Opponents argued designation would prevent congregation from restoring the deteriorating building. On May 12, 2010, the City Council approved Landmarks’ designation of the West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 West 86th Street in Manhattan. The red sandstone-clad building is considered one of the City’s best examples of Romanesque Revival-style religious structures. Landmarks unanimously designated the building in January 2010 despite opposition from West Park leaders and its congregation, who claimed that designation would prevent the congregation from repairing the deteriorating and now-vacant structure. West Park had partnered with a private developer to build a residential tower on a portion of the site, but the deal fell through after Landmarks calendared the building. 7 CityLand 10 (Feb. 15, 2010).

At the Council’s Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee public hearing on April 20, preservationists spoke in support of designation, while members of the West Park congregation and representatives from other local houses of worship opposed the action. Landmark West’s Kate Wood said the organization looked forward to participating in the adaptive reuse of the church into a productive and sustainable asset for the City. (read more…)

Church officials and congregation opposed designation. On January 12, 2010, Landmarks designated West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 West 86th Street in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The Romanesque Revival building’s development occurred in two phases. Leopold Eidlitz designed a small chapel completed in 1883. When the church outgrew the building in 1889, it commissioned Henry Kilburn to build a new sanctuary and redesign the small chapel’s facade. Kilburn’s design features distinctive red sandstone cladding, round arch openings, and a large bell tower.

At the July 14, 2009 hearing, Church representatives spoke in opposition, testifying that the congregation had been forced to worship at another site because of the building’s deteriorating condition. Valerie Campbell, West Park’s attorney, said that in order to restore the main building, the Church partnered with a developer to demolish the small chapel and build a residential tower on its footprint. Campbell said the developer withdrew after Landmarks scheduled the designation hearing. Residents, preservation groups, and elected officials testified in support of designation, including Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal, and representatives for Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, and then-Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. 6 CityLand 138 (Aug. 15, 2009). (read more…)

West Side church claims designation will hinder its ability to restore and remain in Romanesque Revival structure. On July 14, 2009, Landmarks heard extensive testimony on the potential designation of West Park Presbyterian Church, at 165 West 86th Street in Manhattan. The red, sandstone- clad Romanesque Revival building was built in two phases. In 1883, the church commissioned Leopold Eidlitz, who also worked on the Tweed Courthouse and St. George’s Episcopal Chapel, to design a small chapel on the site. Six years later, Henry Kilburn expanded the church, incorporating the original brick chapel with a new sanctuary and bell tower, and cladding the entire structure in Longmeadow sandstone, the only church identified within the City to use this material.

West Park congregation members and other representatives of the church spoke in opposition to designation. Kramer Levin attorney Valerie Campbell, representing West Park, testified that instead of helping to preserve the church, designation would hasten its decline. She stated that the building suffered severe structural deficiencies, including a damaged roof, forcing the congregation to worship at another site. (read more…)