Celebrities, Elected Officials, and Community Leaders Rally to Save the Landmark West Park Presbyterian Church and Celebrate its Thriving Arts and Cultural Space
Saturday, March 8
Speakers include Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Laurence Fishburne, Julianna Margulies, Fisher Stevens, Kenneth Lonergan, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, New York City Councilmember Gale Brewer, and others
Coalition Demands Preservation of Vibrant Self-Sustaining Landmark and Community Anchor
An influential coalition of artists, elected officials, preservationists, and community leaders will rally to save West Park Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 8th from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. in the church, located at 165 West 86th Street (at Amsterdam Avenue), Manhattan. Press check-in and interview opportunities begin at 11:30 a.m.
The 135-year-old designated landmark is home to The Center at West Park, a thriving nonprofit community arts and cultural hub that has turned the historic building into one of the city’s last affordable spaces for artists, performers, and cultural programming.
Speakers at the rally will include The Center at West Park Executive Director Debby Hirshman, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Laurence Fishburne, Julianna Margulies, Fisher Stevens, Kenneth Lonergan, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, New York City Councilmember Gale Brewer, New York Landmarks Conservancy President Peg Breen, and former longtime NY State Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell.
Despite the building’s official landmark designation and a fully funded Landmarks Preservation Commission-approved restoration plan to remove the sidewalk shed and make other improvements, the administrators of West Park Presbyterian Church have refused to permit the shed removal and other work to proceed. Instead, they are actively pursuing plans to sell the building to a developer who would demolish this historic Upper West Side icon and replace a thriving, self-sustaining arts and community hub that presents more than 200 community events annually and serves thousands of New Yorkers with a luxury high rise condominium.
The day’s activities will begin with a performance by New York All Stars Latin Jazz Band from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. featuring Grammy Award-winning and nominated musicians Bobby Sanabria, Yaacov Mayman, Edsel Gomez, and Diego Alzate.
Following the rally, the CWP Film Center will present a free screening of the iconic film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and a talkback after the film with Matthew Broderick and Kenneth Lonergan. The Center at West Park also will lead tours of the church. Later in the evening, a staged reading of Laurence Fishburne’s Riff Raff will feature an all-star cast that includes Fishburne, Titus Welliver, Yul Vazquez, and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, followed by a talkback with the full cast.
DATE: SATURDAY, MARCH 8
TIME:
11:30 AM: Press check-in, interview opportunities, performance by New York All Stars Latin Jazz Band, light refreshments will be served
12:00 – 1:30 PM: Rally
LOCATION: WEST PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
165 WEST 86TH STREET, AT AMSTERDAM AVENUE, MANHATTAN