By: Andrew Coen
After recently signing a 99-year lease agreement with Temple Israel of Lawrence, at 140 Central Ave., to build a two-story, 62,000-square-foot facility on the east side of the synagogue property, where the synagogue's original wing now sits, JCC officials are reaching out to various leaders in the Jewish community to see what they think about the plans. The proposed facility was designed by Inwood architect John Capobianco.
The new building, which would be run separate from Temple Israel, would be in addition to the 28,000 square feet of space the JCC rents from the reform temple for the agency's early-childhood center and summer camp. The new JCC facility would include a pool, gymnasium, exercise room, auditorium, as well as classrooms and an art studio.
"It provides a greater expansion of services for the entire community," JCC Executive Director Rina Shkolnik said of the plans.
Shkolnik said the JCC plans to conduct a feasibility study of the project by having an outside company determine how much money is needed to both build and maintain the facility. JCC officials estimated that the cost for building the facility would be somewhere between $25-$30 million.
"I think it's wonderful if they can have a place that can have more programs," said Eli Hirmes, president of the Five Towns Jewish Council.
The JCC also plans to acquire two houses owned by Temple Israel adjacent to the synagogue on Fulton Avenue, to create a lot that would increase parking on the property from 74 to 225 spots. JCC officials have emphasized that Fulton, which is a quiet dead-end street, will not see an increase in traffic since the agency will only use the road for emergency access and that the main entrance will be off Central Avenue.
"We're not going to interfere," Shkolnik said of how the proposed center will not cause any disturbance to Fulton Avenue residents. "I want the neighbors to feel comfortable."
While the new JCC facility would be located on Temple Israel's grounds, Shkol nik emphasized that the not-for-profit agency will remain completely separate from the congregation. "Yes, it is on the same property, but it's two separate entities," she said.
JCC officials said some ultra-Orthodox community members have expressed concerns about plans to build a new facility on the property of a reform temple, but added that they expect most of the Jewish community to be receptive to the planned location. "They have a tremendous piece of property that is centrally located for what we're looking for," said JCC President Michael Ratner. "The fact that they are a reform synagogue is a coincidence."
Some local Orthodox leaders from a group called "The Five Towns Jewish Complex" have even contacted Nassau County, which owns an 11-acre parcel behind the Costco Wholesale Store along the Inwood-North Lawrence border, about building a similar facility that would house separate pools for males and females. JCC officials said they studied that site and determined that it would not be a suitable location for the agency.
Since its inception 26 years ago, the JCC, formerly known as the YM-YWHA, has operated from an antiquated 7,900-square-foot building on Grove Avenue in Cedarhurst that, according to officials for the agency, is too small to offer the kind of programs they would like to. In addition to serving the Jewish community of the Five Towns, the JCC also offers services to Far Rockaway, Valley Stream, East Rockaway, Lynbrook and Malverne.
In an effort to raise the necessary money to construct a new facility and to relocate, the JCC has held several fund-raisers during the last few years. The organization was one of more than 20 bidders that offered to purchase the former Number One School property in Lawrence. But the Lawrence school board selected Neuberg Development LLC, which plans to build condominiums on the site.
While the JCC is designed to service the entire Jewish community as well as non-Jews in the South Shore area, Ratner acknowledged that with the Five Towns becoming more and more Orthodox, the JCC will work hard to customize their offerings to meet the needs of the expanding community. One way the JCC plans to accommodate the Orthodox community is by arranging the swimming schedule so that the pool is used separately by males, females and families, as per Orthodox Jewish custom. The schedule will apply to the Orthodox, as well as non-Orthodox Jews.
"Because of the makeup of the community, our efforts are primarily geared toward serving the Orthodox community," said Ratner, pointing out that 90 percent of the children enrolled in JCC's early childhood center are Orthodox.
Temple Israel has been beset with some financial challenges in recent years with the changing demographics in the Five Town with fewer and fewer reform Jews living in the area, and temple officials hope these obstacles would be lifted if the JCC deal goes through as a result of the yearly revenue they would receive from the agency.
Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown said he has not seen the plans and is unsure if the JCC would need to get any variances from the village for the project to go forward. "It sounds like a very nice concept," said Levenbrown. "It is just a question of working out the details."
If the JCC moves into Temple Israel, which has existed in Lawrence since the early 1930s, it will join other outside agencies in utilizing the synagogue. Besides the JCC Early Childhood Center and summer camp operating out of Temple Israel, an all-girls' yeshiva called Gamla High School moved into Temple Israel in September 2003 and the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach's Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys also once called the synagogue home.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
