A tale of two Manhattan churches: Landmarks Preservation Commission weighs landmarking one house of worship, demolishing another | amNewYork

"The Catholic Church of Saint Mary at 440 Grand St. on the Lower East Side was built in 1833 with a Romanesque Revival facade designed by prolific architect Patrick Charles Keeley in 1864. Keeley, the church's architect, designed nearly 600 churches during his career, but this would mark the first of his works to be landmarked in New York City."

"Richard Moses, president of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, called the Church of St. Mary a landmark in the true sense of the word and a link to history in an ever-changing environment. As the second oldest remaining Catholic church in New York City, Moses said, The church clearly deserves landmark protection."

"The nearly 20-member body also heard a hardship application to demolish the landmarked West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 West 86th St., an Upper West Side structure more than 130 years old that its owners say has become financially untenable to maintain."

The Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on two contrasting cases involving historic New York City churches. The commission unanimously voted to landmark the Catholic Church of Saint Mary on the Lower East Side, built in 1833 with a Romanesque Revival facade designed by architect Patrick Charles Keeley in 1864. This marks the first of Keeley's approximately 600 church designs to receive landmark status in New York City. Simultaneously, the commission heard arguments regarding a hardship application to demolish the West Park Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side, a structure over 130 years old that owners claim has become financially unsustainable to maintain. Preservation advocates emphasized Saint Mary's historical significance as the second oldest remaining Catholic church in the city and its importance as a cultural landmark.

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