By Jason Scheer
In the Easter Sunday edition of the church's bulletin, the Rev. Donald Baier issued a statement to his parishioners. "As many of you know, we have been facing an uphill struggle with the Village of Malverne in our effort to expand our church," the pastor wrote. "As a result of the most recent requirements placed on the project by the Village to conform to residential patterns of lot coverage and upon considering the advice of our legal counsel, I am sorry to have to inform you that at this time we will be placing a hold on further actions regarding our proposed church expansion."
Baier declined to comment further on the matter, and representatives from the Diocese of Rockville Centre did not return several phone calls.
More than 750 parishioners pledged money for the expansion project, which was expected to be voted on by the Malverne village zoning board last Thursday. Several parishioners exiting Our Lady of Lourdes Church services last weekend wondered what will become of the approximately $1.8 million donated for the addition.
"All I want to know is, where is that money and what will become of it?" said one parishioner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"The zoning board was ready to vote, and it looked like it was in favor of the church, so I can't imagine what happened," another parishioner said.
"What's plan B?" asked another church-goer.
To that end, Baier said in his statement, "I want to thank those of you who donated your time and money to this project, and I intend to follow up with you individually to understand your wishes regarding your support."
Expansion plans were first discussed internally four years ago. At the time, discussions centered on the ramifications of a priest shortage. With fewer priests, the church would have to host fewer weekend Masses, meaning that more people would attend any given Mass. Baier suggested expansion as a means of eliminating the problem of an overcrowded, understaffed institution.
At the same time, parishioners and Baier recognized a need for handicapped access to the church. Expansion would help satisfy this need as well, they said.
But nearly 200 parishioners opposed the plans, claiming they did not have enough input in the process and would prefer to have the church made handicapped-accessible without drastically altering the building layout. The members of both sides voiced their opinions at several Board of Zoning Appeals meetings over the past seven months.
In December, the church issued a scaled-down expansion project to the Board of Zoning Appeals. In the modified plan, the size of the church was reduced from 2,734 square feet to 1,700. In addition, the total number of seats in the church has been reduced from 617 to 543, with 498 seats in the pews and the rest in the nave and for the music ministry. Furthermore, the total lot coverage of the church was reduced to 29.9 percent, in line with the BZA's recommendation of 30 percent.
In his statement, Baier said that the reduced expansion plan didn't sufficiently meet the needs of the church. "The modifications to the plan that would be necessary for it to conform to the Village requirements would reduce the size of our 'expanded' church to the point where it would fall significantly short of what was defined in the original feasibility study," he said. "I have been also advised that legally challenging village requirements would be time consuming and expensive and the outcome uncertain."
In addition, Baier announced in his statement that he will be transferring to another parish after his term as pastor expires after 12 years in June. "Bishop Murphy [leader of the Diocese of Rockville Centre] had asked me to extend my term if the building project was to proceed," he said. "I have recently requested that I receive a new assignment in June."
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