Staten Island Monastery
Staten Island Monastery - New York
R.I.P
Augustinian
Academy was built in the 1920's as a private school for boys. The school closed
down in 1969 due to declining enrollment, and in 1970 the building was converted
to a retreat house. It has been neglected since it was sold to developers in
1985.
The property went into receivership when the Howard Savings Bank of New
Jersey folded. The bank held the mortgage for Villanova Realty, a corporation
formed in 1988 to create a townhouse developed on the site. Villanova Realty had
more than $17 million in unpaid debt on its mortgage payments and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) was appointed receiver in 1992.
In December 1993, the FDIC put the property on the market in a foreclosure
auction and was purchased by Wagner College for $3.725 million. The reason
Wagner College bought the site was to prevent the property from falling into the
hands of developers again. Rows of townhouses dotting the Grymes Hill landscape
would diminish Wagner's appeal and severly damage the college's ability to
recruit students.
To contact Abandoned But Not Forgotten please e-mail us at abnfco@gmail.com with any questions or submissions you may want to contribute to the site.
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