By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
The congregation of an Upper West Side church that was recently designated a protected building by the Landmarks Preservation Commission is fighting to have the City Council veto the decision.
West Park Presbyterian Church is attempting a rare feat — to get the City Council to reject a landmarking recommendation from the commission.
DNAinfo reported on Jan. 12th that the commission voted to designate the 125-year-old building on 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue as a landmark, despite some church members' protests that the congregation cannot afford the upkeep.
The congregation told the Observer that it could not afford the $5 million repair bill for the currently unusable building, and has been holding services in another church nearby, the paper reported.
The congregation had been hoping that it could also profit from a real estate development on its land.
"Our Church building is on the verge of being confiscated by New York City," the church said in a letter posted on its online community portal.
The letter referred to "overly-zealous individuals" and preservation groups and accused them of forcing the landmarking. The portal also contained letter templates that supporters could send to council members to dispute the landmark status.
Not to be out done, preservationists have also petitioned council members to officially and finally landmark the church.
"Soon, the New York City Council will vote to approve (or, if the Presbytery has its way, deny) West Park's landmark status," said Landmark West, a local preservationist group, in an e-mail sent last week. It too provided template letters to be sent to politicians.
The City Council, which almost always adopts the recommendations of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, is due to vote on the West Park landmarking issue in the next few months.
