Bridgeport, CT - Synagogue Expansion Approved by ZBA

Bridgeport, CT - Congregation B'nai Israel has won permission to expand its Park Avenue complex from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The plan, which still needs approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, calls for construction of a 15,000-square-foot addition. The proposal was unanimously approved by the ZBA last week. "The synagogue was built in 1958 for 450 families, but we now serve about 875 families from greater Bridgeport," Rabbi James Prosnit, told the board. "The addition has been planned to address the needs of the current membership, not to encourage growth."

The ZBA, before granting the variances, considered the fact the synagogue will have 127 parking spaces, 30 fewer than regulations require.
On that note, Prosnit said the parking lot is adequate for almost all of the year, except on a couple of high holy days, when cars are also parked on surrounding streets.
But, he said, parking should not generally be a problem for the neighborhood.
No one from the public commented on the plan at the hearing.

The rabbi said B'nai Israel is the oldest synagogue in Fairfield County.