Along Amsterdam Avenue, Lincoln Center’s construction fence is turning into a massive welcome mat for the neighbors it once pushed out.
A new 6,000-square-foot mural is being painted in panels on the temporary wall as the campus gears up for a $335 million redesign of its west side. The piece, installed section by section before heavy construction starts, stitches together self-portraits from locals with images of historical figures tied to the lost San Juan Hill neighborhood. Artists and neighbors say the work is meant to pull residents in from the sidewalk, especially those living in nearby NYCHA developments, and invite them back into the park.
Commissioned artist Vanessa Alvarez led a community painting workshop with assistant artist Derval Fairweather, where dozens of neighborhood volunteers brushed in portraits and local iconography. “Empower the community. Give a voice to the community and to the people who really make this area,” Alvarez said, according to ABC7 New York. When all the painted panels are finally assembled on the fence, the station reported, the mural will stretch to roughly 6,000 square feet.
Design and timeline
Lincoln Center says the $335 million project will take down the concrete wall that has long walled off Damrosch Park from Amsterdam Avenue and replace it with open entrances, more trees and a new outdoor performance venue. The goal is to better connect the campus with surrounding streets and nearby public housing.
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and is expected to last about two years, according to Lincoln Center, which also notes that fundraising for the campaign is already well underway.
Remembering San Juan Hill
The mural intentionally looks back to San Juan Hill, the predominantly Black and Puerto Rican neighborhood that was razed in the late 1950s to make room for Lincoln Center. Organizers say the redesign is meant, in part, to acknowledge that history and surface stories that were buried with the buildings.
Coverage of the redesign and its symbolism has underscored the past displacement and the effort to bring those narratives into public view through art, as reported by CBS New York.
Community reaction
For people who picked up a paintbrush, the project is landing as more than a colorful backdrop for construction. Tibita Kaneene told ABC7 New York that letting children see a wide range of faces and stories on the fence “will serve him well in life.”
Neighborhood coverage also notes that the mural grew out of a community-led visioning process and collaborations with local groups, a visible signal organizers hope will help the campus read more like a good neighbor during the years of construction ahead, per ILoveTheUpperWestSide.
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