for me and my neighbors hell. The noise level is unbearable, their work constantly makes our building shake, and recently they started working on weekends, too. But apparently they can do whatever they want.
Comment #4 Posted By: 12/30/08
Anonymous
Hooray for NYU! NYU has built and nurtured the village for decades, turning it from a dump into one of the most coveted neighborhoods in the country. The last thing the village needs is another Catholic Church to soak up money from poor, naive people for the benefit of expanding its cult.
Comment #5 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
NYU is a school with above average tuition for students with below average intelligence. They're nothing more than a real estate conglomerate. And giving them community status is a joke.
Comment #6 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
Good riddance !
Comment #7 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
You people have no idea what a wonderful place this was back in the early 90s. Gay and lesbian groups, radical women's groups, soup kitchen, interfaith groups--it was the best church I've ever been part of. Many of the parishioners and staff weren't even Catholic, and we loved it there. The diocese blew this incredibly liberal, welcoming church to smithereens by putting one conservative priest after another there. My friends and I knew it was the beginning of the end when they brought in a priest who refused to shake the hand of one of the gay staff members during mass. What a shame.
Comment #8 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
The rule on this planet is Money talks Shit walks. What a civilized way of being. I hope its better on the afterlife. Broker.
Comment #9 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
"You people have no idea what a wonderful place this was back in the early 90s. Gay and lesbian groups, radical women's groups, soup kitchen, interfaith groups--it was the best church I've ever been part of. Many of the parishioners and staff weren't even Catholic, and we loved it there." I other words, you loved this church because it wasn't operating as a church.
Comment #10 Posted By: Anonymous 12/31/08
Anonymous
#5 = bigot. Wear your white KKK outfit much?
Comment #11 Posted By: Anonymous 01/01/09
Anonymous
We are living in a time of Discontinuous change, the present value of our future understanding, must be discounted by, greed, scarce resources, "People-Power" while we rush to judgment. We can only hope that in the end society will be better off. The Deal-makers, and the Deal should be reviewed by an independent Body
Comment #12 Posted By: Anonymous 01/04/09
Anonymous
#6 apparently still bitter after all these years. you prob still have your rejection letter.
Comment #13 Posted By: Anonymous 01/05/09