Celeb-Backed UWS Arts Center Prepares To Relocate Amid Eviction From 135-Year-Old Church

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Center at West Park, a beloved community arts institution inside a landmarked Upper West Side church, has received its final eviction notice.

The final notice comes after more than two years of back-and-forth with the church congregation, who want to sell the building to developers, who could demolish it once the building is vacant.

But it’s not a curtain call for the arts organization.

As the arts center prepares to be removed from its home soon, Debby Hirshman, the executive director of the center, told Patch Wednesday that it will be continuing many of its programs — including its performances, festivals and artist space subsidy program — just two blocks away at the Saint Paul and Saint Andrew United Methodist Church, thanks to a newly established partnership.

Hirshman also said that, despite vacating the landmarked church, the arts center will also continue to raise money to restore the building and advocate for its preservation.

"The Center at West Park will continue its mission to provide accessible programming, support artists of all ages, and build inclusive, intergenerational audiences, while maintaining its commitment to Love Our Landmarks: Save West Park," Hirshman told Patch Wednesday.

The final eviction notice, which was first reported by amNewYork, comes after a May 22 court ruling that confirmed the arts center no longer has an active lease at the church, and a five-day eviction notice that was issued on June 9. But, for now, the arts program is still operating inside the church.

How it started

For the uninitiated, the West-Park Presbyterian Church — an official city landmark — has been around for 135 years, the most recent 20 of them covered in scaffolding near 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

The red-stone church building is the home of The Center at West Park, a nonprofit arts and culture hub that has turned the church into an affordable space for cultural programming.

However, in 2022, the church signed a contract to sell the building to Alchemy Properties contingent on a demolition permit, which would displace the arts organization and knock the landmarked building down, according to amNewYork.

In 2023, there was a series of hearings with the city, where developers requested permits to demolish the building, which were denied for the time being in early 2024, according to several reports.

The church issued a statement on its website saying that it had decided to sell the church due to economic hardship and the changing needs of its congregants.

"The West-Park Presbyterian Church’s congregation has been a proud member of the Upper West Side community for nearly 160 years. For decades, our church building has faced mounting repair costs, both inside and out. Today, a team of preservationists, structural engineers and construction experts estimates that it would cost nearly $50 million to repair and restore the building.

"After more than two decades of trying to keep up with repairs and waiting for unfulfilled promises of fundraising to come through, we are committed to exploring every option for our congregation’s future," the church owners wrote on their website.

What’s next

The Center at West Park raised millions of dollars to support the center and create a fund to restore the building, galvanizing the support of big-name celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Laurence Fishburne, Julianna Margulies and Fisher Stevens.

"Over the past two and a half years, in a one-of-a-kind landmark building with seven performance and program spaces of varying sizes, CWP has grown into a self-sustaining community and cultural hub for the arts, sacred gatherings, and neighborhood programming," Hirshman said.

"This space has become a neighborhood anchor and a vital resource for New York City: a home for artists of all ages and at every stage of their careers, and for audiences of all backgrounds."

Though the church is a landmarked building, it could still be demolished if the city's Landmarks Preservation Committee determines that demolition is the only option.

"The Center at West Park is planning to continue to do the work that we have planned to do, be it on-site or off-site," Hirshman told Patch in June after the eviction was first issued. "We will also continue to raise the funds to purchase the building while not interfering with an already existing contract between the developer and the church."

The church has not yet responded to a request for comment from Patch. This article will be updated when they do.

West-Park Presbyterian Church is located at 165 West 86th St. on the Upper West Side.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.

See related coverage:

• Avengers Assemble To Save UWS Church Arts Center
• Mark Ruffalo, Laurence Fishburne Rally To Save NYC Landmark
• Arts Center Secures $3.5M In Effort To Stop Demolition Of UWS Church