St. Mark’s Church in‑the‑Bowery is lining up a sale of its unused air rights above the East Village, but first it has to convince the city it will keep the 1799 landmark in solid shape for years to come.
On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is scheduled to review a continuing maintenance plan for the historic church, a procedural but critical move that must happen before St. Mark’s can transfer unused development rights to a cleared Third Avenue assemblage. The proposal lays out more than a decade of repairs and a funding framework aimed at stabilizing the Georgian church and its attached parish hall. The receiving site on Third Avenue between East 10th and East 11th Streets has already been demolished for future development, although there is still no public construction timeline.
According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission July 21 public hearing calendar, the application for 131 East 10th Street is listed as docket LPC‑26‑09187 and seeks a favorable report to the City Planning Commission on a continuing maintenance program tied to a transfer of development rights. The calendar pegs the item at roughly 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Under the NYC Zoning Resolution Section 75‑422, transferring development rights from a landmark requires proof of a continuing maintenance program and a report from LPC before the City Planning Commission can certify the deal. That process explains why commissioners will be focused on the church’s long‑term stewardship plan rather than eye‑catching tower renderings at this stage.
Plan Details And Costs
As reported by New York YIMBY, the presentation prepared by Beyer Blinder Belle breaks the work into phases stretching more than ten years. Upfront spending in the first two years is estimated at roughly $503,924 to $803,815, followed by short‑, medium‑ and long‑term items that push projected maintenance costs to about $5 million to $5.3 million.
Under the proposal, 20 percent of the proceeds from any air rights sale would be placed in escrow for immediate repairs, while 10 percent would go into a long‑term maintenance fund. The agreement would also lock in LPC inspections every ten years, creating a recurring checkup on how well the church is keeping up its side of the bargain.
Receiving Site And Timeline
The rights would be shifted to parcels at 50‑60 Third Avenue, part of a larger 50‑64 Third Avenue assemblage that Kinsmen Property Group pieced together over several years for more than $60 million, according to local reporting. Demolition on the site wrapped in 2025, and the lot has since sat vacant behind temporary fencing. As of the most recent updates, no new building permits have been filed with the Department of Buildings, according to EV Grieve.
Preservation Stakes And Local Reaction
Neighborhood preservation groups have been closely tracking the application, and Village Preservation has posted the new LPC materials and urged neighbors to weigh in before the hearing.
The church itself has highlighted repair needs and a broader stewardship campaign on its website, framing the proposed transfer as a way to fund long‑term maintenance while keeping the landmark active in neighborhood life; see the parish information at St. Mark’s Church in‑the‑Bowery.
What Happens Next
If LPC issues a favorable report, the Chair of the City Planning Commission may certify the transfer under Section 75‑42, and the project would then move into City Planning and Department of Buildings review, in line with zoning rules. Tuesday’s LPC hearing is the next public checkpoint in that chain. Renderings and a construction timeline for the Third Avenue development have not yet been released, New York YIMBY noted.
