MEDFORD, N.Y.—A large church building proposal is drawing criticism from local residents, according to Newsday. The Brookhaven Planning Board has yet to make a decision on the proposal from Grace Church, an independent, contemporary congregation of about 500 that currently meets in a cineplex.
The church is proposing a nearly 28,000-square-foot building on about 5.5 acres the congregation owns, according to Newsday. They plan a single-story white building with a glass peaked roof in the sanctuary.
The $2.8 million project includes a 9,000-square-foot auditorium to seat 500 people for worship services, a 5,000-square-foot foyer and fellowship center, a suite of offices and a number of multipurpose rooms, according to the Grace Church Web site, www.churchatthemovies.com. There also will be spaces for parking 300 cars, Pastor Roger Blackmore said.
Neighbors voiced concerns to the planning board over the large size of the building, the added traffic to the area and crime because of the church's food pantry, which some residents say will attract vagrants to the area.
"They're going to bring in every vagrant in the neighborhood," said Catherine Merrihew, 64, of Medford. "They're going to be walking our streets looking for handouts."
Blackmore says that's an unfounded fear.
"There will be no mass invasion of homeless hordes," he said.
"I honestly think people have been fed misinformation," said Blackmore. "They've been told that our presence will change the community and would bring chaos to this quaint residential area. But that's nonsense."
"It looks like a King Kullen supermarket," said Don Seubert, a local civic activist. "I don't see why it couldn't be made smaller and people would be more inclined to accept it."
