New York, NY – I am pleased that the City Council voted to officially designate West Park Presbyterian Church a landmark earlier today. It is very gratifying to me after advocating for the designation, along with residents of the Upper West Side, the preservation community, and my colleagues at the City and State level. Both the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) and City Planning Commission voted in favor of the Church's application earlier this year and the LPC received more than 1,000 letters and emails in favor of landmarking. People clearly understand that the church is a very important fixture within the historic and architectural landscape of the Upper West Side and would like to see it preserved as a historical landmark.

The church has also played an important role in the community and its history. Many notable pastors have served there. It has been a gathering place for activist groups, a beloved neighborhood and children’s gym was located there, and many town hall meetings on seminal issues of the day such as war and peace, citywide elections, and local concerns have been held there. West Park Church was also the first church in the City to support same-sex marriage. I believe so many people wanted to save the church and were invested in the outcome of a landmarks decision because they considered it a part of their lives and their neighborhood.

The designer, Leopold Eidlitz, one of the most important nineteenth-century architects working in New York, designed the current chapel. Eidlitz is also responsible for the design of the Tweed Courthouse in New York City and parts of the State Capitol in Albany. Eminent historians such as Andrew Dolkart agree that his work is extraordinary and worthy of preservation.

I will continue to work closely with the congregation and the community in order to ensure that we come to a resolution that is amenable to both sides. I believe that right now we have an opportunity to adaptively reuse the building and turn it into a center that can serve the community while protecting the historic nature of the structure.