A view from the window of a conference room at the former headquarters of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
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On the 20th floor of a Manhattan office building, relics of what was the longtime headquarters of the Archdiocese of New York are haphazardly strewn about. A white vestment lies scrunched up in a shelving unit in a corner office. Two framed photos of Pope Benedict XVI have been left behind, hanging on otherwise bare walls. A giant wooden table encircled by burgundy armchairs remains in a conference room.
In a couple of months, any last vestiges of the church’s 52 years at 1011 First Ave. will have been erased. While the archdiocese settles into a new space near St. Patrick’s Cathedral several avenues west, the carpeted offices and air conditioning vents of its former home will be ripped out and the entire floor stripped down to its concrete slabs. Developer Vanbarton Group will fill it with 15 apartments, whose monthly rents will range from $4,000 for a studio to $20,000 for a three-bedroom.