LPC-26-02776
165 West 86th Street – West Park Presbyterian Church – Individual Landmark
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
A Romanesque Revival style church complex designed by Henry Franklin Kilburn and built in 1889-1890, which incorporated an existing chapel designed by Leopold Eidlitz and built in
1883-1885. Application is to demolish the building, pursuant to Section 25-309(b)(2), on the grounds of hardship.
Date: December 9, 2025
I am Frampton Tolbert, Executive Director of the Historic Districts Council. HDC is the advocate for New York City’s designated historic districts, individual landmarks and structures meriting preservation. Since its original introduction and its reintroduction this year, HDC has and continues to oppose this hardship application. The loss of West Park Presbyterian Church would set a dangerous precedent that encourages demolition over rehabilitation of historic houses of worship citywide.
LPC’s benchmark of hardship is purposefully high to ensure that all possible alternatives to demolition are considered. We do not believe that the applicant has met the standard for hardship. In this new application, there have been no publicly revealed attempts to sell, lease, partner or rehabilitate the building with any viable nonprofit or mission-compatible operator. The applicant has not considered the new possibilities available under the “City of Yes” laws such as ground leases, air rights transfer, partial condo strategies, or co-location models.
The applicant claims the restoration cost is presented as a single, immediate $50M project, rather than phased, preservation-focused strategy. They suggest an all-at-once capital program that is neither required nor standard for hardship evaluation. The applicant does not show what a stabilization-first or envelope-first approach would cost or what safety-driven versus elective code upgrades cost. HDC agrees with many of our preservation colleagues that an incremental approach to preservation and restoration is almost always the best course of action.
Hardship must be based on the current building’s inability to earn a return, not on the opportunity cost compared to a condo tower. The proposal conflates hardship with developer profit, which the statute prohibits. The congregation also conflates its own viability with the building’s viability. Hardship for nonprofits applies to the property, not the congregation’s internal stability.
Demolition would mean that the public loses an irreplaceable Romanesque Revival landmark for a private gain without sufficient proof that demolition is the only option. This building deserves a thorough, good-faith exploration of all possible alternatives to demotion, and the applicant has presented a very weak case of hardship. West Park is one of the few remaining Kilburn Romanesque Churches in NYC and the legacy of Center for West Park as a viable Church and Arts partnership through adaptive reuse will be lost to time.