Upper Room sculpture to be destroyed for Battery Park City project

A towering sculpture that has graced Battery Park City’s waterfront for nearly four decades is being ripped down to make way for the ritzy nabe’s controversial resiliency plan — and the artist who built the beloved work is distraught over its loss.

Crews on Wednesday began demolishing “Upper Room” by artist Ned Smyth — previously appraised by the Battery Park City Authority at $1.5 million — to access the ground beneath that will soon become a tidal gate.

It is the only one of the BPCA’s 20 art installations that will be destroyed to make way for the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency (NWBPCR) project.

“I asked, ‘Why, I thought people really liked it?’ … Almost nothing I can do can stop them,” Smyth, 77, lamented to The Post.

The BPCA first alerted Smyth that his artwork would be demolished two years ago, telling the lauded artist that there was no chance of saving the interactive art piece that served as the backdrop to countless picnics, parties and pivotal moments for the neighborhood for decades.

“Upper Room” was Battery Park City’s first public art piece. Commissioned in 1986, the BPCA selected Smyth’s proposal because it would not only beautify the nabe, but would serve as a destination and meeting place.

The 20-column court along the Esplanade includes a long table adorned with chessboards to create an environment that the BPCA described as “a contemporary reimagining of an ancient Egyptian temple offering stylized sanctuary from the surrounding city even as it formally echoes the rhythms of its urban environment.”

The stunning piece and neighborhood hotspot was appraised at $1.5 million in 2019 — a price Smyth said was bewildering considering the authority was willing to demolish it.

“Why couldn’t it be moved?” Smyth, 77, wondered, saying he questioned why it couldn’t be relocated to the art gardens on Governors Island or in the open meadows along the West Side Highway.

“They didn’t want to pay, is the bottom line. It’s all about money, I think, and to rebuild it, I’d need to recast all the parts of it again and reset them — they were set on real foundations.”

But the BPCA said it’s not so simple. The aging sculpture has also shown signs of deterioration, but would have been difficult to relocate because the columns are filled with rebar, a spokesperson told The Post.

Plus, it is owned by the BPCA and there is no space on its property big enough where it could be relocated.

Its longtime home sits atop a space the authority is eyeing to construct a large tide gate that would mitigate future flooding in the event of the next Superstorm Sandy, as part of its NWBPCR project — leaving the BPCA no choice but to level “Upper Room.”

“Unfortunately, Upper Room must be removed for flood mitigation work necessary to protect lives and property in Battery Park City and beyond. While we have communicated this to the community and Mr. Smyth for over a year, we understand that the piece has been an indelible part of Battery Park City’s history, and, as its first public art piece, a foundational work in a collection that now includes 19 pieces by more than 20 artists throughout BPC,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The BPCA threw a solemn farewell ceremony to allow the community to enjoy Upper Room for one final time last month — a funeral Smyth was noticeably absent from and what one neighbor called “ghoulish.”

Neighbors are mourning the destruction, calling it the first major victim of the NWBPCR project.

“The authority’s decision to demolish it, I think, is pretty shocking and disappointing,” said John Dellaportas, the Vice President of The Battery Alliance, who pointed out the Upper Room sits on an elevated platform.

“I’ve lived in Battery Park City for 31 years, and in those 31 years, not one drop of water from the Hudson River has come within ten feet of the base of that unit, so the notion that that art piece has to be demolished for flood prevention is preposterous.”

Dellaportas is part of a collation of residents suing the BPCA over the NWBPCR project, claiming that the seawalls would permanently alter the character of the neighborhood.

Upper Room is so far the only art piece to fall victim to the project, but hundreds of trees are set to be razed in the process.

“We love living here because it is just a beautiful respite from the busyness of New York City. We have beautiful parks and public spaces and a beautiful waterfront and beautiful public art. And the Battery Park City Authority is going to destroy all that,” said Dellaportas.