Whistle-Blowers Say Kennedy Center Put Off the Repairs It Now Cites for Its Closure

A group of former Kennedy Center employees has told Congress that the institution set aside plans to fix its leaking roof overhangs earlier this year, even though officials now describe those leaks as a serious hazard that justifies closing the main building, The New York Times reports.

A lawyer for the unnamed whistle-blowers sent internal documents to House and Senate committees that oversee the center. According to the Times, the filing says federal funds for the roofing work had already been secured, a design contract had been approved, and the project was then halted in the spring at the direction of executive director Matt Floca. The former employees also allege that some money earmarked for waterproofing was redirected to the project that repainted the building's exterior columns.

The center disputes that account. Floca told the Times that the design work was paused because bids came in far above estimates, that the repairs have since been folded into a larger renovation plan, and that inspections this summer showed the damage was more extensive than previously known.

The building's condition has been central to the administration's case for a two-year shutdown and renovation, funded in part by $257 million from Congress. Earlier this year, center leadership led lawmakers and reporters on tours of the building's disrepair as the closure plan headed to court, and the board voted again in August to move forward with it.

Critics have argued the closure has more to do with money than maintenance. In August, court filings showed ticket sales and fundraising had fallen sharply, and by mid-September leadership was warning trustees of possible bankruptcy. Days later, the board voted to close the main building immediately, citing safety concerns, while a smaller annex remains open for limited programming.

The dispute has played out alongside a separate legal fight over the building's name. A federal judge blocked the board's latest attempt to add Trump's name to the exterior, after which the President said the center could be torn down if his administration does not prevail. A judge has since ordered the center to give 30 days' notice before any major physical changes, including demolition, and thousands of demonstrators rallied outside the building last week.

Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, whose committee received the whistle-blower filing, have accused leadership of using the maintenance problems as cover for the institution's financial and artistic decline.