Temple sale spurs new civic group in Hewlett

The planned sale of Hewlett’s Congregation Beth Emeth’s building to Lilies International Christian Outreach concerns some residents who live nearby.

Members of a newly formed civic organization, the Hewlett Residents Association, point to potential parking problems on the narrow roadway, as well as safety concerns. The church is known to hold its services in large venues, so it may exceed the building’s legal occupancy.

Hewlett Neck resident Peter Halperin said that the 20-member association — established about a month ago — was founded because of the announcement of the sale. “We don’t believe this will be a safe environment for all those in our community,” Halperin said.

Beth Emeth has a membership of 100 families. Lilies International’s membership is not mentioned on its website, but photos of its monthly Sunday services in hotel ballrooms show crowds of several hundred people. Halperin said that the church’s large gatherings will create traffic congestion on Franklin Avenue that could result in accidents and impede emergency vehicle response time.

In 1957, the Town of Hempstead granted the temple, then known as the Hewlett Temple, an off-site parking variance. The town gave the then Jewish Conservative congregation permission to build a 15,000-square-foot temple without the requisite number of parking spots. There is also a town parking lot adjacent to the building.

“If it is remaining a religious use and not changing its occupancy number, it can run it ‘as of right’ with no additional permits needed,” said town spokeswoman Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky. “It is my understanding that the property has an off-street parking variance and it will carry over as long as the owners don’t change the occupancy.” The town’s permitted capacity is 320, which is posted inside the temple.

Congregation Beth Emeth, which became a Reconstructionist Jewish congregation in the 1990s, is selling the building to Lilies International for $2.4 million. The sale was approved by the state attorney’s general office, as required, but it is still awaiting approval by a Nassau State Supreme Court judge, which is expected by month’s end, according to Gary Carlton, an attorney representing Congregation Beth Emeth. The congregation is planning to lease space from Central Synagogue in Rockville Centre.

Not everyone in the area shares the Hewlett Residents Association’s concerns. Gloria McGory, a Franklin Avenue resident who has lived across the street from the temple for 40 years, said the parking problems are worse on weekdays, when vehicles park on the street and speed around the bend from East Broadway onto Franklin Avenue.

“We got along fine with the temple,” said McGory, who added that the only problem neighbors had with the temple was when it rented space to a yeshiva six years ago and school buses lined up on Franklin Avenue with the engines running. “I hope it all works out,” she said.

Another neighbor, Dominic Crici, also recalled the buses and the “atrocious smell” of diesel fuel that fouled the air. Crici, a 50-year resident, said that as long as the church doesn’t have a school that uses buses, he is fine with Lilies International taking ownership of the building. “… [I]t will be all right as long as they don’t run a school,” he said.

Halperin said that neither he nor anyone else from the association has contacted the church group or raised their concerns with any town official. “This is not racist in any way,” he said. “It is … less about the church than community safety.”

The Rev. Elsie Obed leads Lilies International. Based on information on the church’s website, Obed is married to the Rev. Olusegun Obed of Dayspring Church in New York. She holds monthly Sunday services in hotel ballrooms such as the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan. The church’s June 17 gathering was at the Marriot Marquis in Times Square.

Obed founded LICO nine years ago. According to its website, she has a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Florida State University and a master’s degree in social education from Boston University. A call for comment had not been returned by press time.