Mormon Church Proposed at Old Salvation Army Building

A Mormon church may soon be the latest addition to the “Street of Churches,” also known as Willis Avenue, in Mineola.

The old Salvation Army building at 111 WIllis Avenue was recently purchased by the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints with the intention of remodeling the facility into a meeting house for a local congregation. The church purchased the three lot property in October 2010 and came before the for a special use permit hearing last Wednesday night at the .

Constructed in 1992, the building has a total square footage of 18,720, with 5, 421 sq. ft. of interior space and a 22 space parking lot in the rear. There are no plans for alterations which would expand the existing footprint or square footage. The church does plan on making the entrance handicapped accessible, enclosing the triangular vestibule currently supported by round pillars and installing new doors facing Willis Avenue, lighting and signage. Interior alterations include offices for clergy, a seating area for 106 and rooms for bible study.

There would be no commercial usage, no daycare or outside social groups. “It is strictly for the religious study and the religious practice of the church, which in accordance with the mission of the church,” attorney Michael Sahn said.

The church occasionally hosts Friday night socials for its various ministry groups – those aged 12 to 18, women’s groups who typically attend with their husbands –but while such events are infrequent according to Richard Hedberg, who handles real estate transactions for the church, said, “they do exist.” Any music played at the event would not go outside the building.

The chapel would be used on Sunday and two to three weekday evenings. Sunday services last for three hours, consisting of a chapel meeting then smaller study groups. Parishioners primarily meet in the morning for smaller groups then come back for family worship until the church decided to reorganize that all activities occur at one time during the 1970s in order to save gas. “What we have done is taken what you would probably find in many other churches as sort of spread out affairs and pushed them all into one three hour block,” Hedberg said.

Evening activities in the church typically run from 7 to 9 p.m. and “seldom” go any later. The congregation, numbering about 55-60 members, is currently using a building in Lynbrook, which Sahn says is no longer suitable.

Matthew Smith of Mineola-based Standard Valuation Services, a real estate consulting firm, said a commuter lot to the south of Second Street “plays to the grand scheme of things if you’re going to have a church,” adding that the adjacent lot “is never at capacity.”

Smith said that there would be “virtually” no daytime use during the week and “almost no traffic” during peak commuting times. “I don’t think that congestion will be a problem for the residents of Mineola,” Smith said.

“People are going to be coming in to see if there’s a place (to park),” Hedberg said. “If there’s not a place here I would just guess this is where they’re going to go. There’s certainly more parking in this area than we will ever use.” Metered parking also exists on Willis Avenue.

“It is not out of character for a church to be in this area or serving the village of Mineola or the surrounding area,” Smith said of the property, noting the other six houses of worship along Willis Avenue. He was also of the opinion that it would have no negative impact on the surrounding properties or their values.

The majority of the time only a maintenance person would be present during the daylight hours and some clerical office volunteers. “The leader of our congregation is very likely working during the day and is very unlikely to be at the meeting house during the day,” Hedberg said.

The group has been searching for a location in the Mineola area for some time. “We’re always trying to minimize everybody’s drive time,” Hedberg said since the church draws boundaries which defines where members meet. “We wanted to be over here (in Mineola), we just have not been able to find a place.” Between six to 10 Mormon families are estimated to live in Mineola, with some of them going to a worship house in Plainview while the others go to Lynbrook.

Hedberg said that as the congregation grows and due to having a lay ministry, he would look to divide the congregation when it reaches 106 with one group attending in the morning and one in the afternoon with an hour in between to allow parishioners to come and go.

Church outreach programs involve genealogy and to the poor by “working with food commodities,” out of a central storehouse where a local leader would requisition items from the Bishop’s storehouse and then be shipped to the local church via a van to be delivered to individuals’ homes.

A 2,198 sq. ft. garage in the rear would be used as a storage area for maintenance equipment and supplies. The parking lot gate would also be automated to open and close remotely when the church is not in operation.

Hedberg said that the church would host a funeral but weddings are primarily performed in a temple, the closest of which is in Manhattan.

The cases were each labeled with a SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) resolution along with a negative declaration. The Nassau County Planning Commission will make a judgment on the case within the next thirty days which will then come back to the Mineola Village Board.