Church, Food Pantry To Fill Platt’s Plot

Rendering courtesy of Michael Kitakis
The property at the southeast corner of Main Street and Park Avenue, which once housed the historic Platt’s Tavern, will soon be home to a church and food pantry, depicted above in a rendering.

By Jano Tantongco

jtantongco@longislandergroup.com

The site formerly occupied by the historic Platt’s Tavern is planned to soon house a branch of the La Misión Church and food pantry, according to the property owner.

Dominic Mavellia, owner of the site at the southeast corner of Main Street and Park Avenue in Huntington, said the building will be host to sermons and an outreach program, which will help “feed the poor and the veterans.”

Mavellia previously faced scrutiny from local historians, who contested his prior plan to build a medical office building on the property. Critics said Mavellia’s proposal did not fit the character of the neighborhood, which is located in a historic district.

That plan, which he revised after working with local residents and historians, required the Huntington Town Board to approve a zone change, but the board never brought it to a vote.

“I could have put a gas station in, but I didn’t. And it winded up hurting me,” Mavellia said. He criticized the town board for not putting his proposal to a vote.

“It would have cleaned up that corner,” he said.

Instead, Mavellia added, he’s recruited the Lighthouse Mission, the largest mobile donor of food on Long Island, which will partner with the bilingual Hispanic church, La Misión, to create the new enterprise.

The church and food pantry will occupy the property’s existing building, which is currently being fitted for operations, and painted in bright blue, red and yellow colors.

Pastor Enrique Carbajal, head of La Misión, said the congregation has around 200 members and also has locations in Patchogue, Mastic and Flanders.

“We want to be a blessing to the communities where we are located, also to preach the gospel of Jesus that we believe transforms lives and to be a bridge to the community, not only for the Hispanic population, but to all kinds of people,” Carbajal said.

He said there are plans for the food pantry to open in April, when it will be open 12 noon-1 p.m. each Tuesday. The church, however, is planned to open sometime in April or May.

Carbajal added that he aims to create a program at the Huntington location in the near future that would help the Hispanic population assimilate to Long Island, including through promoting learning English as a second language and immigration status assistance.

He added, “We want to provide a bridge between the Hispanic community and the realities of the country.”