Village of the Branch approves church carnival for St. Patrick's after new request — $37G in legal fees later

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church of Smithtown can hold a fall fundraiser with mechanical rides, officials from Village of the Branch said, more than a year after denying an earlier request that prompted a lawsuit that has cost village taxpayers more than $37,000 in legal fees.

The church sued the village last year after board members denied St. Patrick's a permit to hold a four-day "Family Festival" with mechanical rides in a portion of the historic district.

In their lawsuit, lawyers for the church said the village had effectively denied "St. Patrick's of their right to the free exercise of religion." But lawyers for the village said the request violated the Village of the Branch's code, which limits fundraisers in the historic district to 72 hours and prohibits mechanical rides and carnival-type operations. The new proposal calls for a three-day fundraiser with rides, games and food situated on athletic fields, according to the church's permit application.

The village board of trustees approved the new request by a vote of 3-0 on Tuesday. The festival will take place from Oct. 3-5. Village of the Branch has spent $37,275 in legal fees so far defending the case, according to Christine Cozine, the village clerk.

Erik Snipas, an attorney for the church with the Greenberg Traurig law firm in Garden City, said the new application would have mechanical rides “and the majority of the family festival” will be located outside of the village’s historic district and toward the back of the church property.

“We’ll be dividing parking. There’s about 500 parking spaces available, so we’ll be able to contain all parking on-site,” Snipas told board members.

The church anticipates attendance to peak at 750 people, according to the application.

The church filed a petition in Suffolk State Supreme Court featuring 200 signatures in support of the application.

But on Tuesday, some village residents asked the board to reject the permit.

Robert Puerta, who lives on Hemlock Lane near the church, said he believed the festival was “going to change the character of the neighborhood.”

“We like to keep things calm and quiet,” Puerta told board members. “In the event of fire, medical, a police emergency, it’s going to create a problem for people going in and out. I just don’t think it’s a good fit for the neighborhood, for the lifestyle that we have here in the village and the way we want to maintain it.”

Gerard Reilly, who also lives on Hemlock Lane, said he supported the event. He noted the church has held many events on their property over the years.

“Kids are having fun, and there’s a lively atmosphere, and I really don’t think that’s detrimental to the people that live on Hemlock Lane,” Reilly told board members. 

Village Mayor Mark Delaney told the audience of roughly 20 people that the decision was “a very difficult situation for the board members.” Some of the trustees are church parishioners, he said.

“This has been a long process,” Delaney said. “I would simply ask that we all act as neighbors, and let’s see how this progresses this year. There’s nothing from a legal standpoint that says this ever has to be approved again. So I would ask everyone to have an abundance of patience.”

In a statement Thursday, Delaney said the legal expenses were particularly high given the “complicated” legal issues at play.

“For a small village, anything north of $20,000 is certainly significant,” Delaney said. 

Delaney said the village won't approve future events if the one in October “goes off the rails.”

Snipas wrote in a court filing Thursday that the church will file paperwork to discontinue the lawsuit after the village provides them with “an adopted written resolution memorializing the approval by the Board of Trustees.”

Msgr. Brian McNamara, the church’s pastor, told Newsday after the meeting he was happy about the outcome and said the festival will be “a good event for the community.”