According to reports, plans to destroy the historic West Park Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York, due to financial struggles, have been stopped after objections from residents and celebrities, including Mark Ruffalo and Matt Damon. The 133-year-old church had intended to sell the property for development into luxury apartments.

However, according to The New York Times, the building’s landmark status, granted in 2010, required approval from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for demolition, which said the church’s request for permission, made in 2022, sparked widespread support for the building’s preservation. The congregation withdrew its application, influenced by a lawsuit against a tenant regarding a lease dispute, days before the commission was scheduled to vote on the church’s application, the Times said. However, the church plans to resubmit the application in the future.

In a statement, the congregation said that they hope “to resubmit our application to the LPC when the litigation is resolved so that we can finally invest in the modern, accessible worship and community space that the Upper West Side deserves and further support our mission in our neighborhood and across New York City,” as quoted by West Side Rag. In 2022, church leaders signed a binding contract with the condominium’s developer due to a $2 million repair bill they couldn’t afford. They also filed a hardship application seeking to de-landmark and demolish the building to make way for the condominium, which would also include worship space for the church.

Gale Brewer, a city council member representing the Upper West Side, expressed hope that the delay might lead to the building’s preservation. Amid New York City’s housing crisis, some argue that opposition to the church’s demolition hinders the development of much-needed housing. Marsha Flowers, ruling elder of the West Park Presbyterian Church and a founding board member of the Center at West Park, said in a statement to The Christian Post, “As an elder of the church and a founding member of the Center at West Park, I’m also frustrated with the difficult position we find ourselves in today.”

Flowers continued, “We helped create the Center in 2017 to celebrate the arts while fundraising for repairs to the building, but the funds never came through despite more than a decade of promises and commitments from local leaders,” Flowers added. “Our congregation is now focused on creating a new space for worship and the arts, and we hope to use our proceeds to help other churches meet their mission and avoid circumstances like ours.”

Wendell Pierce, comedian Amy Schumer, and rapper and actor Common have also thrown their star power behind the effort to save the building.