Celebs and Politicos Rally to Try to Save West Park Presbyterian Church from Wreckers Ball

Celebrities including Mark Ruffalo, Amy Schumer and Wendell Pierce rallied with city council member Gale Brewer and community activists for the preservation of the West Park Presbyterian Church. Congregants say they cannot afford to make the $50 million necessary to preserve and restore the historic 123 year old structure and want the Landmarks Preservation Commission to grant it a hardship exemption so they can sell it to a developer who wants to demolish the aging church and build luxury condos in its place.

“These landmarks and community centers are getting eaten up every day. We need to preserve them for our community,” said Mark Ruffalo an actor and Upper West Side resident at the rally. “It’s not only an active church where the community observes and worships—it’s a landmarked space for the arts, theatre, public assistance and a space for all of us to come together.”

The Center at West Park (CWP), a not for profit that has been using the church in recent years, is leading the fight to save this historic building. Since the church was built in the 1890, it has been a center of activism of the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement among others. It has also been at the center of community service hosting programs like God’s Love We Deliver that provides meals to those with life-altering illnesses.

In recent years, the building located at 165 W. 86th St. at the corner of Amsterdam Ave. had turned into a non-profit community of performing arts center. So far, CWP has a goal of raising $250,000 to fund the second phase of their campaign with $14,993 raised so far. The West Park Presbyterian Church was named a landmark in 2010, and CWP is in support of leaving the building’s landmark status unchanged. Mayor Eric Adams is following the proceedings intently.

“Mayor Adams values input from all New Yorkers about the best ways to preserve and protect New York City’s history. The hardship process is highly technical, and we have confidence the Landmarks Preservation Commission will undertake a robust review,” a City Hall spokesperson told The New York Post.

“The West Park Presbyterian Church is considered to be one of the best examples of a Romanesque Revival style religious structure in New York City. The extraordinarily deep color of its red sandstone cladding and the church’s bold forms with broad, round-arching openings and a soaring tower at the corner of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue produce a monumental and distinguished presence along those streets,” it is written in the Landmarks Presentation Report by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

“The LPC is expected to meet again soon to review new evidence and vote on the demolition plan. With strong public support, combined with compelling expert testimony from a team of preservation lawyers and engineers, The Center at West Park is confident the LPC will vote to reject the Presbytery’s demolition plan and preserve West Park as a beacon of art, culture, and architectural history on the Upper West Side,” Micheal Hiller, an attorney representing CWP said.

Real estate developer Alchemy Properties wants to buy the valuable property and build a high-rise apartment building instead.

The church’s 12 member leadership say the congregation is unable to make the necessary repairs needed to save the 123 year old church. Since it will cost more than $50 million to fix, the leaders submitted a “hardship” application that would get rid of its landmark status, so that it could be sold for $33 million to Alchemy Properties.

Local political leaders say they are not buying it. “The Presbytery has ignored this building for over a decade, and we should not reward them with a $30 million dollar payout for neglecting their property,” Gale A. Brewer, Council Member said. “LPC bears the responsibility to require the Presbytery meet the highest bar in justifying their request to destroy an exceptional historic and religious landmark. It is my position that the burden of hardship is not met, and the Commission must reject the hardship application.”

Brewer argues that the preservation will not amount to more than $50 million and will be beneficial for the community. “It is an asset to the community to have this building,” Brewer said. “It is not a hardship for us to raise the money—which is not as much as they think they need to keep the church as a cultural center and worship.

The Landmark Preservation Commission was slated to meet on Tuesday, June 13th to begin considering whether to de-landmark the historic building.