Landmarks Preservation Commission hears pleas to save West Park Presbyterian Church amNewYork

"Save or sell? A long battle over the future of a landmarked Upper West Side church reached the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday, as the church's owners argued they should be allowed to demolish and sell, and advocates said they raised and would pay millions to help preserve it. Representatives of the congregation, down to roughly a dozen or fewer, are seeking to demolish the nearly 150-year-old West Park Presbyterian Church,"

"The Commission at the time called the building, also the site where God's Love We Deliver launched and Joseph Papp created what became the Public Theater, one of the best examples of Romanesque revival style religious structures in New York City. The Landmarks Preservation Commission heard arguments for saving West Park Presbyterian Church.Photo by Claude Solnik The church's owners claimed financial hardship as grounds to demolish the building,"

"The church signed a contract with developer Alchemy Properties, which would pay more than $30 million to tear down and build condominiums, if landmark status is lifted, allowing demolition. Advocates at a packed, standing-room-only hearing, with attendees filling seats and standing against the walls, argued in front of 15 commissioners that this was hardship by neglect, while the church said it sought to save the building, but was unable."

The nearly 150-year-old West Park Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side, landmarked 15 years ago, is the subject of a dispute over demolition and preservation. The congregation, reduced to roughly a dozen members, seeks to demolish the building citing financial hardship and has a contract with a developer offering more than $30 million to build condominiums if landmark status is lifted. Preservation advocates report raising over $11 million and pledge additional funds to maintain the structure, arguing the situation represents hardship by neglect. The building is noted for Romanesque revival architecture and historic civic and cultural associations.

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