YDA may have to relocate after church approves sale of Main Street building

Congregation members at First Presbyterian Church in Northport Village voted last Sunday to authorize the sale of 324 Main Street, a church-owned piece of property that currently houses the Northport-based nonprofit organization Youth Directions and Alternatives (YDA). 

The July 13 meeting was called “for the purpose of acting on a recommendation… to sell our building at 324 Main Street,” read an email sent to congregants the week prior to the vote. 

That recommendation came from the church’s Session and finance team. (The Session is the governing body of a local church, composed of the pastor/s and ruling elders elected by the congregation.) It was approved by a vote of 34-10. 

“The reason we are selling the building is because it is an old building with a lot of costly repairs that will need to be made, and we are looking to increase the money we have in our endowment fund to ensure the church’s future,” Reverend Rachel Vione, pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian, told the Journal.

YDA, which offers social and recreational programs to community members ages 10 to 18, has rented the house from the First Presbyterian Church for the past nine years, according to YDA Director Rod Miller. The organization moved into the space in 2016, when the-then pastor, Tim Hoyt Duncan, approached the YDA about its availability.

“We were very excited to have a highly visible and accessible location on Main Street and gladly relocated our operations,” Miller said. During the first few years of their tenancy, YDA officials were responsible for any repairs or upgrades necessary to the building; rent payment at the time was an honorary $1 per year.

In 2023, the YDA was approached by Reverend Vione about the need to begin charging the YDA $1,000 a month in rent, Miller stated. “While this was a sudden financial jolt, YDA found the funding in our annual budget and has been paying $1,000 a month rent ever since,” he said. 

While pursuing a New York State grant to get additional funding for building repairs in 2024, the church and YDA encountered a requirement to upgrade their lease to a five-year agreement, which they did, Miller said. He emailed a copy of that lease to the Journal, indicating an end date of December 2029. (Vione disputes the length of that lease, stating it is for three years and not five.) 

In early March of 2025, just over a year into the new lease, Miller was notified that the building was potentially up for sale; shocked to learn the news, he soon expressed YDA’s interest in purchasing the building. On July 1, Miller sent a formal letter of intent to the congregants of First Presbyterian, detailing YDA’s prior investments in the property (a total of approximately $50,000 in renovations and upgrades, Miller said) and requesting a meeting to discuss the possibility of purchasing the property from the church. 

That letter was distributed to members of the church by a group of concerned longtime congregants, including Northport resident Frances Roberts, who voted against the motion to authorize the sale of the property; she hoped the resolution could be revised to allow for the YDA to buy and remain in the building. 

“I am disappointed in the vote that empowers Session to sell the YDA building, with no restrictions as to who they might sell to,” Roberts said. “The YDA has expressed their interest and ability to buy the house so they can continue serving our children and families in important ways that also enhance the mission of the church.”

Now that the congregation authorized Session to pursue the sale of 324 Main Street, however, any and all offers can be entertained; the final decision to enter into a sales agreement is in the church elders’ hands. 

“I’m hoping that First Presbyterian’s congregation will seriously consider our offer to purchase the building at 324 Main Street so that YDA can continue to assist our local youth and families maximize their adolescence experience from this great location,” Miller said. 

Both Miller and Roberts stated that another potential buyer of the property is Engeman Theater and Northport Hotel co-owner Kevin O’Neill. 

In a conversation with the Journal, O’Neill – who also owns the building next door – confirmed his interest in 324 Main as a possible space to house actors during show runs at the theater. 

“I’m always interested in what’s going on in the Village; I will certainly pay attention to what’s going on with [324 Main],” he said, noting that his interest in the building is the same as it would be with any other available property on Main Street. Ultimately though, he said the decision to sell 324 Main and whom to sell it to is up to the church. 

Reverend Vione told the Journal that the church elders currently have several options regarding the sale of the building and are considering all of them. “At this point, we don’t know who will buy the building,” she said. 

If YDA had to leave 324 Main Street before the completion of its lease, Miller said, the organization would be “forced to identify another viable location which may or may not be in Northport Village.”

“YDA is an important part of the community, and we have been very good to them over the years, most of them without charging any rent,” Vione said. “We will help YDA find new space if need be.”