Speak Out for West Park, a Community and City Landmark – The New York Presbytery wants to demolish West Park Presbyterian Church, one of the City’s most beautiful Romanesque Revival buildings, so a developer can build a market-rate residential tower. They are asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission for permission to do this.
The Conservancy has a long history with this landmark, and we are opposed to their request. The building needs to be restored, but it is eminently fixable.
The Presbytery is claiming that the budget will be north of $50 million. But that would include repairing, updating, and improving every part of this building all at once. Most building owners would phase this work.
The Landmarks Commission’s own engineering study shows that the repairs needed to fix the most urgent problems and remove the sidewalk bridge would cost much less – between $7 and 9 million. That’s still a big number, but it can be done, raising funds and addressing the top priorities. We’ve seen many other successful institutions take this approach.
Community Board 7 is holding a second and final hearing on Thursday, October 29th starting at 6:30. The meeting will be held in-person at Brandeis High School Campus,145 West 84th Street, and on Zoom. Please register if you would like to join the meeting remotely via Zoom.
Read our testimony, timeline, and support letters to support West Park.
You may have heard of West Park because a large group of celebrities, led by actor Mark Ruffalo and scriptwriter and director Kenneth Lonergan, have rallied to save the building and the non-profit Center at West Park.
The church initiated the Center several years ago to keep the building active and help fundraise for extensive restoration and maintenance needs. The Center has presented a regular stream of events, including celebrity-filled play readings, films, and rallies. Spaces in the large community house were rented to a ballet school, artist studios, rehearsal and lecture space, and a pickleball court. An African American congregation has held weekly services there.
Towards the end of last year, the Center offered to pay for work aimed at clearing Buildings Department violations and removing a longstanding sidewalk bridge. But the Presbytery refused to allow it and terminated the Center’s lease. If the Center were allowed to rent the church again, it promises a major rent increase, space for the Presbytery to continue its mission, and assuming full responsibility for building restoration and maintenance.
We have worked with historic religious properties for decades. West Park can have a bright future. Please join us in speaking out to support this landmark.
Click here to view Community Board 7’s Preservation Committee and scroll down. You can sign up to view the hearing and/or submit your testimony or questions.