Residents of NY area with many Filipinos oppose building of big church

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God wants to build a five-storey building on this current site in Woodside, Queens in New York.

SAN FRANCISCO – Hundreds of residents and business owners in the neighborhood around Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, Queens, have signed a petition against a religious group’s plan to build a bigger, five-storey church on the site of its current worship facility.

The neighborhood has a high concentration of Filipino residents and businesses concerned about the project’s possible negative impact on traffic and commerce. Some contend that it will be too big and too high for the neighborhood.

The Filipino American Democratic Club of New York recently submitted the petition to Community Board 2, which is mulling the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God’s bid for a new five-story church.

“Many of the people we talked to have cited the same concerns that you have,” club co-director Marian Guerra told the board, according to a report by the Queens Chronicle.

These concerns, she said, included “scarce parking potentially worsening,” traffic congestion “increasing in the busiest intersection already in this neighborhood” and “the unnecessary height” of the proposed structure.

Universal Church wants to raze its existing church at 68-03 Roosevelt Ave. and build a new one twice the height of the current one. The worship space would fit 1,000 people, and the structure would include 10 rectory units to house visiting religious leaders.

The proposed structure exceeds zoning height restrictions, so the church needs a variance. CB 2 sent the project back to its Land Use Committee for more deliberations on the design and issues of parking and noise mitigation.

The board is expected to vote on the bid at its February meeting, but it is merely advisory. The final decision will be made by the Board of Standards and Appeals.