You are reading

St. Sebastian’s in Woodside to Sell 1/2 Acre Playground Site, Development Likely

Playground area next to St. Sebastian’s Catholic Academy (Photo: St. Sebastian’s)

Oct. 16, 2020 By Christian Murray

St. Sebastian’s, a Woodside parish saddled in debt, is selling a large piece of vacant land located next to the Catholic school.

The property, which has an address of 39-53 57th St., is listed for sale for $6.25 million and is being marketed by the brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield as a development site.

“The site offers a developer the opportunity to capitalize on the low supply of luxury rental and condominium housing in the neighborhood,” reads the listing.

The site is large with frontage on 57th and 58th streets. The property is 1/2 an acre in size and has been used as a playground.

“St. Sebastian’s parish property includes an empty lot and given its limited use, it has been listed for sale,” said a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees parishes in Queens and Brooklyn. “The potential proceeds of this sale have not been earmarked for any specific purpose. This is simply a financially prudent decision.”

The parish has been hemorrhaging money in recent years.

The parish was expected to report a deficit of $150,000 for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2020, a spokesperson said at the end of July. The diocese accountant projected a $500,000 deficit for the 2021 fiscal year that began Sept. 1.

The St. Sebastian’s community center, which provides athletic facilities and programming, has been a large contributor to those losses, with an annual deficit of between $150,000 and $200,000 in recent years.

Fundraising efforts have helped offset a portion of the losses.

The parish was forced to layoff seven workers at the center soon after COVID-19 struck and is looking for ways to make the center financially sustainable. The center, which closed due to COVID, is expected to reopen soon.

For more information click here.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Long Islander ordered to pay restitution for stealing share of Queens Village family home willed to niece: DA

A Long Island man was sentenced Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court for filing fraudulent paperwork to claim he fully owned a Queens Village home when his niece had actually inherited half of it. Wagner Recio, 52, of Butler Boulevard in Elmont, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to filing falsified documents the previous year in order to obtain a mortgage against the value of the Queens Village property and kept the financial proceeds for himself.

According to the charges, Recio and his brother, Alejandro Recio, jointly owned a house on 220th Street in Queens Village as Tenants in Common (TIC), allowing each owner undivided interest to sell, transfer or borrow against their own share in the property.

Queens Village man identified as victim in fatal shooting at South Ozone Park nightclub: NYPD

Homicide detectives from the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park are still investigating the cause of a fatal shooting that occurred early Monday morning in front of a South Ozone Park nightclub. While they have yet to identify the gunman or establish a motive, they have determined the victim’s identity and notified his family.

The NYPD announced on Tuesday evening that Temel Phillips of 102nd Avenue in Queens Village was the man who was shot multiple times in front of the Caribbean Fest Lounge at 116-14 Rockaway Blvd., more than nine miles away from his home.

Op-ed: Making the change: Illegal cannabis stores will now be closed!

May. 1, 2024 By Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato

I am currently writing this in the early hours after intensely debating the State Budget. As your State representative, I have been working to pass fiscal policies that represent the needs of our community. Moments ago, our community scored a tremendous victory as I voted yes and passed into law the hard stance against illegal cannabis shops that we have all asked for. Finally, the law gives law enforcement the ability to close these stores and padlock them shut!