City Moves To Shutter East Side Church Catering Hall

Facing pressure from elected officials and residents, the Bloomberg administration is moving to halt the use of a private catering hall in an Upper East Side church.

In recent months, the Third Church of Christ Scientist at 583 Park Avenue has rented out its space to a catering company, hosting Oscar de la Renta fashion shows and weddings, among other events, in an attempt to raise cash for renovations.

But the city's Department of Buildings yesterday said it intended to revoke renovation permits for the church, claiming that its uses were in violation of the zoning. Upset by the city's action, church leaders are vowing a legal challenge that could reverse the decision.

The ionic column-lined, red brick church at East 63rd and Park has said declining revenues from a dwindling membership are crimping its ability to operate, and thus it entered into an agreement with the Rose Group catering company to rent the space for its events.

The agreement has incensed neighbors of the church, who charge that a party hall has no place inside the church or in the largely residential area.

"It's not within the character of the neighborhood, and it's not within the law, as we understand it," the leader of a group of area residents that oppose the catering hall use, George Davis, said. "They advertise up to 1,500 people, and they've been having some pretty big parties."

Mr. Davis' group brought on attorneys and months ago urged the city's Department of Buildings to put an end to the practice, saying the use as a catering hall goes against the zoning code.

Finding support from elected officials such as state Senator Liz Krueger and Council Member Daniel Garodnick, the city seems to have heeded the residents' appeals. The Department of Building's deputy commissioner for legal affairs, Phyllis Arnold, wrote yesterday in a letter that the catering hall "is not an accessory use," and thus violates the zoning.

The battle seems far from over, as the church yesterday claimed it would bring on a prominent First Amendment lawyer who served as the city's top in-house lawyer from 1990 to 1991, Victor Kovner, to challenge the decision.

"We believe at the end of the day, logic will prevail and so will the Church," a spokesman for the church, George Arzt, said in a statement.

"The city has acquiesced to other religious and non-profit institutions in the immediate area holding similar events," Mr. Arzt said. "We are confident the courts will reverse this decision."