5 Minutes with . . . Lincoln Center’s Mariko Silver

By Laurence Vittes | From the September/October 2025 issue of Strings

When Lincoln Center unveiled its $335 million redesign of Damrosch Park in May, the New York Times heralded it as an opportunity to “right old wrongs.” The most symbolic of those wrongs: the demolition of a 1950s-era garage wall that had long cut the arts complex off from the public housing across Amsterdam Avenue. Designed during the Robert Moses era, Lincoln Center displaced more than 7,000 residents—many from the now-vanished, culturally rich San Juan Hill neighborhood—and replaced their homes and businesses with marble and music.

Now, a different kind of construction is underway. The redesign envisions Damrosch Park as an open, inclusive performance space. Gone will be the concrete and closed gates. In their place, a 2,000-seat amphitheater, shady gathering spaces, and walkable tree-lined paths. Construction is planned to begin in spring 2026 and be completed two years later.

The project does not extend physically into the public housing developments, but its reach is symbolic—and potentially catalytic. As Lincoln Center tears down its western wall and opens to Amsterdam Avenue, it is not only inviting the city in, it is signaling a desire to go out into the city—engaging new communities, embracing long-overlooked neighbors, and eliminating boundaries between the arts campus and daily life. For Lincoln Center, it’s an overture in both directions, with the hope that by becoming more accessible and rooted in the surrounding city, it, too, will be strengthened, refreshed, and newly relevant.

When Mariko Silver was named Lincoln Center’s president and CEO in 2024, the project had been announced but the design had not yet been unveiled. Much of the heavy lifting—especially in fundraising—still lay ahead. I spoke to Silver about her role at Lincoln Center, the ongoing project, and what the organization hopes to achieve with it. 

You’re a native New Yorker?

I grew up on the Upper West Side, so this neighborhood and Lincoln Center have been home to me since the day I was born, and I feel so lucky. Some of my most formative experiences with the performing arts were at Lincoln Center: Cecilia Bartoli in her Met debut, Anything Goes starring Patti LuPone, Mbongeni Ngema’s Sarafina!, of course The Nutcracker—those shows and more helped to shape my view of myself and of the world. I remember, even as a kid, feeling a true sense of wonder and inspiration. To now hold this role of president of Lincoln Center is a dream I didn’t know I had. It’s a true honor and privilege.

Why did Lincoln Center decide to undertake this project?

Lincoln Center is a beacon, providing a home for some of the world’s greatest performers. With this new project, we will extend the incredible joy and connection of the arts that lives throughout campus to our western side and Damrosch Park.

The park has been a place for free programming for decades, but it doesn’t have the infrastructure needed for optimal artist and audience experiences, and it’s simply not a welcoming space. We’re creating a more green, more open, and more welcoming world-class performance park. 

What is Lincoln Center hoping to achieve?

We are so honored to have envisioned this park together with community members, and we are thrilled that the beautiful design will help Lincoln Center and its neighbors fulfill so many dreams—including an extraordinary new theater for 2,000 people, far more green space, shade, spaces to gather with family and friends, small performance areas that can be activated by neighbors and students.

We will create a performance park that meets the needs of our neighbors and welcomes all New Yorkers for the extraordinary performances for which Lincoln Center is known worldwide. 

How was the design developed?

That’s an important question. Before we ever put pen to paper to start designing, Lincoln Center leadership and staff spent months asking questions and listening to community leaders and local residents to learn about their experiences with our campus and their dreams for the future. This very intentional process has, to date, engaged thousands of our neighbors.

The priorities the design addresses reflect so much of what we heard from New Yorkers and what artists working today need in an outdoor performance space. By removing the wall at Damrosch Park, we will be able to create a more welcoming entrance and better serve close neighbors, including residents of the New York City Housing Authority campuses at Amsterdam Houses and Addition, students of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, and the five high schools at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Complex. 

Why do you think it will be good for the arts?

The arts are core to thriving communities, and New York is one of the greatest cities in the world for art lovers. The arts thrive when they are in conversation with the world around them. As a premier performing arts center, it’s our responsibility to invite all our neighbors and visitors to experience our incredible programming and to dream alongside the artists and students who call Lincoln Center home. We believe that arts are fundamental to our humanity and should be accessible. This project helps us better deliver on our founding promise of the arts for all. 

Why you think it will be good for the surrounding communities?

This investment is all about bringing the arts to more New Yorkers and providing artists with an unparalleled outdoor venue. Currently, the park is primarily concrete and is largely closed during load-in and load-out of performance season. This new design will allow us to keep the park open for much more of the year, as well as during performances. We are proud of the way the voices of so many New Yorkers have shaped the design, and we’re eager to see how this new design allows more New Yorkers to experience the joy of the arts.