West Park Presbyterian Church

Amid the scores of high-rise luxury apartment buildings lining West 86th Street, you’ll find an oddity of sorts. A red sandstone Romanesque Revival style church building sits under a scaffold at the corner of West 86th and Amsterdam Avenue. With its ornate windows and a tower at least 10 stories high that overlooks the intersection, the building sets itself apart from most others in this primarily residential neighborhood.

The West Park Presbyterian Church on 86th and Amsterdam. The church, which has recently been declared a landmark, is now up for sale.

This building—West Park Presbyterian Church—has had more than its fair share of controversy, the latest of which involving its designation as a New York City Landmark. The city’s Landmark Preservation Commission voted to make the church a landmark in January, and that vote was upheld by the City Council, making it official on May 13.

Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Starbucks: Who’s the coffee king of the Upper West Side?

Dunkin' Donuts on 89th and Broadway, just one of many locations that's part of a recent upswing in openings of the coffee chain.

Competition is brewing on the Upper West Side.

For years, Starbucks has been dominating the coffee business on the Upper West Side. There are 16 – yes, 16 – Starbucks locations in the neighborhood, most of which opening in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. In fact, when Starbucks came to New York City in 1994, they opened their first location on 87th Street and Broadway. Oddly enough, it is the only Upper West Side location to have ever closed down (it shut its doors in 2003, a Capital One bank now takes its place.) However, Starbucks may have reason to be jittery, and it has nothing to do with caffeine.

Enter the challenger: Dunkin’ Donuts.