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CENTER AT WEST PARK INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 814802422 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE X19 · Religion-Related · Medium ($1M-$10M) · centeratwestpark.org
revenue
$2.9M
expenses
$1.7M
net assets
$1.3M
employees
49
volunteers
16
program ratio
65%
mission · from form 990

THE CENTER AT WEST PARK IS A HOME FOR ARTS, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY IN THE LANDMARK WEST PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE IN MANHATTAN. THE CENTER IS A SECULAR NOTFORPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT OFFERS A DIVERSE RANGE OF PROGRAMS FOR ARTISTS, AUDIENCES, AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD; MANAGES THE BUILDINGS FACILITIES; AND STEWARDS THE RESTORATION OF ITS HISTORIC EXTERIOR.

profile · synthesized from sources

The Center at West Park is a secular nonprofit based in the historic West Park Presbyterian Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It supports artists and community groups by providing affordable space and producing festivals and programs in theater, dance, music, and puppetry. The organization also leads advocacy efforts to preserve its landmarked building as a cultural venue.

named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

CWP Evolution Festival
Annual festival presenting new works in theater, dance, music, and comedy across Manhattan venues, featuring both established and emerging artists.
CWP Launchpad Reading Series
Staged reading series showcasing new plays by emerging playwrights, offered on a pay-what-you-can basis.
Object Movement Puppetry Residency & Festival
Year-long residency program for puppetry artists culminating in a public festival of works-in-progress, with technical and financial support.
activities · 7 groups

What they do

  • New Play Development Programs 2 activities
    • Presents new plays through staged readings and festivals
      Produces pay-what-you-can staged readings of new plays, including the CWP Launchpad Reading Series, and presents annual or biannual festivals featuring ten or more new theatrical works, offering platforms for playwrights and theater artists to develop and share works-in-progress.
    • Supports puppetry artists through residencies and festivals
      Runs a biannual residency program for eight puppetry artists or teams, providing structured feedback, technical and production support (including stage management, lighting, sound, marketing), $500 artist fees, $500 project budgets, and culminating in public performances during an annual festival of original short puppetry works-in-progress.
  • Historic Site Designation Advocacy 1 activity
    • Advocates for preservation of the West Park Presbyterian Church building
      Organizes public rallies, mobilizes community members, and engages elected officials and cultural leaders to prevent the demolition of the landmark West Park Presbyterian Church and secure its future as a cultural and artistic hub. Events have drawn hundreds of participants, including high-profile supporters.
  • Film Festival and Screening Programming 1 activity
    • Hosts film series and screenings for cultural enrichment
      Curates and hosts film programming that showcases independent films, niche genres, and emerging filmmakers, often followed by talkback sessions to encourage audience engagement and education around cinematic storytelling and filmmaking.
  • Literary Events & Workshops 1 activity
    • Hosts recurring cultural and literary events
      Offers complimentary access to regular cultural programming including bimonthly writing workshops, monthly reading series, film screenings with talkbacks, and special literary events such as Dalloway Day, fostering community engagement and artistic dialogue on the Upper West Side.
  • Experimental Circus and Immersive Theater Production 1 activity
    • Presents diverse live performances across disciplines
      Hosts one-night-only performances and festivals featuring over thirty new works annually in theatre, dance, music, comedy, and experimental performance art, including events like the Object Movement Festival and Battle of the Bands, presented across Manhattan neighborhoods with a focus on the Upper West Side.
  • Cultural Facility Development and Management 1 activity
    • Provides incubation and infrastructure support for artists and community groups
      Offers operational and organizational support to emerging artists and under-resourced arts, culture, and community organizations, enabling them to develop and present work within a historic cultural space on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
  • Historic Building Restoration and Preservation 1 activity
    • Stewards historic building and facilities
      Manages the operations and facilities of the landmark West Park Presbyterian Church building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including stewarding the restoration of its historic exterior and providing space for arts and community programming.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$2.91M
Contributions & grants$2.49M86%
Program service revenue$419K14%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$1.74M
Program expenses65%
Admin / overhead29%
Fundraising6%
Salaries & benefits$675K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$1.62M
Cash$110K
Investments$1.45M
Liabilities$365K
Net assets$1.25M
Liquid reserves10.8 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +115.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
DEBRA HIRSHMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $335K
board members · 16
  • ALEC ROMAN — BOARD MEMBER
  • ANDREW B JONES — BOARD MEMBER
  • DERRICK W MCQUEEN — VICE PRESIDENT
  • FLOMAR MAURRASSE — BOARD MEMBER
  • JENNIFER ROGERS CARLOCK — BOARD MEMBER
  • JOAN D FIRESTONE — BOARD MEMBER
  • JOE DISALVO — BOARD MEMBER
  • LISA BORNEMAN — BOARD MEMBER
  • LORNA SCHAMROTH — BOARD MEMBER
  • MARGARET LOWERY BECKER — BOARD MEMBER & TREASURER (INCOMING)
  • MARIAN M WARDEN — FOUNDING PRESIDENT
  • MITCHELL SCHAMROTH — PRESIDENT
  • NATATIA GRIFFITH — BOARD MEMBER
  • ROBERT FEINSTEIN — BOARD MEMBER
  • SUSAN E SULLIVAN — SECRETARY
  • THEODORE S BERGER — VICE PRESIDENT
relationships · 18

Who they work with

  • Abrons Arts Center Partner — Hosts festival performances in its Experimental Theater.
  • Columbia Pictures Partner — Partner in securing permission to use the screenplay of The Big Chill for a staged reading.
  • Episcopal Actors’ Guild Partner — Hosts festival events at its Guild Hall.
  • God’s Love We Deliver Partner — Hosted God's Love We Deliver in its kitchen from 1987 to 1991 during the AIDS crisis.
  • Landmarks Preservation Commission Government — LPC-approved and fully funded restoration plan for West Park Presbyterian Church.
  • Manhattan Movement & Arts Center Partner — Hosts multiple festival performances including dance and theater works.
  • Riverside Shakespeare Company Partner — Hosted the Riverside Shakespeare Company from 1980 to 1985 as part of The Shakespeare Center.
  • St. Paul & St. Andrew Partner — Hosts the CWP Launchpad Reading Series at its venue on West 86th Street.
  • St. Paul & St. Andrew Partner — Provides venue space including The Sanctuary and The Parlor for festival performances.
  • St. Paul & St. Andrew UMC Partner — Hosts the Center at West Park as a resident organization for the Object Movement Puppetry Residency.
  • St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church Partner — Provides physical space used by The Center at West Park for programs and rentals.
  • The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center Partner — Provides performance space for festival events.
  • Urban Stages Partner — Provides venue space for festival performances.
  • West End Theatre Partner — Provides performance space on the Upper West Side for festival productions.
  • West Park Presbyterian Church Partner — Collaborates to preserve and program the landmarked church as a cultural and arts venue.
  • West Park Presbyterian Church Partner — Hosts operations in the landmark church building, maintaining a secular nonprofit presence within a historic religious site.
  • West Park Presbyterian Church Partner — Partnership centered on preserving the church building and using it as a foundation for community and arts programming.
  • Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women Partner — Collaborates with faculty member Charlotte Fiehn, who teaches writing workshops at The Center at West Park.
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Community Engagement Through Historically Grounded Stewardship
    methodology: historically-informed community stewardship
    By honoring the historical legacies of Indigenous peoples and displaced communities connected to the site, the organization fosters equity and inclusion in its programming, because acknowledging past injustices builds trust and deepens community ownership of shared cultural spaces.
  • Cultural Preservation Through Adaptive Reuse of Historic Religious Buildings
    methodology: cultural-preservation-through-restoration
    By operating a secular cultural and community hub within a landmark historic church, the organization preserves culturally significant architecture while repurposing it for inclusive artistic and community use, because maintaining physical continuity with the past strengthens stewardship, public engagement, and equitable access to the arts.
  • Inclusive Access Model Combining Pay-What-You-Can and Membership Structures
    methodology: pay_what_you_can_access_model
    By using a pay-what-you-can pricing model alongside a membership structure, the organization increases accessibility to arts programming while sustaining community engagement and financial viability, because removing cost barriers enables broader participation across diverse socioeconomic and age groups.