The Village of Mineola Board of Trustees on May 12 voted in approval for a new fitness training facility and a church to open up in the village.
(Photos by Jennifer Corr)
Andrew Flores of Elmont approached the podium in front of the Village Board to talk about his fitness training business called Home Free Fitness to share his intentions to create a fitness training facility inside the strip mall at 250 C Jericho Turnpike, across the street from Jericho Terrace.
“I am the owner and operator of Home Free Fitness,” Flores said. “I started the business about two years ago. I was working at a corporate gym. The pandemic came. I got bored, lost my mind a little bit. I wanted to keep up with my clients. I started with FaceTime. That led to training at the park. That led to turning my garage into a studio and a year-and-a-half later here we are. I need more space.”
Mineola Mayor Paul Pereira thanked Flores for choosing Mineola to open his studio, welcoming him to the village.
The size of the space is 1100 square feet, and Flores said he plans on leading single or small group fitness sessions there.
“It is only personal training,” Flores said. “No members. No food or drink. Just personal training one-on-one… at most there will be four or five people in there at the same time all under my supervision.”
Flores, the sole employee, will be guiding clients through weight lifting, functional training and nutrition.
It will likely operate Monday through Saturday or Monday through Friday anywhere from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
And neighbors will not have to worry about loud noise, because Flores says he keeps the music at a low volume so that he can get to know his clients.
He said he will likely open in the second week of June.
Next up to the podium was 15-year resident of Mineola, Ezequihs P. Pardim and Carlos Covas, inquiring about operating Ceifa Community Church, a Brazilian church, from the second floor of 500 Jericho Turnpike, which is above American Theater Dance Workshop and used to be a Blockbuster. Ceifa Community Church currently meets once a week inside Hillside United Methodist Church in New Hyde Park. They’ve been there for 13 years.
Covas translated in English Pardim’s Portuguese; though the mayor did not need a translator because he also speaks Portuguese.
“We are currently looking for a space to work with our adolescents, our teens,” Covas translated.
There are currently about 35 parishioners. They will meet Wednesday and Saturday in the new space from about 6 to 9 p.m. Covas and Pardim added that they are accustomed to keeping the noise down because the New Hyde Park church is in a neighborhood.
“Every 15 days we have youth groups and we talk about general thesis and messages,” Covas translated.
The youth groups will be at the same time as the services, but they will be in a different room.
A separate Brazilian church requested the space to the Village Board years prior, but that church never ended up opening. Though, the trustees said, they are confident that this church will be seen to fruition.
“So Pardim, thank you for coming to Mineola,” Pereira said. “You’ve been here for 15 years. You understand the community we have. We are a community that embraces all faiths, all walks of life, all people. That’s what makes this community great. We certainly appreciate that you want to bring your congregation back to Mineola, back to where you live.”
After the Village Board approved their application, Pardim was thrilled, saying that it’s been a longtime coming.
