Kennedy Center Keeps Tarp Up Indefinitely as $285 Million Renovation Fight Deepens
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 19
Kennedy Center Keeps Tarp Up Indefinitely as $285 Million Renovation Fight Deepens
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 19
Summary
More than two months after scaffolding went up on June 12, Kennedy Center lawyers told a federal judge the tarp will stay for the foreseeable future with no estimate for removal.
Matt Floca, the center’s executive director, said the covering is needed for water testing, structural repairs and worker safety during planned roof-overhang renovation work.
Joyce Beatty’s lawyers called that explanation a pretext to keep John F. Kennedy’s name obscured, asked Judge Christopher Cooper to force a fuller explanation within 30 days, and raised concerns about possible marble damage.
The dispute now overlaps with the board’s latest move: trustees voted last week to add Trump’s name back to the exterior despite Cooper’s earlier ruling that the center must bear only Kennedy’s name under federal law.
Sept. 8 is the date the center’s lawyers pledged not to reinstall Trump’s name before, while Beatty is seeking a ruling blocking that plan and the broader renaming effort tied to a $100 million endowment proposal.