BY SCOTT STIFFLER | A financially strapped Archdiocese and a City agency in an unprecedented rut are complicating efforts to save several culturally significant West Chelsea properties from the highest bidder—and, possibly, the wrecking ball. 

Those efforts date back several years, with recent “time is of the essence” momentum owing to the actions of electeds, preservationists, architects, community groups, and longtime locals. This united front was in full effect on August 12, 2026, when District 3 NYC Council Member Carl Wilson held a rally in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. The historic 229 West 14th Street structure is one of several the cash-starved Archdiocese of New York sees as a saving grace, with proceeds directed toward the Catholic Church’s global settlement with survivors of sexual abuse. (The other West Chelsea property potentially for sale is the former Guardian Angel School (191 10th Ave.  btw. West 21st/22nd Sts.), physically connected to presentely active Church of the Guardian Angel (185 10th Ave., corner of W. 21st St.).   

“Survivors deserve justice, accountability, and compensation… But the Archdiocese should not pay for its failures by selling irreplaceable pieces of our neighborhoods,” said Council Member Wilson on August 12. “These are not simply assets on a balance sheet.”

The Council Member’s stern rebuke was reinforced by fellow August 12 rally attendee, NYS Senator Erik Bottcher (whose District 3 Council seat was won by Wilson earlier this year via Special Election). “Our historic buildings tell the story of the generations of New Yorkers who came before us. These buildings are important pieces of that history,” said Sen. Bottcher, adding it is “deeply disappointing to see the Church move to dispose of these properties rather than explore ways to put them to new use serving the people of our community.”

“There is a history in New York for repurposing former religious properties for affordable housing and other community-serving uses,” noted Council Member Wilson in an August 24 email to Chelsea Community News—in which he urged the Archdiocese “to explore a path that preserves these buildings while allowing them to continue serving the people of New York.” 

In a potential end run around present ownership—which has neither recanted its “For Sale” stance nor publicly placed them on the market—Council Member Wilson and others are calling on the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to explore and ultimately grant landmark protection for the Chelsea properties. Active allies in that call include Village Preservation, Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4), and preservationist group Save Chelsea.

At a September 22 meeting of MCB4’s Chelsea Land Use (CLU) committee, Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman placed present efforts into historical context. Referencing Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Berman noted, “It was in 2023 a Decree of Relegation was issued by the Archdiocese, which basically meant that they no longer intended to use it for religious purposes… At the time of the Decree, at the request of parishioners, Village Preservation submitted a Request for Evaluation [RFE] to the LPC.” (Approving an RFE is the first step on the path toward landmarking.) The LPC, recalled Berman, “did not respond positively… and was actually surprisingly dismissive.”

The CLU meeting also saw a presentation from architect and committee member David Holowka, who on September 4 submitted a 20-page RFE to the LPC on behalf of the preservationist group Save Chelsea (of which Holowka is a member). To read their Request for Church of the Guardian Angel (185 10th Ave.) and Guardian Angel School (191 10th Ave.), click  here. To view Holowka’s summary of the report, access the archived CLU meeting here, beginning at the 53:36 mark. 

 “Guardian Angel is special both in terms of social history and architectural accomplishment,” said Holowka of the 1930s structure, noting its design “breaks the mold” used by countless contemporaries by “engaging us at street level with human scale intricacy.” Holowka continued, calling the facade work “a gift to the street of a kind no longer made or even makeable… The church and school are designed as a unified ensemble… It would be an irreparable loss if either were destroyed.”

As compelling as the case for preservation may be, this landmarking strategy—and for that matter, any present-day landmarking strategy—may end up a victim of its time. In an August 24 email to Chelsea Community News, Berman noted that of late, the LPC “has slowed the consideration of new landmark designations to less than a trickle,” calling the trend “particularly disheartening,” as it has resulted in “the fewest [designations] since the Commission was first established more than 60 years ago.” Berman continued, saying NYC “has almost no sites among its 40,000 designated landmarks that represent Hispanic history… even though Hispanic New Yorkers make up nearly 30% of our city.”

Berman repeated those observations at September 22’s CLU meeting. His remarks, as well as those by Holowka, were represented among points raised in two letters addressed to the LPC and approved by MCB4’s full board, via majority vote at their October 7 meeting. You can view those letters (Agenda Item #33 and #34) in draft form, here.

Just prior to that vote, Council Member Wilson told the Board about his own letter to the LPC. Sent earlier that day, Wilson noted it called for “a reexamination, reconsideration of [landmarking for] Our Lady of Guadalupe as well as for them to consider the landmarking of the Guardian Angel Church and School in Chelsea.” The Council Member concluded by noting, “I hope they will take it seriously and I appreciate this board backing me up on this, and looking forward to working together.”

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Note: The Archdiocese of New York did not respond to Chelsea Community News’ requests for comment (made over a dozen times during the past several weeks, via emails and phone calls). 

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT FOR LANDMARKING EFFORTS | The below content, authored by Andrew Berman and reprinted with permission, originally appeared in the Village Preservation Newsletter of October 5, 2026.

Each quarter, Village Preservation updates its chronological catalogue of every designated landmark in New York City since landmarking began in 1965… Village Preservation first compiled the list in 2024 when we noticed what appeared to be a precipitous drop in new landmark designations under Mayor Adams, but no comprehensive information existed to allow temporal comparisons. Our compilation of this data and analysis of it showed that Mayor Adams was the worst Mayor for landmark designations in NYC history, designating at the lowest rate by far of any of his predecessors. You can view the updated quarterly catalogue HERE.

Unfortunately, the news from the latest update is not good. There have been no new landmark designations in NYC, and no sites currently under consideration for landmark designation. In fact, no site has been calendared or formally placed under consideration for designation since 2025, and we are currently on track to have one of the barest years in NYC history for new landmark designations.

Though it’s still very early in his term, at the current rate Mayor Mamdani will best Eric Adams as the mayor with the lowest rate of new landmark designations, in spite of the countless historic sites throughout NYC calling out for landmark designation. This includes endangered sites in our neighborhood for which we’re seeking designation, including Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the city’s first Spanish-language church; the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, which would be the city’s first landmark recognizing people with disabilities; and Most Holy Redeemer Church, “the German Cathedral of the Lower East Side” and a monument to generations of immigration. It also includes sites like the former headquarters of the first national LGBTQ+ rights organization in the United States and the NYC Woman Suffrage League, all of which the City has so far refused to landmark, even though they fit the “Equity Framework” supposedly guiding new landmark designations.

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