City Council Rejects St. John Development Plan

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine suffered a major setback Friday when the New York City Council unanimously voted to oppose the cathedral's plan to lease land to Columbia University for development.

Council Member Bill Perkins, whose district includes Morningside Heights, led the initiative to block the development plan in its current form, which came to the council as a proposal to grant partial landmark status to St. John. The landmark status would have applied only to the cathedral building itself and not to the rest of the property, leaving two parcels free for development.

Although the council voted not to approve the cathedral's current plan, many council members indicated that they were not entirely opposed to development. Perkins said only that he would like to see the entire cathedral property landmarked before plans are discussed.

While Friday's decision signaled the refusal of the council to sanction the cathedral's current plans, the decision may not prevent development from proceeding. Indeed, a cathedral spokesperson said that a final agreement with Columbia may be announced "in a matter of weeks."

Even if development does move ahead, the council's decision will probably force Columbia and St. John to scale back their plans. And some believe that political pressure alone may be enough to halt the development until the institutions strike a compromise with the community and its elected officials.

The partial-landmarking proposal, approved by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission in June, had emerged as a compromise between the commission and the cathedral after more than three years of negotiations. Strapped for cash, the cathedral argued that responsible and unobtrusive development of part of its property would generate the revenue necessary to preserve its eight existing buildings.

But some community residents and preservationists have opposed the cathedral's plan all along, seeking landmarking of the entire property instead, with some opposed to all development and others merely seeking public oversight.