Community battles over fate of UWS church

Parishioners and area residents spoke up at a Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing yesterday on the fate of the West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 West 86th Street. Church leaders are opposed to giving the property a landmark designation because it could prevent parts of the property from being redeveloped. But neighborhood residents and preservation groups argue that the property needs to be landmarked to prevent church leaders from demolishing the building, which needs more than $10 million worth of repairs. The church was designed by Leopold Eidlitz in 1883.