Landmark church in peril
They’re praying for the immaculate construction.
Preservationists hope a Manhattan developer set to buy one of Harlem’s most beautiful churches will save it.
St. Thomas the Apostle Church on West 118th Street (pictured) has sat empty for nine years since the New York Archdiocese shuttered it in 2003.
Efforts to landmark the hulking neo-Gothic structure built in 1907 failed, and the building, which was recently covered in scaffolding, has been in limbo ever since.
The archdiocese is in contract to sell the property and two others to Artimus Construction in a $6 million deal, according to papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The documents give no hint of Artimus’ plans. The archdiocese declined to comment.
Peg Breen, of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, praised Artimus Construction. “If this developer is true to its track record, it could be very good news,” she said.
But locals were less sure of the impending sale, which requires court approval.
“I presume they’re selling it to knock it down,” said Simeon Bankoff of the Historic Districts Council.
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