High rent may doom Catholic chapel that survived 9/11

A sculpture of Our Lady of Guadalupe adorns St. Joseph's Chapel, Thursday, April 27, 2017, in New York. The Roman Catholic chapel that sheltered first responders after the destruction of the World Trade Center and was reborn as a memorial to the terrorist attack's victims may fall victim itself to the prosperity of its resurgent New York City neighborhood. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) (The Associated Press)

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Sculptures of St. Michael the Archangel, center, the patron saint of police officers, and St. Florian, the patron saint of firefighters, are featured in St. Joseph's Chapel, Thursday, April 27, 2017, in New York. Parishioners are praying to save the chapel, which is living on archdiocese subsidies after the rent tripled to $264,000 a year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) (The Associated Press)

A worshipper enters St. Joseph's Chapel, Thursday, April 27, 2017, in New York. The Roman Catholic chapel that sheltered first responders after the destruction of the World Trade Center and was reborn as a memorial to the terrorist attack's victims may fall victim itself to the prosperity of its resurgent New York City neighborhood. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) (The Associated Press)

NEW YORK – A Roman Catholic chapel that sheltered 9/11 first responders after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks may fall victim itself to the prosperity of its New York City neighborhood.

Parishioners are praying for a miracle to save St. Joseph's Chapel that was used as a command center after the attacks. Rescue workers slept on its floors. Priests celebrated Mass in a tent outside.

But the chapel's rent spiked to $264,000 a year in 2014 as the area became crowded with high-end stores and luxury apartments. It's now living on archdiocese subsidies.

A spokeswoman for the developers who own the building say the landlords have offered "a significant reduction in rent."

But parishioners say the rent reduction isn't nearly enough and they fear the chapel will close.