Billie Jean King Rallies Protest Against Natural History Museum Expansion

Billie Jean King speaks at protest at American Museum of Natural History on Feb. 2, 2019/ Photo by Betsy Kim

NEW YORK CITY—“Whose park?” “Our park!” “Whose park?” “Our park!” The call-and-response chant recurred with approximately 130 people gathered on the steps of the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Saturday. Organized by the Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park, they were protesting the museum’s plans to expand by building a $383 million, five-story, 230,000-square-foot development, the Gilder Center.

The museum’s website states that approximately 80% of the project will be located within the area currently occupied by the museum. It says three existing museum buildings will be removed to minimize the center’s footprint in the park. The expansion is planned for a quarter acre, approximately 11,600 square feet.