The New York Archdiocese is in contract with a Staten Island developer to sell the original Holy Rosary Church building and adjoining parish parcels, the Advance has learned. The 90-year-old stucco and wood-frame church, built by hand by Italian immigrants, is at 207 Sand Lane, two blocks from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk in South Beach. It served as a neighborhood mobilization center during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but has not been used for mass since 2015, according to the Rev. Michael Martine, pastor of Holy Rosary.

The decision to sell the church is not connected to the archdiocese's "Making All Things New" initiative, which closed or consolidated nearly a third of the Island's churches, he said. According to the pastor, who announced plans for the sale at Sunday masses, the church suffered heavy water damage in March 2016 when the original pipes burst, causing water to damage the ceiling and walls. The building was deemed irreparable at that point, and will likely be demolished, along with the adjacent rectory building.