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Religious leaders help put church building plan back on track
The Church of Living Waters started to construct a building on property between 323 and 347 Albany Avenue almost 15 years ago. At the time, the congregation was led by Rev. Laura Todd, but Rev. Todd died in 1999, leaving the building unfinished. Rev. Howard L. Brigham took over the congregation on a temporary basis, and then several years later as a permanent senior Pastor. Since that time he has, he said, been attempting to resolve a number of major issues that have stalled the completion of the project. "We worked for three years to develop sound financial records so that we could complete paperwork and get the appropriate funding to build the church," said Brigham in discussing the problems his congregation faced. "Just as we had established our credibility, and got authorization from the Secretary of State, the lending institution went bankrupt and we had to start the process all over again." In addition, the church lost more than $40,000 on the partial construction when a contractor installed walls that were not built to standard. "We now have a new architect and expect to take down what is there and put in a new foundation within the next few weeks," said Brigham. Members of the Russell Court Civic Association had complained for years that the site looked abandoned and posed a health and safety hazard in the area. Members of the North Amityville Taxpayers Association agree that the site affects quality of life and real property values in the area. They asked the Town of Babylon to step in and force the congregation to take the partially constructed building down. Late last year, Babylon officials said they were prepared to do that, but delayed the work hoping that some resolution could be found. A story about the controversy appeared in the Amityville Record, alerting local religious leaders. Following that, approximately 25 members of the 110 Corridor of Pasters and the Ministerial Alliance of North Amityville and vicinity, representing churches in North Amityville and vicinity, got together with Rev. Brigham and asked what problems his congregation was facing, and what they could do to help. "Like the community, we had concerns about the site as well," said Rev. Pastor Roy Curtin of the Circle of Live Ministry Worldwide in Copiague in discussing the concerns of residents in the area. "But as religious leaders we were also concerned about the spiritual side of this issue and how it affects people's lives." Pointing to the numerous social, health and religious services local churches offer, Rev. Kirton said, "We have a better community because of the concentration of churches in this area and we did not want to see Rev. Todd's dream of building a church here be in vain." As a result, the Ministerial Alliance collected more than $5,000 to help the congregation move forward with its project, and continues to support the process. The Church of Living Waters has approximately 80 members who contribute financially to the church and who will each assume a portion of the debt for building their new church. Rev. Brigham said he expects the new building to be up within a year. Town officials confirmed this week that the church has applied for a demolition permit to take down the partially built structure, which according to Town spokeswoman Vanessa Baird Streeter, satisfies the town's concerns.
That brought mixed reactions from Noel Campbell, a spokesman for the Russell Court Civic Association. "They (Living Waters representatives) have made these claims before but nothing was done and I don't think anything will be done now," he said, adding that he maintains his concern that there are too many churches in the area. "The question is how many churches do we need? When we go to heaven is everyone up there going to be from North Amityville?" he asked.
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