Advocates Ask LPC to Save West Park Presbyterian Church
A variety of speakers asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to reject a “hardship” application, filed by the W. 86th St. church’s own congregation, at a Dec. 9 hearing. The worshippers believe that the cost of repairing the church is too high, and need LPC approval to sell the landmarked church to a condo developer.
| 12 Dec 2025 | 05:42
Advocates have asked the LPC to reject a “hardship application” filed by the West Park Presbyterian Church’s congregation, which wants to sell the church (above) to a developer. (
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Images of disrepair at the 19th-century church shared during a Dec. 9 LPC hearing, which opponents of its demolition call “unrepresentative.” (
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Various Upper West Side advocates asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to reject the demolition of West Park Presbyterian on Tuesday, Dec. 9, during a packed public comment meeting.
The church’s dozen-strong congregation is seeking approval to demolish the aging 19th-century building, claiming that the cost of conducting necessary repairs on it is too onerous; they’re now asking the LPC to approve a “hardship” application, which would permit them to circumvent landmark regulations.
To that end, they’ve struck a pending deal with a developer, noting that they will be granted a new space for worship in whatever market-rate condominium building goes up in the church’s stead.
The true costs of repairing the church are under some dispute, with the congregation estimating that it would cost roughly $50 million. Opponents of the demolition, who have already helped raise $11 million that could go towards repairs, have expressed skepticism of those figures.
The church evicted their cornerstone tenant—the beloved cultural organization known as The Center at West Park—in July, after a court battle. It withdrew a previous hardship application beforehand, as it would have been impossible to demolish the church with any existing tenants still operating inside.
Don Frantz, who was representing the church at the LPC hearing, said that his congregation has “stood fast” to “the multidenominational front lines of social justice” for 140 years.
“Today, we’re apparently at the end of our rope without your assistance,” he told LPC commissioners. “The building that once sheltered our mission is now suffocating it. Despite our passions, we cannot serve the city, because all of our resources are dedicated to a building that has reached the end of its lifespan.”
City Council Member Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side district that contains the church, conversely implored the commissioners to reject the hardship application.
“Your charge is to do everything possible to preserve buildings in NYC. This is a building that can and must be saved,” she said. She also took issue with “the notion that a $10,000 theater and sanctuary, in this case [in] a condo, would be equivalent to the most beautiful sanctuary of New York City—where you can hear a pin drop.”
Michael Hiller, an attorney for the Center at West Park, disputed the foundations of the hardship application. ”Please try to separate myth from reality, because the hardship application is rife with myth,” he said, adding that photos shared by the congregation “are not representative of the church’s condition.”
Mark Ruffalo, the actor, testified at the hearing as well. A longtime opponent of demolishing the church, he cheekily called himself a member of “the glitterati,” before noting that “I’m also really an Upper West Sider.”
“I’m a celebrity, but behind me are a thousand young actors who were just like me, who came to New York looking for a dream,” Ruffalo added. “These spaces fulfill that ability.”
According to Landmark West, a local preservationist group, written testimony submitted to the LPC before the hearing also demonstrated a healthy dose of opposition to the proposed demolition; 114 submissions “urged denial” of the hardship application, while only 14 “supported approval” of it.