Two religious events proposed for Mitchell Park were given the go-ahead by the Greenport village board Monday night.
A special meeting was held at Greenport Village Hall on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Two agenda items slated for action included proposals submitted by mass public assembly permits by both Lambs Chapel and Maranatha Church.
In April, a proposal for a “religious” event that would be held at Mitchell Park in Greenport this summer was rejected by the village board.
At the April village board meeting, the vote was 4-1, with only Greenport Mayor David Nyce voting in favor of the event.
At the board’s March work session, Village Clerk Sylvia Lazzari Pirillo said a public assembly permit application had come in for Lambs Chapel, located in Center Moriches, for an “Outreach to Community” event, to be held at Mitchell Park on July 17 from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The event, which was described as a gathering of between 25 and 50 people, would have featured live music and inspirational speakers. No admission would be charged, and the group would use a professional cleaning service, she said.
“I don’t feel it’s an appropriate use because it’s religious,” Greenport Village Trustee Julia Robins said. She added that the event was proposed for a weekend in July, when Mitchell Park is in full swing. “But I’m trying to be fair.”
“I hesitated myself,” Trustee Mary Bess Phillips said.
“It’s a ‘no’ for me,” said Trustee David Murray.
Robins added that she believed such an event was an “inappropriate use of the park” and standards should be set so that the village clerk could say “no” to such applications.
Lazzari Pirillo said there are set policies on the number of people at an event, as well as when groups can charge.
A call to Lamb’s Chapel was not immediately returned.
Next, at the May village board meeting, a public assembly permit application for Maranatha Church, to use a portion of Mitchell Park from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on June 29 for a youth Christian concert, was also rejected.
On Monday night, the board voted to approve both applications; only Trustee David Murray voted “no”.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the Marantha application had already been approved; it was approved Monday night.
