The Auxiliaries of Mayr Yegeghetsi
A Building for the Future: 219 East 27th Street
There is no tangible monument of stewardship at Mayr Yegeghetsi more patent and prominent than the modest apartment building that stands next door. While she is beautiful by the standards of contemporary architecture, there is little that distinguishes 217-219 East 27th Street from other buildings of her vintage, which, when she was built in 1906, were practically mass-produced in Manhattan. Yet, all of six-stories tall with twenty-four apartments and a tiny elevator, what she has done for Mayr Yegeghetsi over the decades is breathtaking. When Mayr Yegeghetsi’s founding generation purchased the Cathedral building from the Crawford M.E. Church, the apartment building came with her as part of the deal. Like most episodes in the history of our Church, the story of the apartment building is a drama of its own. Purchase her the founding generation had the prudence and foresight to do, but they would not hold her for long. Mayr Yegeghetsi lost ownership and possession of the building during the Great Depression. The modern history of the building begins in 1974, when a new generation of stewards found their opportunity and reacquired her. Led by Michael Azarian and Jack Chadrjian, of blessed memory, they were worthy stewards indeed..
“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received..”
— 1 Peter 4:10
This remarkable photo strikingly illustrates Mayr Yegeghetsi’s metropolitan location in midtown Manhattan and identifies her as the true New Yorker she is. It also shows the changes her environs were undergoing in the early 1960s as the Armenian population migrated away from “Little Armenia,” which is how the Rose Hill and Murray neighborhoods were known because of the concentration of Armenians who had settled there beginning around the turn of the Twentieth century. Appropriately, the photo also serves as an iconic portrait of our humble yet magnificent Mayr Yegeghetsi “complex.”
The façade of the apartment building with her fire escapes is also iconically New York.
Since then, the apartment building became and remains the Cathedral’s principal single source of income and, in tough times, was a lifeline without which Mayr Yegeghetsi could not have survived financially. As the fortunes of New York real estate have risen, so too has the income-generating potential of this precious asset. We are not talking about big New York real estate money. Like Mayr Yegeghetsi herself, the building and the cash flow she generates is modest and human-scale. But for us that income is heaven-sent. We are fortunate to enjoy this revenue, which, by going a long way toward covering our annual operating expenses, relieves pressure on our budget and frees us to use the other income we generate to support and develop our ministry.
In this milestone year, we are mindful to remember and honor with gratitude our predecessors in leadership who, to provide for Mayr Yegeghetsi and her future, had the prudence and foresight to acquire the little apartment building next door.