A church, a Jewish organization and dozens of residents are being told they have to leave the General Theological Seminary (GTS) grounds in Chelsea amid an ongoing and controversial deal to lease the space to a conservative-linked group, the Daily News has learned.
The seminary has been negotiating a potential lease agreement with the School of Sacred Music (SSM), a choral organization based on the campus with conservative ties. News of that deal prompted senior New York Episcopal clergy to take the unusual step of coming out against the deal. Locals and elected officials have also expressed concerns.
Despite those concerns, the Seminary, “remains in ongoing negotiations with the School for Sacred Music about a variety of potential arrangements,” said Nicky Burridge, GTS’s Vice President for Communications.
“The rents that residents pay are insufficient to sustain the operation of a historic campus in need of significant costly repair,” Burridge added.
The Seminary has in recent months informed a church, a Jewish group and a number of residents that their leases aren’t being renewed and they have to relocate by the end of June, leaving many scrambling.
Good Shepherd New York is an ecumenical church that has been based out of the Seminary since January 2020. Last month its leadership quietly announced that their license agreement will be terminated “in light of this imminent deal” with SSM.
Their office, storage and studio spaces “must be vacated” by June 30 and use of the chapel and classrooms for regular services will end December 31. The clergy who live on the campus will also have to relocate. Pastor Michael Rudzena declined to comment, but said in a video in late March that Good Shepherd is working on an “amazing option” for a new home.
Emanu-El Downtown is an offshoot of Temple Emanu-El, a Reform Jewish synagogue, that has hosted family programming on the grounds since 2022. Last week they sent an email informing community members they will also be moving. Multiple sources confirmed their lease was not renewed.
“We have appreciated The General Theological Seminary sharing their space with us,” said an Emanu-El spokesperson. “We have had a positive experience with them for the last two years and are finalizing plans to move as of the end of June to a more central downtown location to support our community downtown and grow our efforts.”
In addition to the religious groups, many of the 40 or so residents who live on the grounds received letters in February informing them their leases wouldn’t be renewed. They have to be out by June 30, when the lease term ends.
AP
The grounds of the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea. (AP)
Several said they are now struggling to find somewhere to move amid the city’s ongoing housing crisis. They expressed frustration at the seminary for what they characterized as perceived financial mismanagement and lack of transparency around the pending lease deal, as well as a wariness of SSM given its conservative links.
Jonathan Merritt is a writer who has lived at the Seminary since 2019. He said issues on the campus predate the School of Sacred Music lease discussions. “The feeling is that [GTS] is not equipped to be a landlord and doesn’t really have any interest in being a landlord, and they just want to get out of that business,” he said.
The picturesque 19th century-era campus is located a stone’s throw from the High Line between 20th and 21st Streets. But the institution itself has run into self-described “cashflow challenges” over the years, leading it to sell off several buildings and effectively merge with the Virginia Theological Seminary.
In November, GTS announced it was exploring leasing parts of the property to an unnamed Christian nonprofit. Last month the News identified the nonprofit as the School of Sacred Music, a choral group linked to the investment fund Abdiel Capital and its founder Colin Moran. Moran is the chairman of the board of directors of First Things, a journal that has published pieces critical of gay rights, abortion and other issues.
In response, senior Episcopal bishops took the extraordinary step of writing a letter opposing the proposed lease, citing “the lack of full acceptance of the LGBTQ stance of its founders and the lack of transparency in its funding.”
Emails to Abdiel and SSM were not returned.
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal’s district includes GTS and he was one of five local politicians who sent a letter to Seminary leadership in January expressing concern about the deal.
“We have to avoid Chelsea families from becoming collateral damage in the seminary’s financial struggles,” he told the News, and “strongly” urged GTS to renew the leases.
“I stand ready with my government colleagues and the local community to help GTS find a long-term solution to keep their doors open and continue their historic mission,” he added.
A neighborhood meeting on the issue is planned for Sunday afternoon.
