A proposal to establish a new mikvah on Amherst Street in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, will go before Community Board 15 later this month. Torat Israel Sephardic Congregation, located at 710 Shore Boulevard, is submitting the application. The single-family residence at 94 Amherst Street, now slated to be transformed into a mikvah, is located just off Hampton Avenue.
The applicants need a variance from the Board of Standards & Appeals because the building plans do not adhere to code with regard to floor area, lot coverage, rear yard and side yard requirements.
According to attorneys for the applicants, the proposed use of the building as a mikvah is permitted.
Members of Community Board 15 will consider the request for variance as a requirement of the application process at their next meeting on September 22 at Kingsborough Community College.
Last year, the community board lent its support to a controversial home-to-mikvah conversion at the corner of East 28th Street and Avenue R.
Attorneys for the applicants say that the proposed mikvah on Amherst Street will be open to all in the community and operate in the evening.
Parking facilities will not be provided.
“This will be [the congregation’s first [mikvah],” attorney Lyra Altman said. “They’re doing this for the community.”
{YourNabe/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
