Maine Maid may be considered a landmark

The vacant Maine Maid Inn in Jericho and the Community United Methodist Church of East Norwich will be considered for landmark designation, a town commission decided.

At its meeting Wednesday night, the Oyster Bay Landmarks Preservation Commission agreed to consider the applications made by the East Norwich Civic Association.

The decisions will trigger second hearings within a month. After those hearings, the commission will vote on whether to recommend that the town board approve landmark status.

The Maine Maid Inn, home of prominent Quaker Valentine Hicks, was built in 1789 and is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. Then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for the church on May 18, 1901.

East Norwich Civic Association president Matthew Meng and other leaders of a new group called The Citizens for History spoke in favor of the designations. There was no opposition to designation of the inn, but church officials opposed designation at this time.

Meng noted that Nassau County's Jericho Preserve of historic structures surrounds the inn. "This is the missing piece," he said.

Architect Michael Spinelli, who chaired the meeting, noted that "the building is in a serious state of disrepair." Meng responded there have been discussions among local organizations about forming a nonprofit to buy the building.

On the church, Meng said it is important to preserve the few historic structures left in the center of East Norwich after the widening of Route 106 decades ago.

But Kathy Nastri, head of the church trustees, said "this might not be the right time to go forward with something like this, although we certainly want to talk about preserving our church."

The church has an agreement with Verizon for installation of a cellular antenna in the steeple. The application was rejected by the town several months ago and Verizon is pursuing the permit through the courts, church leaders said.

With no threat of demolition, Spinelli said, "I would feel a lot more comfortable if the owner was making the application." Meng and church officials after the meeting discussed tabling the application for now.