By Brian Zanzonico
The Rev. Sunny Philip, the church's spiritual leader, has set his sights on a building on Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square, and is in contract with its owner, Stephan Schector, to purchase the property for $1.5 million. The lease on the church's current home on Elmont Road in Elmont is set to expire.
Residents who live near the building, 820 Hempstead Turnpike, are opposed to the plan, saying the lack of parking will cause congregants to park on neighboring streets. Abutting the rear of the two-story, 3,550-square-foot building is a Town of Hempstead parking lot, where parishioners would park. The lot is often used by patrons of the Franklin Square Library, which is across the street on Lincoln Road, and the VFW Hall down the block, as well as shoppers. If a library event, VFW function and a church service were to take place at the same time, neighboring streets might be clogged with cars, neighbors said at a meeting with church officials and the church's attorney, William Cohn, last month.
According to the site plan, the basement would have a baptismal font, two bathrooms, an elevator and room for storage. The main floor would be the church sanctuary, with seating for 185. An old version of the plan called for four offices on the second floor, but the revised version, which will be presented June 20, provides for one office, three classrooms and room for storage.
Youth groups of about 50 people would meet from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays to watch Christian films and play games, church official Anil Mathew said. Saturdays and Sundays would be for religious instruction classes and worship from morning until early evening. Cohn said that the church has already stated that it would not host bazaars, bingo, rentals, funerals, baptisms before Sunday services, or Girl or Boy Scouts.
In recent weeks, rumors circulated around the neighborhood that the church would also double as a methadone clinic for recovering drug addicts, which led more than 150 people to attend the May meeting with church officials. Mathew said there was no truth behind to the rumor, and that, "We don't even know what methadone is."
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