A resident at 415 CPW painted letters on her window as part of a political protest.
By Ernie Fritz
Residents in one Central Park West building found a unique way to make a political statement, making parts of their 17-story building into a large protest sign. Throughout the building, residents have written the word resist across their windows.
The display at 415 Central Park West between 101st and 102nd Street grew out of a series of informal meetings which began shortly after the election, and culminated with a group of tenants participating in the Women’s March on Washington, while another larger group marched in the protest here in New York up Fifth Avenue. “We have to continue and do something active” said one of the residents, and with that, this idea was born.
The “ragtag” group, whose members want to remain anonymous because this action is strongly against the wishes of both the co-op board and the managing agents, began putting up the letters and signs in their window early on Friday morning. A few joggers looked up at the display, while some people walking their dogs in the park stopped and took pictures.
The building as seen from Central Park. Click to enlarge.
The “Façade Project”, as it is called, is a four-day only affair and will end on Monday night, all coinciding with Presidents Weekend. “Originally, we had hoped to have a letter in each window, but because we actually have some Trump supporters in the building, only tenants with like-minded feelings participated” said another one of the residents. “Politically we focused our messages on being positive and productive.” For example, none of the signs call out Trump by name or any of his advisors.”
For the most part, the majority of signs spell out “Resist” and are spread out letter by letter across multiple windows. Where two like-minded residents live next to each other, the words span multiple apartments. Other signs read “Justice Now” and “Persist.” Most of the letters were cut out of card stock and all have an authentic homemade feeling. While the focus is clearly on the front of the building, the side and back of the building also have a few signs spread out in a few windows.
The building itself is a stately 1926, full-service, pre-war, co-op located directly across from Central Park and has, over the years, been home to scores of famous writers, singers and Jazz musicians such as Max Roach and Art Blakey.
Photos by Ernie Fritz.
