By Kathianne Boniello
The rabbi of a Bayside synagogue which wants to reconstruct its 26th Avenue house of worship said this week he has been puzzled by community opposition to the construction.
Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky, who leads the congregation of the Chabad of Northeast Queens, said the house of worship was within its rights to rebuild.
“It’s normal to apply for construction,” said Blesofsky, who said he has hundreds of signatures in support of the Chabad plans. He could not give a specific number on the number of signatures collected.
The Chabad has been planning to convert a one-family home at the corner of 26th Avenue and 213th Street into a 9,000-square-foot house of worship. The group has been criticized in recent months by Bayside civic leaders, neighbors and Community Board 11. CB 11 has voted to deny the Chabad of Northeast Queens’ variance application twice.
Last month City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) condemned the construction as “outrageous” and said he would ask the city Board of Standards and Appeals to oppose the project.
Plans filed with the city show the reconstructed synagogue would include a kitchen, offices, classrooms, several bathrooms and a sanctuary with room for 140 people. Because there would be no fixed seating in the synagogue, the builder is not required to provide parking for the house of worship.
The rabbi said he has been particularly offended by suggestions from some of those opposed to the Chabad’s construction that the congregation was looking to profit from the rebuilding by creating space to host weddings and parties.
“We’re a nonprofit,” Blesofsky said. “I don’t understand where that comes from.”
The rabbi said the building’s planned ballroom is only 2,000 square feet, whereas a typical party facility is 6,000 to 10,000 square feet.
Blesofsky said this week the Chabad and its lawyer, Adam Rothkrug, had reshaped the building at the request of the BSA.
Originally, the Chabad had requested five variance applications. A group needs a variance when its planned construction exceeds the area’s zoning. The Chabad needed variances for its proposed building’s height and its distance from the street, among other things.
But Blesofsky said the plans for Yankel Rosenbaum Center at 26-06 213th St. have been revised to lower the height of the structure. In addition, the size of the building has been reduced, pushing it 10 feet back from the street instead of five feet from the street as first planned.
“What we’re doing is a very normal thing,” the rabbi said of the proposed construction.
The area on the south side of 26th Avenue, directly across from the retail center, is dominated by one-family homes and is on the edge of a large residential area. Residents have been particularly concerned about increased traffic in the area since the nearby Bay Terrace Shopping Center began an expansion late last year.
Citing the construction underway at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center, Blesofsky insisted he would not “play down” the effect his newly reconstructed building would have on neighborhood traffic.
But “we’re not going to make that much of a difference,” he said.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
