Post by AbuMubarak on Feb 19, 2005 10:09:05 GMT -5
LI masjid having trouble. read on
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13979017&BRD=1601&PAG=461&dept_id=478675&rfi=6
New mosque still in dispute
By:Nick Buglione
It didn-t appear that way at the Hempstead Town Board of Zoning Appeals hearing last Wednesday, however, as a number of residents turned out to urge that the board deny the Muslim Society the two variances required to begin construction, largely citing traffic and parking concerns.
We have a new plan, but it doesn-t make anything any better, said Melinda Camastro, an East Meadow resident for 10 years who lives on Cambridge Street, not far from where the new mosque would be built. The traffic on East Meadow Avenue has gotten unbearable.
The Muslim Society, which has about 190 members, mostly Bangladeshi immigrants from East Meadow, Levittown, Bellmore and Merrick, first revealed plans to raze the two structures it owns on East Meadow Avenue and build a two-story mosque at a November 2002 Council of East Meadow Community Organizations (CEMCO) meeting.
Because that construction plan called for only eight on-site parking spots instead of the 87 required by the town Building Department, local residents claimed it would have a devastating impact on parking and traffic. Parking on East Meadow Avenue, a busy hodgepodge of commercial and residential properties, is scarce, often forcing cars onto adjoining residential streets.
Still, some of those opposed were clearly motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment. While ethnic slurs were kept to a minimum and roundly booed by the majority in attendance, some were directed at the Muslim Society-s representatives.
In the wake of that highly publicized meeting, CEMCO created a committee of local residents and worked quietly in the ensuing months with the Muslim Society to hammer out a compromise. In March 2004, in a quiet, closed-door meeting, Muslim Society attorney Howard Avrutine presented new blueprints to six local residents and CEMCO leaders.
The scaled-down plan called for the demolition of the Muslim Society-s house at 477 East Meadow Ave., where a 5,100-square-foot mosque and community center would be built. Under the revised plan, the Muslim Society-s house at 469 East Meadow Ave. would remain untouched, to be used only as an office and clergy residence.
All parties present agreed on the proposal, which included a litany of required stipulations from the community, including that the mosque-s maximum occupancy never exceed 80 people and that the building would never be rented out.
Our main objective is to build a good understanding with our neighbors, said Mohammed Saleh, president of the society, so we can work together for the community for peace and understanding.
The issue virtually disappeared until last Wednesday, when the Muslim Society-s application for a parking variance and the right to use its front-yard setback as a parking lot came before the Board of Zoning Appeals. What we did is come up with a much smaller plan, Avrutine said. The first one was a much, much more ambitious proposal than this one.
This new proposal will include 20 parking spots, six fewer than the Building Department-s requirement, the lawyer argued. What-s more, a planning consultant, testifying on the Muslim Society-s behalf, said the mosque wouldn-t attract a significant volume of cars to the area. Houses of worship, he said, are not as busy on a daily basis as most commercial establishments.
Residents and board members questioned the planning consultant-s testimony, arguing that he based his assumptions on a traffic impact study conducted in January. East Meadow Avenue is far busier in the summer, when Speno Park and Veterans Memorial Park are open, they said. We are concerned about traffic volume on East Meadow Avenue, said John O-Brien, third assistant chief of the East Meadow Fire Department. We have firehouses on East Meadow Avenue north and south. We need to show concern to our members responding [to emergencies].
Richard Judge, who lives on nearby Cambridge Street, believes the Muslim Society will only expand its use of the mosque over time. I feel that most of what they-re saying about the numbers is disingenuous, he said. If they didn-t need that large building, then why did they propose it? There-s going to be greater use than what they-re leading you to believe.
Careful that their opposition not be construed as intolerance, some residents prefaced their remarks by saying it is not their intention to drive the Muslim Society out of East Meadow.
The Muslim Society bought its first building on East Meadow Avenue in 1993 and the second in 1999, with the idea of one day constructing a larger house of worship, Avrutine said.
It-s not known when the Board of Zoning Appeals will render its decision on the society-s variances, but the chairman promised that all arguments would be taken into account. I want to hear all the evidence as to what-s before this board, Gerald Wright said. We are very familiar with the area, and one or two of our board members have already gone to the area, so we can be prepared for this hearing.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13979017&BRD=1601&PAG=461&dept_id=478675&rfi=6
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13979017&BRD=1601&PAG=461&dept_id=478675&rfi=6
New mosque still in dispute
By:Nick Buglione
It didn-t appear that way at the Hempstead Town Board of Zoning Appeals hearing last Wednesday, however, as a number of residents turned out to urge that the board deny the Muslim Society the two variances required to begin construction, largely citing traffic and parking concerns.
We have a new plan, but it doesn-t make anything any better, said Melinda Camastro, an East Meadow resident for 10 years who lives on Cambridge Street, not far from where the new mosque would be built. The traffic on East Meadow Avenue has gotten unbearable.
The Muslim Society, which has about 190 members, mostly Bangladeshi immigrants from East Meadow, Levittown, Bellmore and Merrick, first revealed plans to raze the two structures it owns on East Meadow Avenue and build a two-story mosque at a November 2002 Council of East Meadow Community Organizations (CEMCO) meeting.
Because that construction plan called for only eight on-site parking spots instead of the 87 required by the town Building Department, local residents claimed it would have a devastating impact on parking and traffic. Parking on East Meadow Avenue, a busy hodgepodge of commercial and residential properties, is scarce, often forcing cars onto adjoining residential streets.
Still, some of those opposed were clearly motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment. While ethnic slurs were kept to a minimum and roundly booed by the majority in attendance, some were directed at the Muslim Society-s representatives.
In the wake of that highly publicized meeting, CEMCO created a committee of local residents and worked quietly in the ensuing months with the Muslim Society to hammer out a compromise. In March 2004, in a quiet, closed-door meeting, Muslim Society attorney Howard Avrutine presented new blueprints to six local residents and CEMCO leaders.
The scaled-down plan called for the demolition of the Muslim Society-s house at 477 East Meadow Ave., where a 5,100-square-foot mosque and community center would be built. Under the revised plan, the Muslim Society-s house at 469 East Meadow Ave. would remain untouched, to be used only as an office and clergy residence.
All parties present agreed on the proposal, which included a litany of required stipulations from the community, including that the mosque-s maximum occupancy never exceed 80 people and that the building would never be rented out.
Our main objective is to build a good understanding with our neighbors, said Mohammed Saleh, president of the society, so we can work together for the community for peace and understanding.
The issue virtually disappeared until last Wednesday, when the Muslim Society-s application for a parking variance and the right to use its front-yard setback as a parking lot came before the Board of Zoning Appeals. What we did is come up with a much smaller plan, Avrutine said. The first one was a much, much more ambitious proposal than this one.
This new proposal will include 20 parking spots, six fewer than the Building Department-s requirement, the lawyer argued. What-s more, a planning consultant, testifying on the Muslim Society-s behalf, said the mosque wouldn-t attract a significant volume of cars to the area. Houses of worship, he said, are not as busy on a daily basis as most commercial establishments.
Residents and board members questioned the planning consultant-s testimony, arguing that he based his assumptions on a traffic impact study conducted in January. East Meadow Avenue is far busier in the summer, when Speno Park and Veterans Memorial Park are open, they said. We are concerned about traffic volume on East Meadow Avenue, said John O-Brien, third assistant chief of the East Meadow Fire Department. We have firehouses on East Meadow Avenue north and south. We need to show concern to our members responding [to emergencies].
Richard Judge, who lives on nearby Cambridge Street, believes the Muslim Society will only expand its use of the mosque over time. I feel that most of what they-re saying about the numbers is disingenuous, he said. If they didn-t need that large building, then why did they propose it? There-s going to be greater use than what they-re leading you to believe.
Careful that their opposition not be construed as intolerance, some residents prefaced their remarks by saying it is not their intention to drive the Muslim Society out of East Meadow.
The Muslim Society bought its first building on East Meadow Avenue in 1993 and the second in 1999, with the idea of one day constructing a larger house of worship, Avrutine said.
It-s not known when the Board of Zoning Appeals will render its decision on the society-s variances, but the chairman promised that all arguments would be taken into account. I want to hear all the evidence as to what-s before this board, Gerald Wright said. We are very familiar with the area, and one or two of our board members have already gone to the area, so we can be prepared for this hearing.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13979017&BRD=1601&PAG=461&dept_id=478675&rfi=6