Epiphany School has until June 2028 to leave the former St. Stephen's School in Kips Bay. The Archdiocese of New York told the school it will not renew a lease that has housed Epiphany's upper grades since the early 1990s, then extended it by one year, through June 2028.
Chelsea News reported on the lease decision. The school now has until June 2028 to look for somewhere else.
Two Blocks, One Lease
The campus at issue is not Epiphany's whole operation. The upper campus includes a middle school at 141 East 28th Street and an early-childhood school at 152 East 29th Street, where children as young as two are enrolled. The lower campus at 234 East 22nd Street is not covered by the nonrenewal.
Epiphany leased the St. Stephen's building in 1991 and began using it for upper-division grades in the 1991–92 school year, after St. Stephen's School had just closed. The U.S. Department of Education named Epiphany a Blue Ribbon School in 2023.
Reporting on the lease put the annual payment above $120,000, and Epiphany's tuition is $12,100.
An Empty School A Few Blocks South
The Archdiocese suggested Epiphany could take over the former Immaculate Conception School on East 14th Street. Immaculate Conception closed at the end of June 2023 after 159 years. Guardian Angel School closed at the end of that same 2022–23 year.
A 2023 Our Town profile quoted then-president Jim Hayes saying Epiphany itself was still about 10 percent below its pre-pandemic enrollment. That profile also put city Catholic schools against declining enrollment, rising operating costs, and competition from public and charter schools.
The former Immaculate Conception School is a possible destination for Epiphany, but no move has been announced.
An Uncertain Future
The future of the St. Stephen's school, church, and rectory remains uncertain.
In August 2026, Crain's New York Business reported a deal to sell 348 East 55th Street to Icon Realty Management for $4 million.
The School Next Door
The school next door continued operating as Epiphany under a separate lease.
Families now have a dated deadline rather than a finished plan. The East 28th and East 29th Street programs are scheduled to remain through June 2028, and the East 22nd Street lower school stays where it is.
