Teaneck, NJ – The neighborhood infighting over a proposed Shul is not over yet, after the zoning board again continued its hearing this week.

Thus far, the board has heard more than seven hours total of testimony from the president of the Orthodox Jewish group that owns the house at 554 Queen Anne Road, the group’s architect and its planner.

Several neighbors continue to say that the group, Etz Chaim, should have sought variances from the beginning.

But the rabbi who lives in the home and offers weekly prayer services there, Daniel Feldman, met with the town’s code official, Steven Gluck, prior to construction and informed him of the planned dual use for the home.

After some neighbors submitted a petition to the town, however, Gluck ordered the group to cease its house of worship activities. Etz Chaim appealed the decision and subsequently applied for variances; if the application is denied, the appeal, which is based largely on freedom of religion grounds, would then come back into play.

The hearing will continue in late February or early March.

The group is seeking several variances, including one for only six parking spaces rather than the required 21. The parking was the focus of much of the testimony at Wednesday’s hearing, which drew more than 70 neighbors and congregants.

The plans call for five spaces to be “stacked,” so that cars can potentially get blocked in.

Harold Ritvo, the board attorney, pointed out that the township code calls for site plans to include parking that is “safely and conveniently arranged.”

But the group’s attorney, Edward Trawinsky, said the town has historically permitted stacked parking.

And the group’s president, Robert Ehrlich, has testified that several neighbors – along with a CVS Pharmacy a few blocks away — have agreed to accomodate overflow parking. He also said fewer spaces were needed because Orthodox law prohibits driving on the Sabbath.

(Source: NorthJersey.com)