Parishioners from the endangered St. Joseph’s Chapel in Battery Park City have announced a plan to preserve their parish — they’re asking the Battery Park City Authority to take over the chapel and turn it into an interfaith community center and memorial to those killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, reports Carl Glassman in the Tribeca Trib.
The chapel’s rent more than tripled in 2013, to just under $300,000 annually, leaving tiny St. Joseph’s unable to pay.
Recently, St. Joseph’s parishioners were heartened by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s decision to give St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine a 198-year, dollar-a-year lease. They hope a similar arrangement might be possible to save St. Joseph’s.
