Kennedy Center renews call for Trump-backed shutdown after part of a ceiling collapses

A chunk of ceiling fell inside a main hallway of the Kennedy Center, according to a spokesperson who said the damage underscores the need to shut down the historic arts venue for renovations sought by President Donald Trump.

No one was injured when a piece of the ceiling inside the Kennedy Center’s grand foyer collapsed Friday evening, said Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president for public relations.

Photos provided by the center showed a large hole in the high ceiling and debris littering the red carpet in part of the hallway that connects the Kennedy Center’s three main performance auditoriums. The damage occurred during stormy weather in Washington.

The Kennedy Center’s Trump-aligned board is fighting in court to move forward with plans to add Trump’s name to the building’s facade and to close the center for two years as it undergoes $250 million in renovations.

Daravi called the partial ceiling collapse Friday “another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed.”

“This structural failure stems from decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership, and there’s no justification for further delays in restoring America’s cultural center,” Daravi said…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health