Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Big Building Goes up on Sacred Land; Only Poor People Lose View
By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Apr 4, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Apr 4, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Here's a sad story about Morningside Heights' real estate, courtesy of the New York Times:
A 20-story, 300-unit rental apartment building would rise on the southeast corner of the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine under a deal nearing completion between the cathedral's trustees and AvalonBay Communities Inc.
The building, which would partly block views of the cathedral from the Manhattan Valley neighborhood below, is the first of two potential development projects on the 11.3-acre Close, as the grounds are known.
Clad in brick along Cathedral Parkway, with a metal-and-glass facade rounding the corner to Morningside Drive, the new building would replace a playground, a rose garden and a rocky embankment that now sit behind a chain-link fence. The play area would move to a spot alongside the cathedral nave and the garden would be shifted slightly westward. A 150-space parking garage would be built under the apartment building.
Construction starts later this year. The apartments will rent for about $3000 for a one-bedroom. In an unrelated announcement, Jesus said the moneylenders are now "totally welcome in the temple."
Also, for those of you praying for a real estate bubble crash, some bad news: Manhattan apartment sale prices are actually UP 7% over this quarter last year, with an average price of more than $1.3m.
Tagged
architecture
bubble
Cathedral Church
church
construction
crash
heights
jesus
manhattan
morningside drive
morningside heights
new york
new york times
parking
parking garage
real estate
Jacob Dobkin
Jake Dobkin co-founded Gothamist with Jen Chung. In 2019, Jake released Ask a Native New Yorker, a book based on his Gothamist advice column.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
What do you see when you record the whole of the boroughs?
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 5, 2026
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
It's a busy month at the branches.
By
Alec Hamilton
Arts & Entertainment
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
It's a busy month at the branches.
By
Alec Hamilton
NYC music in October: The Strokes, a Blink-182 cover band, and Polish experimentalism
By
Hank Shteamer
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
By
Hannah Frishberg
In the mood for a pastoral autumn experience? Try Queens.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .