Cathedral of St. John the Divine gets $1.5M grant to transform historic building into community hub
Photos by Brian Kutner
A historic, underutilized building on the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine campus will become a social services center for New Yorkers facing poverty. The Morningside Heights church on Tuesday announced it received $1.5 million in city funding to support the renovation of Synod Hall, transforming it into an expanded hub for Cathedral Community Cares (CCC), the cathedral’s social services arm that focuses on combating poverty with preventative services, education, and advocacy, with a focus on issues of health and hunger.
Built in 1913 by J.P. Morgan as a convention space, the hall was designed in the French Gothic Style by architects Ralph Adams Cram and Frank Ferguson. The renovation project will retain the building’s historic charm while significantly improving its capabilities as a community space.
A majority of the city funding will be used to renovate the building’s lower level, installing a soup kitchen, food pantry, laundry facilities, social work counseling services, and more.
The first phase will install handicapped access, including ADA-compliant access at the 110th Street entrance, pantry facilities, laundry machines, and a flexible indoor space for soup kitchen dining, community meetings, and events. Future plans include a commercial kitchen and an elevator between the basement and ground floors.
CCC has served New York City and the West Harlem/Morningside Heights community for nearly 40 years. The organization hosts four main programs: weekly hot meals, a clothing closet, a food pantry and community fridge, and a weekly food pantry run.
About 40 percent of the organization’s clients are regular visitors, while 60 percent include new or temporary clients such as low-income individuals, the homeless or insecurely housed, recently arrived immigrants, seniors, and families.
“CCC’s mission of combating poverty, alleviating hunger, and advancing public health for New Yorkers is crucial for our city,” Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said. “I’m proud to have worked with Council Member Shaun Abreu and our Council colleagues to secure $1.5 million to renovate the historic Synod Hall into a community hub for Upper Manhattan.”
“This center at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and others like it are critical to building a safe and healthy city, and we must continue investing in their maintenance and expansion. I look forward to seeing the positive impact of this investment for years to come.”
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