A priest at a beloved Brooklyn church used Twitter as his pulpit to blast the FDNY’s ticket-writing inspectors for taking part in a Mayor Bloomberg “scam.”
Father Michael Gelfant, the cigar-chomping pastor of St. Finbar Roman Catholic Church in Bath Beach, founded in 1880, fumed over a recent slew of safety-violation citations that may cost the cash-strapped parish up to $40,000 in fines and repairs.
“Fire inspectors give the FDNY a bad name,” Gelfant, 36, tweeted under the account @StFinbarBkln. “Another Bloomberg scam!”
The outburst, which has been removed, came after FDNY inspectors slapped St. Finbar with three tickets on March 7 — for electric lighting hazards, unserviced fire extinguishers and a failure to produce blueprints of the 75-year-old building on Bay 20th Street.
The 875-person sanctuary is resplendent with 50-foot-high ceilings plaster reliefs of Jesus, oil paintings and stained glass.
Gelfant said the city seems hell-bent on raking in fines rather than helping the church improve safety.
“It’s more of a ‘gotcha’ thing,” he griped. “ Send them in, and get the violations.”
FDNY spokesman Jim Long confirmed the church needs to hire an architect to produce new blueprints, which must be on premises to aid firefighters.
The church must also apply for a new public-assembly permit.
“The issues at this location are very fixable,” Long said.
But Gelfant fears the city will demand St. Finbar bring the building up to codes, a heavy cross to bear.
In 2010, the church paid $12,000 for violations during asbestos removal.
Last September, FDNY inspectors issued St. Finbar a violation for failing to produce a permit for a boiler installed in 2007. Without it, the city may withhold a certificate of occupancy for a church annex leased to a residence for autistic children.
“They shouldn’t harass the church or Father Gelfant,” parishioner Jean Miserri, 64, said at a recent Friday Mass. “He’s doing everything in his power.”
Another parishioner, Thomas Maragni, 57, a home-health aide, agreed, saying, “They should allow some time to make any repairs before issuing a fine.”
And Gina Puccio, 74, who praised the pastor for bringing back the ringing of bells three times a day, chimed in, “It’s not right. It’s a poor church. He’s trying to make the church look beautiful again.”
Parishioners have opened their wallets for St. Finbar. In 2001, they raised $500,000 for renovations.
It’s still a money pit. Last May, Gelfant tweeted, “Heavy Rains outside = Water in the Church! Consider donating to our roof fund and help preserve our historic murals.”
Gelfant occasionally tweets about other beefs. Using his personal handle, @frgelfant, on March 27, he belted out: “What’s up with my Yankees!!!”