The New York Landmarks Conservancy Awards 22 Sacred Sites Grants to Historic Religious Properties Throughout New York State

Manhattan Seventh Day Adventist Church. Photo: The New York Landmarks Conservancy

Manhattan Seventh Day Adventist Church in New York City and St. Raphael Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City Receive Sacred Sites Grants

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced 22 Sacred Sites Grants totaling $250,000 awarded to historic religious properties throughout New York State, including $20,000 to Manhattan Seventh Day Adventist Church in Greenwich Village to help fund foundation repairs and shoring, and $20,000 to St. Raphael Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City, New York to help fund roof replacement. 

“Our grants help maintain historic religious institutions that often anchor their communities,” said Peg Breen, President, The New York Landmarks Conservancy.  “Our recent grantees have food, cultural and outreach programs that reach well beyond their congregations.”

Manhattan Seventh Day Adventist Church 

A Baptist congregation originally built what is now the Manhattan Seventh-Day Adventist Church in 1881-1882 to the designs of architect Lawrence B. Valk.  John D. Rockefeller underwrote the organ along with stained glass windows by Tiffany & Company, John LaFarge, Maitland Armstrong; and additionally provided $5,000 to help retire the mortgage.  The present congregation purchased the building in 1947. Manhattan Seventh Day Adventist Church serves about 420 local residents through such activities as 12-step meetings, Vacation Bible School, a “healthy cooking” school, an annual concert series, and occasional fellowship lunches. 

St. Raphael Roman Catholic Church in Long Island City 

The Church of St. Raphael, constructed in 1881-1885 and attributed to prolific Irish Catholic architect Patrick Keely, replaced an earlier, 1868 wooden church that had also served as a funeral chapel for nearby Calvary Cemetery; the Long Island Expressway now divides the two sites.  The church is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic Church in Queens. St. Raphael’s Church reaches about 7,000 people, serving local residents in three languages: English, Spanish, and Korean.  The church is open for dance festivals, weekly ESL classes, classes for developmentally disabled adults, and a food pantry.  The church leases its former parochial school to a public school.

The Sacred Sites Program provides congregations with matching grants for planning and implementing exterior restoration projects, along with technical assistance, and workshops.  Since 1986, the program has pledged over 1,600 grants totaling almost $15 million to 840 religious institutions statewide. 

The New York Landmarks Conservancy

The New York Landmarks Conservancy, a private non-profit organization, has led the effort to preserve and protect New York City’s architectural legacy for 50 years.  Since its founding, the Conservancy has loaned and granted more than $60 million, which has leveraged almost $1 billion in 2,000 restoration projects throughout New York, revitalizing communities, providing economic stimulus and supporting local jobs.  The Conservancy has also offered countless hours of pro bono technical advice to building owners, both nonprofit organizations and individuals.  The Conservancy’s work has saved more than a thousand buildings across the City and State, protecting New York’s distinctive architectural heritage for residents and visitors alike today, and for future generations.  For more information, please visit www.nylandmarks.org.