Knights to Shine Again in West End

The Knights of Columbus building in Long Beach, which was lost last year to a devastating fire, is poised to make a comeback.

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The city’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday voted unanimously to grant the lodge’s application to construct a new two-story building at lodge’s former site, at 970 W. Beech St. in the West End.

“We were ecstatic with the board’s decision,” Ron Browne, the lodge’s grand knight, told Patch on Friday.

The zoning board’s procedure typically is to hold a hearing for an application and vote on it at the following monthly meeting, but Trustee David Bythewood motioned to grant the Knights’ application as fit and to vote on it immediately.

“We we’re very happy that they voted for on our application last night, because they sooner we got approved, the sooner we can rebuild,” Browne said.

William Miller, an attorney for the Knights and a member of the lodge, told the board that the proposed building will peak in height at 22 feet from street level, with an elevation of more than three feet that will include six stairs at the front entrance on West Beech.  

“That’s not substantial, so there’s no adverse effect there,” Miller said about the structure’s proposed height.

The building’s second floor will contain an office connected to a storage room, since a basement is not included in the plans. The building will also feature a hall where the lodge will hold and host meetings and events. And whereas the previous building feature two separate bars, a collective 59 feet in length, the lodge will feature one rectangular, 51-foot-long bar.

“It’s not a nightclub, it’s not a pub,” Miller said. “It’s a meeting room for an organization.”

Before the board granted the application, trustee Angelo Lomonte raised a concern that Knights could perhaps sell the new building to a restaurateur who may add a nightclub. Miller dismissed this possibility as not part of the lodge’s plans.  “And anyone that did purchase it would have to go through some sort of scrutiny to open up a new business,” he said.

Previously, Board Chairman Rocco Morelli asked Miller if the lodge would operate any differently, including in its hours of operation, than it had before the fire in December destroyed their building. Miller said that Knights didn’t have planned to operate as before.

On the issue of parking, Miller said the lodge has operated at their location, at West Beech and Minnesota Avenue, since 1973, holding typically hour-long meetings twice a month. “Most people who come are local residents that walk to the building or ride their bike, so there’s really going to be no impact on parking,” he said.

The Knights are a non-tax-exempt organization that pays taxes, insurance and utilities on its building, and according to their charter they must give one-third of the funds they receive to charity. “The manner in which they [raise money] is that they rent out their hall,” said Miller, who told the board that Long Beach was a better place because of the Knights’ charitable operations.

The lodge served as a distribution center for hot meals, clothing, toiletries and many other needs in the community after Hurricane Sandy. Early on December 12, though, the building went up in flames and burned to the ground due to a gas pipe-related fire. What remained of the former building was demolished and plans were made to rebuild on the site where the Monsignor Cass Council No. 2626 had operated since 1973. Since the first the organization has operated out of St. Ignatius Church on West Broadway. 

A few people who addressed the board to urge its members to approve the Knights’ application echoed that sentiment.

Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, speaking as a private citizen from the West End, said that when the lodge building burned down, she was equally as devastated as the day Sandy struck the city. She recalled how the hall had hosted many family and community events through the years, including a blood drive she held there each year.

“I’ve said this time and time again, it is the heart of the West End, it is the heart of the City of Long Beach,” Ford said.

Richard Papetti, one of several past grand knights who attended Thursday’s meeting, submitted to the board a petition with more than 200 signatures of people who favor the proposed building. Among them was Jaime Lynch, a Walks resident, praised the Knights’ charitable work.  

“They are the fabric of the West End,” Lynch said of the lodge’s members. “They need to be rebuilt and come back again, … so they can continue to do their charitable work and the whole town can benefit from it.”

Browne said that he was heartened by the community support for the lodge’s new building. He noted that he expects that ground will break on the new building sometime this summer or fall and he hopes the lodge will reopen by December.

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