by David Cruz

Clergy leaders are hopeful Mayor Bill de Blasio reverses a city Department of Education mandate that forbids them to practice their religion inside empty public school. The rallying cry comes a day after a federal court panel ruled it unconstitutional for so-called mobile churches to practice inside schools.

“We’re feeling very confident he will stand with us,” said Councilman Fernando Cabrera, flanked by several city church groups including the Bronx House of Worship, the group that started the suit 20 years back.

But the three-judge panel in U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city Department of Law, representing the DOE, in allowing groups to worship inside. City lawyers argued that allowing groups to practice sends the wrong message to children.

Because it will take the order two weeks to go into effect, itinerant church groups are free to practice their religious rights in public schools for Easter and Passover. But they may have to look elsewhere should de Blasio decide to keep the policy enacted by the Bloomberg Administration. It’s a policy Pastor Bill Devlin of Infinity New York Church in Soundview called “Draconian.” It’s a policy he hopes de Blasio will reverse.

“We know he’s with us,” said Devlin, referring to de Blasio. “January 29, 2012, he walked with us from Cadman Plaza, prayed with us, walked with us over the Brooklyn Bridge so he showed that type of commitment early, in this entire discussion and he continued it as public advocate, as a mayoral candidate, and then also now as mayor. We are praying that he does the right thing.”

De Blasio, at a new conference the day of ruling, said that he believes “a faith organization playing by the same rules as any community non-profit deserves access” to schools. But he only emphasized the community service aspect to these groups, not addressing the religious component.

“You know, they have to go through the same application process, wait their turn for space, pay the same rent – but I think they deserve access,” said de Blasio. “They play a very, very important role in terms of providing social services and other important community services. And I think they deserve that right. But we’ll assess the court decision and we’ll look from there.”

Jack Roberts, head of the Bronx House of Worship in University Heights, said he hopes de Blasio will side with church groups. His lawyers intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court by late this month.

“De Blasio is not going allow the DOE to do what some of these pastors say,” said Roberts. “He’s not going to allow them to put us out. He knows that it will be bad politics.”

Cabrera, a practicing minister in the borough, is hopeful de Blasio will consider the lift.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.