The Deacon's Bench
One of its former students: Martin Scorsese.
Details from The New York Daily News:
The Catholic Church is peddling a piece of history — the oldest Catholic school in the city.
The cash-strapped Archdiocese of New York is selling off the St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral School on Prince St., on the grounds of the original St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Little Italy, according to papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The school once boasted students such as Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who attended in the 1950s. But now the archdiocese hopes to sell the landmarked property for $29 million, according to the papers, which were quietly filed on Christmas Eve.
When the church was flourishing during the 19th and 20th centuries, the regal, red brick school served generations of children whose immigrant parents were often seeking refuge from religious persecution.
But more recently, enrollment declined as the neighborhood changed and tuition costs rose. The 188-year-old school closed in June 2010 with just 129 students.
“Almost half the students come from the other boroughs, New Jersey, Long Island and other parts of Manhattan,” archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling said before the school was shuttered. “We believe that closing this school will also help strengthen the other schools.”
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