Chelsea Church at Odds with Penn Station Redevelopment Plan
By: Benyamin Davidsons
The future of a Civil War-era church is on the limb, awaiting news regarding plans for the redevelopment of Penn Station and its surrounding area.
As reported by Crain’s NY, the Roman Catholic church, St. John the Baptist, on West 30th to West 31st streets, may be demolished along with the rest of the block as part of the redevelopment plan. The 1872 Gothic-style church has been a boon for Chelsea locals, providing food and flu shots. On Thursday there was a vote to approve a new plan to redevelop Penn Station and its surroundings. State officials approved a plan to allow 10 new skyscrapers on the block, which would mean the current buildings will be razed.
Church officials are fighting back though, determined not to take this sitting down. They are hiring a consultant to fight the “misguided” project. They point to the fact that the plan will add thousands of square feet of new offices where landlords are currently not even able to fill existing office space, said Father Francis Gasparik, who leads St. John’s.
Gasparik told Crain’s that he expects it to take years before any wrecking balls are sent out, because of the remaining approvals. Even if the plans do go through, allowing for the construction of 18 million-square-foot of new offices, the city could help the church by forcing the developer Vornado Realty Trust, to make room in the new towers for St. John’s. Such space-sharing arrangements have become more popular in recent years with new developments in the city. “Move us, go around us or put us in a new building and pay for it all,” said Gasparik. “I think the news is quite inflammatory, to act like everything is a done deal,” the father added, regarding news of the approval. “I don’t know if it’s being done to attract developers. But it seems to be less about the train station and all about the money.”
The Archdiocese of New York, established 172 years ago which co-owns the 29,000-square-foot, multi-building site, also seemed undaunted by the news. “Our position continues to be the same. We are aware of the plans. We are in discussions with the state, but those discussions have still not reached a conclusion,” said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese. Zwilling said that one possible solution would be to combine St. John’s with another parish. St. John’s was already merged with Holy Cross, on West 42nd Street.
Another alternative, which would save the church, would be to landmark it. Afterall, the sandstone church was designed by Napoleon LeBrun and opened back in 1872. It includes a next-door convent and garden. Last year, a state sponsored study found that the church is eligible for landmark designation. Church officials oppose the designation, however, because it would limit them from expanding in the future.
St. John currently provides weekly social services to hundreds of Chinese and Spanish-speaking immigrants, as per the church website. It also offers about a half-dozen masses per week, many of them geared towards commuters. There are also recovery group meetings for alcoholics and debtors. On Wednesdays, the site serves as a food pantry feeding hundreds of people weekly, a large part of the crowd being children.
