The existing, one-story parish center is located adjacent to St. Thomas More Church. Photo by John Schilling
There was a brief “break from summer break” for Community Board 14 on Thursday, July 18, as members of the Land Use and Housing Committee gathered on Zoom to consider a proposed development of an accessory community center in the fundraising stage for Blessed Trinity Parish in Breezy Point.
The proposed project, which has been in the works for over a year, aims to improve the parish’s existing “Msgr. Connelly Parish Center” that is located adjacent to St. Thomas Church at 204-25 Rockaway Point Blvd.
“The building now is showing its age,” said Rev. Michael Gelfant, the pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish. “It was built in the ‘50s; it was originally just a parish hall. There were then an add-on of bathrooms, and at that time, it was a summer-only community, so it worked. But now, with the damage from Hurricane Sandy that continues to ravage this building and now an increase in our population in Breezy Point, it became a necessity for us to look at the possibility of us doing something with the building.”
After considering multiple approaches, the parish ultimately decided that the best path forward is to completely demolish the existing, one-story parish center in favor of a new, two-story building that can “meet the needs” of the growing community and the parish’s programmatic needs, including the youth sports program.
While the existing parish center includes a basketball court, its 70-foot-long and 34-foot-wide court size is below that of a standard-size high school basketball court, which measures about 84 feet long and 50 feet wide.
According to Gensler, the architecture firm behind the project, the new parish center would include a 6969-square-foot basketball court on its second floor, allowing for programming for the approximate 380 children enrolled in the Blessed Trinity Sports program, as well as an additional 400 children not currently enrolled due to the space restrictions.
The space would also include room for spectators with retractable bleachers and serve as an “emergency shelter” in the event of another natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy.
As for the building’s first floor, the new parish center would include a pantry, storage space, locker rooms, a fitness room, and a 3156-square-foot, multi-purpose room to be utilized by the Golden Age Club, the Mommy and Me program, the Youth Ministry program, and programs for community members with autism.
In order for the new parish center to be built, however, the applicant team is requesting variances of six sections on the zoning resolution through an application to the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA).
Since the parish property falls within an R4 zoning district, Blessed Trinity Parish is permitted to construct the building with various measurements “as-of-right,” but the project requires exceptions to these limits as it relates to the front yard, side yards, rear yard equivalent, height & setback, inner court, and parking.
These variance requests typically require that the applicants demonstrate unique physical conditions and “a reasonable return.” Since Blessed Trinity Parish is a non-profit applicant, however, they are not required to provide “a financial justification” for the application, according to Richard Lobel, a zoning and land use attorney from Sheldon Lobel PC on the applicant team. Similarly, religious institutions are not required to show “uniqueness” but merely state their program needs.
As a result, Blessed Trinity Parish only has to address how the development fits in with the “neighborhood character,” if the project stems from “self-created hardship,” and if the requested variances are the “minimal variances” needed to satisfy the project.
St. Thomas More Church is located at 204-25 Rockaway Point Blvd. in Breezy Point. Photo by John Schilling
Lobel addressed these aspects of the project before the committee, explaining that the new building “fits well within the surrounding community,” the needs are self-created, and they are requesting only the minimum waivers. He also clarified that Blessed Trinity is not going beyond its property lines, even though the existing parish center is 5267 square feet and the new parish center would measure up to 17,748 square feet.
“This is not an issue of square footage; we’re not asking for any square footage or floor area greater than what already would be allotted to the church,” Lobel explained. “They have more than twice the available square footage; they just have problems utilizing it in a layout to allow them to satisfy their program.”
After a presentation of the project, Committee member Maria Foreman inquired about the impact that the project could have on the neighboring houses, especially one house in particular that sits to the west of the church. The applicant team, along with Committee Chair Denise Lopresti, put this concern to rest, noting that the resident already knows about the project.
“The house to the west already abuts and is a neighbor of the church as it is,” said Lopresti, who is also the general manager of the Breezy Point Cooperative. “From my perspective, I don’t see any difference in this addition doing any more than what it is doing today.”
Following Foreman, Committee member Wayneisha Fowles asked if the new building could be rented for community events, something Gelfant confirmed would not be the case due to liability concerns.
“I don’t envision that building being empty long enough to have a baby shower; they can go across the street to one of the restaurants for that,” Gelfant said. “I don’t want to get involved in the catering business,” he joked.
One last question came from committee member Josephine Gonzalez, who asked where the parish’s children will go for sports during construction, which is expected to last 12-18 months. Gelfant responded that the plan is to temporarily move the program to other facilities at the parish’s expense, with ideas ranging from renting out Aviator across the Marine-Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in Brooklyn or renting available gyms throughout Rockaway.
After these inquiries, the Land Use and Housing Committee voted to support the request with unanimous approval, allowing the project to move forward to CB14’s September meeting, where the committee will present its recommendation before the full board votes on it.
In the meantime, the Land Use and Housing Committee agreed to provide a letter of support for the project ahead of its BSA hearing in mid-August, which prompted the committee’s Zoom meeting in the first place.
“We are very appreciative [of] the chair and the entire committee,” Lobel said in closing remarks. “We’re really excited about moving forward with the project.”
