A group of New York City A-listers have gotten into a turf war with their Upper West Side neighbors over plans to demolish a 135-year-old church.
Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Matt Dillon have objected to a $50 million plan to sell West Park Presbyterian to a developer, according to a report published by Gothamist on Monday, December 1.
The parishioners have argued that the upkeep on the church would be better spent helping the community and have asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to remove the building’s protected status so they can sell it.
“It would be a shame to demolish this landmark building which is an important structure to the Upper West Side,” Dillon argued at a community board meeting last month, per Gothamist.
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But the church only has 12 remaining members, is $200,000 in debt and can’t possibly afford the $9 million required to renovate, argued Roger Leaf, who is the chair of a commission set up to facilitate the sale.
The actors are hoping the space can be preserved as a performing arts venue, the outlet reported.
The church initially partnered with an arts nonprofit, the Center at West Park, which paid less than $3,000 a month to help fund maintenance, according to court papers obtained by Gothamist. But it wasn’t enough, the church determined, and evicted the group in 2022.
Ruffalo got involved, joining Alec Baldwin, Robert Downey Jr., Nathan Lane, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Wendell Pierce to participate in a staged reading of All The President’s Men in April in the Hamptons. Tickets were $1,000, with proceeds going to the nonprofit.
“We’re a thorn in their side,” Debby Hirshman, the executive director of the Center, told The New York Times. “They were looking to accomplish something, which was the demolition of this building. We’re the people who are working to see it not demolished.”
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