From the Times Ledger:Bayside community leaders said they want the city to investigate whether a controversial Korean church being constructed in the community complies with the terms of its mortgage.
The house of worship, being built at 26-18 210th St. in Bayside, has riled up residents living along 27th Avenue and 210th Street, who say the building is out of character with the neighborhood.
City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) said his understanding of the situation was that the mortgage for the property was obtained for a residential home. The property’s developer demolished a house at the site and has been constructing a church.
“They financed it through a mortgage, but it was not obtained for a commercial establishment or church,” Halloran said. “By destroying the house, they may have violated the terms of their mortgage. If they intended to do this from the outset, they may have committed mortgage fraud.”
A spokeswoman for the city Department of Buildings said the developer filed an application in July 2008 to convert the existing home at the site into a place of assembly, but the application was disapproved and withdrawn.
In August 2008, the developer filed an application to demolish the existing home at the site and by March 2009 the house was knocked down, the spokeswoman said. The site underwent a change of occupancy and use that same month.
In spring 2008, former Councilman Tony Avella said the Emigrant Mortgage Co., which provided the loan for the church, was planning to begin foreclosure proceedings at the site.
Halloran said the property had been put into foreclosure, but the church’s developer could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Emigrant Mortgage Co. could not track down information on the property to determine whether it had been foreclosed.
The deed for the property lists Kyung Jin and Kwan Ok Chung as its purchasers. A pastor at Flushing’s Jesus Covenant Church said last year that the two institutions are interrelated.
13 comments:
That picture is misleading. The "church" has already been built.
"A pastor at Flushing’s Jesus Covenant Church said last year that the two institutions are interrelated."
Of course they are interrelated.
Every time you get more than 3 koreans in the same room, they form a church. And buy a van for said church.
Its a tax/income/real estate scam.
I want to know if the property has been foreclosed??
Good looking out Dan! I am so glad I don't feel like my vote was wasted.
Did Jin or Chung contribute to Kevin Dukun Kim's failed run for the 19th district?
H-m-m-m....maybe Ackerman can "smooth out" some difficulties with this site.
(In return for friend Nussbaum receiving Asian contracts for opening Shanghai Entertainment Ltd. sex clubs overseas)?
The underlying problem is the fact that these so called "Community Facilities" can be built "as of right." We need to eliminate the use of "as of right" when it comes to construction that doesn't fit within the character of the community even if what is being built is a "community facility."
C-mon Steve...don't make me sorry I voted for you.
As of right...yes...partially.
BUT...THEY MUST PROVIDE THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES FOR A CHURCH.
Did they?
WE ALSO NEED TO DEFINE THE TERMS "SATURATION" OR "OVERSATURATED" MORE SPECIFICALLY IN PROPER LEGALESE AS IT PERTAINS TO "AS OF RIGHT" CONSTRUCTION.
Right now "SATURATION" can be interpreted so loosey-goosey in the courts that you can drive a train through it!
i.e.
When is a nabe "saturated" with too many community facilities...huh?
When it reaches 20% or 30% of the existing residential stock per nabe?
Nobody SPECIFIED THIS when the law was written.
Was this an ignorant omission by some piss poor city lawyers or a crafty deliberate one to provide loopholes for connected community facility builders?
Anonymous - Thank You for Your Vote!
I actually think we're in agreement here. There are many issues here and parking is just one of them.
The effect on the whole area needs to be taken into account...not just parking. Traffic, the residential character of the block, the need in the community, etc. With "as of right" none of these issues are taken into account. Its just a rubber stamp. If we remove the "as of right" status, we'd be able to have these issues reviewed and discussed in the community. In addition, we could also discuss the fiscal reality that these buildings will come off the tax rolls. We're losing real tax dollars when these properties come off the tax rolls!
Once again, thank you for the vote...I hope you'll vote for me again in the future...
the Chinese day care center ,in a hole ,is again being worked on. it is located at 196-29 42 avenue. corner of Francis Lewis Blvd. after a few months of STOP WORK ORDERS.
this is an "as of right"project as well. being built in the bed of a street,with no parking,pick-up or drop-off space.about 300, 2-5 year olds will be" cared" for there.
squeeze,squeeze them in,Main Street style.
Then how about taxing these "churches". Mr. Behar?
There's NOTHING in the U.S. Constitution that prohibits this.
There are, in fact, municipalities in the United States THAT DO tax churches!
By the way...the Old Quaker Meeting House in Flushing DOES make some payment IN LIEU OF TAXES amounting to what they consider their fair share...because they avail themselves of city services like everyone else.
A lot of these Korean "churches" are mere fronts for businesses run out of them!
After the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's lucrative "Unification Church" (more like the Unification Real estate company) was broken up...the vacuum was filled by decentralizing the mega "church" into little ones!
It's time that IRS start scoping these local "churches" to see what they're really up to.
1978 Korea people rescue Flushing from arsonists!
In such time of war, we should insist that any public assembly of more than ten mandatorily be only in English! We have freedom of worship and speech, but not language. On the Thursday before Easter Greeks chant pogrom inciting Beatitudes against "godslaying lawless Jews"in Greek, but change it to "Assemby of Jews" in English. They removed American Archbishop Iakovos because he was too American and Jerusalem Patriarch Irineos because he was too friendly with Israelis. Old witches who used to work at diners until they dropped now slip "Elder Protocols" and other terror claptrap in the pews.
Post a Comment