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Town reopens hearing on Edison Ave. property; engineer says building largely intact, town requests church financials
Summary
At a reopened public hearing, an engineer retained by the owner of 1–5 Edison Ave. told the Town of Babylon board the masonry building is largely structurally sound with limited joist fire damage; the board asked the church owner to submit three years of financials before it decides on demolition and cleanup.
The Town of Babylon reopened a public hearing on Nov. 19 to consider authorization for demolition and cleanup at properties addressed as 1, 3 and 5 Edison Avenue in West Babylon. The board heard testimony from the engineer retained by the property owner and asked the church that owns the site to provide financial documentation before the town makes a final decision.
Tom Petracca, president of Petracca Design Engineering, said his inspection found the structure is primarily concrete masonry. He told the board only about one in 100 wood joists showed fire damage and that the perimeter masonry walls are in "excellent condition." Petracca said the front canopy suffered damage in a separate car-fire incident and windows were broken when firefighters had to gain access; he described the building as an empty shell that had begun to be cleaned up.
The owner was identified in the record as a church (recorded as La Iglesia Evangelica ... in the transcript). Jorge Ruiz, who identified himself as a leader who assists the pastor, said the church retained Petracca and agreed to provide annual financial figures; the board asked for three years of the church's financials and proof of capital to undertake the proposed rehabilitation or demolition. Ruiz committed to providing the requested figures "tomorrow," and the board said the documents would be made part of the public hearing record.
Supervisor Schaeffer and other board members stressed the need to verify funding and feasibility before committing to a demolition or rehabilitation approach. The board closed and reserved decision on the hearing after receiving the engineer's summary and the church's commitment to submit financials.
Next steps: The financial documents will be incorporated into the public record; the board will review the submissions and planning/engineering reports before making any formal authorization on demolition or cleanup.
