Zoning board mulls St. Demetrios expansion

The fate of a long-debated expansion of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church is now in the hands of the Town’s zoning board. 

On June 1, the Town of Hempstead Board of Appeals heard hours of testimony both for and against the project, which would add a 36,000-square-foot structure at the corner of Hewlett and Annette avenues.

Board members also had before them roughly 100 letters from passionate residents on both sides of the issue, with those opposed concerned about their neighborhood’s character and their property values.

If given the green light, the expansion would house 10 religious education classrooms, the pastor’s offices, a gymnasium and a kitchen, and allow the church to offer more programs for youth in the community, according to the church’s minister, the Rev. Nikiforos Fakinos.

“We will be building classrooms and a beautiful gymnasium, where we can respond to some of the problems plaguing Long Island youth,” Fakinos told the Herald.

Residents challenging the proposal pleaded their cases to Hempstead Town Councilwoman Erin King Sweeney, Legislator Steve Rhoads (R, D-19) and New York State Assemblyman Dave McDonough before the hearing.

While Rhoads and McDonough did not take positions, King Sweeney wrote a letter to the board opposing the expansion. She cited the possibility of traffic congestion, noise disturbances and overdevelopment of the Merrick Gables, as well as a recent recommendation by the Nassau County Planning Commission, whose members said the board should reject the proposal. According to King Sweeney, the NCPC said that the new building would be “out of scale with the surrounding single-family homes.”

Out of character?

At the hearing, Fakinos said that most of the activities the church offers, including sports programs, worship classes and social and philanthropic events, are confined to its basement.

“Obviously, we are limited because of our lack of space,” he said, adding that under the new construction plan, the church basement would be used as a storage space for supplies that are currently boxed in parishioners’ homes.

Leigh Pollet, a real estate consultant working for the opposing residents, who were uniformly recognized at the hearing as “the Merrick Neighbors Group,” agreed with King Sweeney, saying that the community center would be too large in proportion to the residential area in which it would be built.

“The introduction of a non-homogenous, urban-neighborhood, commercial-type-use structure is clearly, and intuitively, out of ‘character’ for this residential neighborhood,” she said.

St. Demetrios currently owns eight dwellings in the nearby residential area, five of which would be demolished under the church’s plan to make room for the community center and parking lot. According to Barry Nelson, the church’s real estate expert, the remaining three would stay as parishioner-owned dwellings for church use, “maintaining [the neighborhood’s] residential character,” he said.

In a letter to the zoning board, the Merrick Neighbors Group also claimed, however, that the church has been “leaving [its dwellings] vacant and letting them go downhill.”

Pollet presented photos that she took of the dwellings, alongside photos she took of the surrounding residential homes. The dwellings owned by the church appeared in worse condition, with chipped paint and weathered façades.  

 Impact on property values

“Our quiet neighborhood will now be turned into a commercial area with activities constantly going on,” read the letter from the Merrick Neighbors Group.

Bill Cody has lived at 26 Kenny Ave. since 1978, before St. Demetrios was built, and said he fears that his home’s value would decrease after the expansion. "Who's gonna want to buy a house next to a big building?" he said before the hearing.

While the expansion has raised concerns about property values, Nelson said that the sale of the homes on Annette and Kenny avenues have increased since the construction of the church and nearby businesses. Because of this, he believes the expansion “will [have] no adverse affect on surrounding property values.”

However, because the church plans to demolish five of its eight dwellings, residents said that this could leave them with higher property taxes across the board. Members of the Erdmann family addressed that concern in a letter to the zoning board, arguing that any increase in property taxes would be detrimental to those living on fixed incomes.

Traffic and parking

Robert Bowen, 72, of Kenny Avenue, said that he is concerned about parking issues. Before the hearing, he told the Herald that "[the] roads are too narrow for emergency trucks to get down the block," and that the traffic congestion could be dangerous. The same concern was addressed in the Merrick Neighbors Group letter.

At the hearing, Fakinos argued, though, that the creation of a circular, 253-space parking lot would prevent traffic from becoming a burden and, perhaps, reduce the traffic that already exists.

The Board of Appeals was continuing to mull the arguments at press time on Monday. Look for a report on the outcome in an upcoming edition of the Herald.