There will be a special meeting of CB7’s Preservation Committee on the pending fate of West Park Presbyterian Church (Amsterdam Avenue and 86th St).
The few remaining congregants have filed a hardship petition with the Landmarks Preservation Commission requesting that the property be removed from Landmark status. This is a rare and significant ask and will be an alarming move if granted.
Please check the CB7 website for link to the meeting that will take place on May 5th at 6:30pm.
UPDATE
By 6:30pm there were already 195 people signed into the zoom meeting, with more joining as the evening went on. After more than 4 hours, including a presentation from the applicant, questions remained. We spoke (along with many other organizations) objecting to the application as proposed.
Passion was felt from speakers on both sides of this issue and more than one committee member remarked how difficult this was to resolve. In the end the question of whether this was truly the only or best option available was not satisfactorily answered. Consequently, the preservation committee voted 8-1-1 to deny the application.
It now moves to the full CB7 Board meeting on June 7 and then will head to LPC where it will either remain an individual landmark or be lost forever.
Recent Comments