This New York City church has been in the news because there is a group attempting to preserve the building and having been an Upper West Side resident for twenty years, where this church is located, I have been in the church on numerous occasions. The preservationists want to use landmark status which means the building cannot be destroyed; church members want to demolish the building and create a new space for housing with a smaller church and space for many of the community services which the church provides. For the record I support the church members although I do not know any of them and will admit that my attendance at this church for services was only on a handful of occasions. After researching the church in preparation for writing this I regret not having been more involved and was not aware of all the activities that were available to me.
However I do have experiences in the building which I would like to reveal and the most memorable one would be attending the benefit for the homeless which was held December each year. I only attended this on one occasion and it was memorable for the talent: opera singers were the main focus and in addition the Ebony Ecumenical Ensemble sang some Christmas songs. Although the opera was a treat, after the Ensemble took the stage I did not want them to leave. I experienced a part of the culture of the city which makes many of us realize why we live here and will stay if possible despite the hardships. I saw one of their Shakespeare works whereby we all sat in the balcony and the performers were also on the balcony a few feet in front of us. Another exclusive New York City experience which makes one feel haughty for having been a part of it although the elation is fleeting because after walking outside onto the NYC streets we are soon restored to normal.
However, it is about the structure, and one does not have to be an engineer or architect to determine that this location would best serve the community by allowing the members’ proposal to move forward. A new structure with a smaller church and space for the community services including a performance space. This is the desire of those who have maintained the church for over a century, they have the responsibility to do what is best for the church and the community. Their proposal is the common sense solution to what they are facing. When leaving services we often hear the expression “Go in Peace” and that would be an appropriate farewell blessing for the structure at 86th and Amsterdam.
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