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Trashed Dix Hills church fixed for Easter

Half Hollow Community Church received help from many

The front of the Half Hollow Community Church, founded in 1876. (Newsday - Sabrina de Sampaio / March 21, 2008)

BY BRANDON BAIN | brandon.bain@newsday.com

9:20 AM EDT, March 23, 2008

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A Dix Hills church once said to be "left in shambles" after it was ransacked twice by thieves this month, who stripped walls of plumbing for scrap metal, is slowly being rebuilt, just in time for Easter Sunday, church officials said.

The Half Hollow Community Church was vandalized on March 5 by several thieves who broke into the church offices and stole copper piping out of the walls. The next night, the vandals struck again, removing plumbing from the recreation room and a bronze cross.

The back-to-back break-ins left the church with no heat, thousands of dollars in damage and led to flooding in several offices and rooms, including the recreation room. But the congregation still showed, despite Sunday service being cut to a half-hour, because it was simply too cold.

"We were surprised . . . it shouldn't happen to anybody, but especially to a church," said Chuck Hommel, a deacon at the church. "The people were discouraged, but we bounced back pretty quickly."

Still, things are moving slowly, Hommel said. There is no heat and minor repairs are in the works, but the show will go on for this Sunday, for Easter.

Church officials were able to start renovating the premises with help from local businesses, including Engelmann Energy in Northport. And when word got out that the church had been vandalized, checks, some from former congregation members, poured in from all over the country.

"When I saw that a church had been broken to right in my own town, I left them three messages," Peter Engelmann, owner of Engelmann Energy said. "I was infuriated."

Half Hollow Community Church is expected to face a bill around $15,000, said Engelmann, who added that he plans to worship at the church on Easter. There have been several improvements to the church, including adding "green" materials that make the church more environmentally-friendly.

Suffolk Legislators are expected to vote on a bill that would establish crime prevention requirements for scrap metal processors, junk dealers and auto dismantlers by requiring them to report to Suffolk police the source of metals they purchase and give a description within 72 hours of the purchase or face a $200 fine.

A state law already requires scrap processors to record information about people who sell them metal and store it for three years. Legis. Jack Eddington said scrap metal theft is on the rise. Eddington says he regularly receives reports of thieves stripping homes of plumbing and other metals while they are on vacation or from houses that are in foreclosure.

"It's pretty clear, we know where it's going," Eddington said. "It's going to the scrap metal dealers. So we need to have them report when this type of material is being brought in."