Encore or Eviction? 135-Year-Old Church Moves to Remove Theater Group, Community Pushes Back

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It could be curtains for The Center at West Park (CWP) and the other creative companies operating within the landmarked West-Park Presbyterian Church at 165 W. 86th Street, on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue.

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On Monday morning, a rally was held outside the building in support of the Center, with a slate of notable New Yorkers in attendance, including City Councilmember Gale Brewer, State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and artists such as Mark Ruffalo, Matt Dillon, Fisher Stevens, J. Smith-Cameron (from “Succession”), Richard Kind, and Christian Slater.

Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, also made an appearance at the well-attended event, where locals, up-and-coming thespians, and even a gymnastics team that works out in the space made their presence felt from the wooden pews—cheering from the gallery to keep the arts alive as light streamed through the stained-glass windows, hoping to prevent the site from turning into yet another high-rise residential development.

“I told you we’re going to save this space,” said Debbie Hirshman, executive director of CWP, as we made our way into the sacred space, known for its pristine acoustics and perfect pitch. The Center had been served eviction papers last week, with the church’s lawyer saying it will change the locks on Tuesday and remove anyone inside.

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At the podium on Monday, Hirshman said, “Think about the following—think about the program that happens here each summer for children from 6 to 16, who audition from all the boroughs,” referring to CWP’s fully funded, six-week program where participants get to perform on the main stage. “Their dream of becoming the people you see on this stage is helped and actualized by being in this space and knowing that the Center at West Park—and all of you—are committed to the idea that there has to be a not-for-profit arts and culture community space that allows everyone to perform.”

Hirshman also highlighted that CWP is now home to a “one-year-young” transgender theater group, which now has a stage on which to perform. Between speakers, the executive director—who lives on the Upper West Side and was instrumental in helping the Manhattan Jewish Community Center raise $85 million to bring it from dream to fruition—briefly noted that The Center at West Park could end up relocating, mentioning Symphony Space at 2537 Broadway at West 95th Street as a potential new home.

ILTUWS spoke with Roger Leaf, chairman of the West-Park Administrative Commission, following Monday morning’s rally. Leaf denied that the locks would be changed on Tuesday. “What I can say is that the Center has not had a valid lease since December 31, 2022, and every court in New York State that has jurisdiction over that has confirmed it—most recently, the Court of Appeals on May 22,” he said.

“We are working with the tenants who have space in the building—not The Center [at West Park], but the subtenants who lease from the Center—to give them sufficient disposition so they can have an orderly transition to a new space,” said Leaf.

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Leaf added that CWP submitted a proposal on the afternoon of Friday, June 13, requesting to remain in the building for three more years. “We’re still studying their offer,” he said.

“We’ve had 27,000 paying audience members come through here in the last two years, and that’s 27,000 people who go to our restaurants, our bars, and our stores,” said Upper West Sider Mark Ruffalo, one of the driving forces behind the effort to save the landmarked space. “This is an economic driver for the city—but more than that, it brings people together. That’s why these artists are here, and why it’s so sad for me that we’re being evicted.”

In April, Ruffalo shared The Center at West Park’s stage with Scarlett Johansson, Julianna Margulies, and Fisher Stevens for a staged reading of Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay Network, with proceeds benefiting CWP.

Ruffalo made a key point that was met with rousing applause: “This is everything a community wants. It gives value to our area, and they want to replace it with a 20-story luxury high-rise.” The You Can Count On Me star added that while the developer has promised to include a black box theater, “that’s not gonna have any of the charm or beauty or history that this place offers. That’s nothing but a press release for a giant real estate corporation”—referring to Alchemy Properties, the real estate firm behind the deal.

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Fisher Stevens may have shared the most captivating story of the rally, recalling the time he and Christian Slater—who arrived late but made it to the stage—first met in the basement of Trinity Church at 164 W. 100th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, during a free production of Mr. Scrooge in 1978. “We are here like Mark because a church like this welcomed us, had a space,” Stevens said.

He went on to describe how, even back then, he and Slater felt the love and support of the Upper West Side community. Now, Stevens said he wants to continue working at The Center for free—and knows others who are willing to do the same—while encouraging more people to donate their time and talent to keep the space alive for the next generation. “But we need the space to do it. We need to save this church.”

ILTUWS asked Leaf whether a “happy medium” could be found—one that would keep the red sandstone Romanesque Revival Presbyterian church intact, allowing the presbytery and arts programs to continue operating in harmony, without the disruption of high-rise construction and its accompanying dust and noise.

“The contracted purchase that the church has signed does, in fact, preserve space on site for the church—not only for worship, but for support of community and arts programs, as it has in the past,” said Leaf. “One of our objectives is to provide a safe, secure, low-maintenance space for the church to continue its mission, and that’s a very important factor.”

Leaf noted that an independent consultant hired by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, along with engineers, concluded it would cost more than $50 million to restore the building. ILTUWS has reported that CWP believes the figure is closer to $10 million—and that the group has already raised millions to improve the space and remove the scaffolding that currently surrounds the building.

“But at this stage, we’ve seen no indication from any quarter that money in that magnitude is currently available—or could be available—for restoration of the building,” Leaf said.

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