At the Feb. 11, 2003 meeting of the Levittown Property Owners Association, President Jim Morrow presided. Many of those present had been at the public hearing on Feb. 5 before the Board of Zoning Appeals of the Town of Hempstead, and those who had been unable to attend the hearing were anxious to hear the impressions brought from that event.

More than 80 residents attended the hearing; people came and left throughout, so the number might have been even higher. About 50 of those counted were LPOA members. Some members collected over 1200 letters from residents objecting to the plans of the St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church to construct a church at the North Village Green. These were submitted to the board. We were told that letters mailed before the hearing would be added to the complete file, but were not added in the record of the hearing that day. The official record would also include statements from numerous speakers from the community after statements from the church's attorney, real estate and traffic experts. Those of us present described some of the main issues brought out at the hearing, as follows:

The hearing was a marathon event, beginning at 2 p.m. and lasting through 9:15 p.m., with a half-hour break at 5 p.m. As President Morrow pointed out, the questions most of the residents directed to the pastor and the church's representatives dealt with traffic and safety of residents, particularly children. Hundreds of children ages pre-school through high school live in surrounding streets, it was pointed out by several speakers.

President Morrow led the Levittown speakers, aided by LPOA board members Joe Towell and Gary Fisch, and members Al Spencer, Peter and Christine Parrazzo, Marjorie Solverino-Transou, and many others. They gave eloquent comments on the comforts and amenities which the recreational facilities at the North Green had provided over the years. These include two swimming pools, a playground, a basketball court, and a bowling alley beside commercial convenience stores, a nursery school and Montessoris school.

There were several notable deficiencies noted by residents in the testimonies from the church's representatives. A traffic study was never made in this area of Hempstead Turnpike considered one of the most accident prone in NY state. Also, the access from the Turnpike is on two narrow streets; one of them, Wolcott Road, is crowded on Sundays with overflow from the Baptist Church located there, the other is busy Division Avenue to Church Street, both residential streets with many weekend-parked cars. The experts submitted photos of the parking lots taken on a Sunday about 8 a.m. in January - hardly a time when parking is excessive anywhere.

As for the schedule of church hours, Pastor Yohannan acknowledged they included hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays, with prayer services and mass, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays, evenings until 9 p.m. Fridays as well as weekends, events such as weddings, baptisms, funerals, special holidays, once or twice yearly national convention meetings. They would not operate after 9 p.m. These struck many as times the pools, bowling alley and other recreational facilities would most need parking space.

As for membership, the pastor gave out the figures of 60 families, then decreased it to 45. These numbers differ from the 70 families we were previously told are members. Asked if membership was expected to grow - a normal expectation - he said that it was not likely. Members would come from NY City and its boroughs, Westchester, and upstate, from Nassau and Suffolk counties, and for some occasions from all over the US. Only three members live in Levittown.

The congestion on local streets on weekends, the crowds requiring the 357 parking spaces in the three lots in the summer with swimming meets at the pool, weekend bowling leagues plus independent users make the 73 spaces required by the church excessive, and would result in diminished safety for residents. This was the overriding concern of most speakers.

Yet another important issue was raised concerning the question of whether or not this situation constitutes a conflict of church and state. A church serving almost exclusively non-Levittown residents, is tax exempt, but wishes to use municipal, tax-funded parking fields. Residents showed copies of their tax bills indicating they pay a combined park/pool district, street and parking field maintenance fee of over $400 yearly. Also, it was pointed out there are many vacant properties with ample parking on Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown, and three houses of worship (each with its own parking facility) are located there.

The historic purpose of the village greens was mentioned a number of times, but Chairman Wright insisted the topic of parking was the relevant issue.

Most of those attending felt the board members, Chairman Gerald G. Wright, and staff were patient, considerate, and fair, especially in view of the long hours stretching beyond dinner time. But there were complaints about acoustics, the talking and moving around by the audience. It was suggested Mr. Wright needed a microphone as the auditorium is quite large.

This detailed report about the hearing at the Board of Zoning Appeals was received by our meeting with general satisfaction. One member asked if the Zoning Board knew where the debris from the site demolition had been dumped. Another member complained that he had not been notified about the hearing although he resides within 100 feet of the site.

Surprisingly, someone commented, "They aren't going to listen to us." The LPOA members and other residents made hours of verbal statements, a written statement was submitted and many letters were delivered. The decision will indicate if Levittown residents are listened to by the Board of Zoning Appeals. In the past they always have been.

It was suggested that we invite our newly appointed Town of Hempstead Supervisor, Kate Murray, a resident of Levittown, to a future meeting.

The next meeting of the LPOA will be on March 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Levittown Public Library.