Yet Another Setback For Sheepshead Bay Mosque Opponents

Opponents to a proposed mosque in Sheepshead Bay suffered yet another setback. The City's Board of Standards and Appeals rejected the groups' claims.

Though it hasn't attracted as much attention as Park 51, the Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, the mosque planned for 2812 Voorhies Avenue, on a residential block between East 28th and East 29th streets, has inspired protests, a lawsuit and challenges before the Department of Buildings.

Bay People, an organization formed to oppose the project, claims the mosque will increase traffic and noise in the neighborhood, decreasing property values. But the group has also come under fire for what is seen as its anti-Muslim bias.

In several DOB complaints lodged earlier this year, Bay People contended that the mosque, which is affiliated with the non-profit Muslim American Society, must provide on-site parking because of the number of worshippers expected at the property.

But DOB, which had already approved the project, shot down the challenges, finding the mosque would comply with zoning rules. The BSA voted 5-0 to affirm DOB today and is expected to issue a written decision shortly, according to Howard Goldman, a land-use attorney who represented Bay People.

Goldman said the decision would have an impact across the city, allowing any house of worship to design prayer rooms in such a way to avoid providing parking. "Any house of worship can now follow this ruling," Goldman said, adding, "It may require that there be an amendment to the zoning resolution to eliminate this loophole."

Developer Allowey Ahmed bought the property -- comprised of a vacant lot and a lot with a single-family home -- for $800,000 in 2007, from a couple who had owned there since 1974, according to city property records. Last October, he got the green light from DOB to erect a three-story brick building, with a 2,465 square foot structure on a 4,500-square-foot lot, department records show.

For Bay People, the sticking point is the way the mosque's proposed worship rooms are divided into two separate spaces: a 138-person main assembly room on the first floor and a 75-person secondary room overlooking the main space, according to plans submitted to DOB. (Goldman believes the second space is intended as a prayer room for women.)

New York's zoning code requires that houses of worship -- mosques, churches, synagogues, or otherwise -- provide one parking space for every 15 occupants of a site's largest assembly room, or 9.2 parking spaces in the case of the Sheepshead Bay mosque. But facilities that are required to provide fewer than ten spaces are, in fact, exempt from the parking obligations altogether.

The opponents claim that the parking requirements should apply because both spaces will be used for prayer as a single room; and that the total number of occupants would trigger the parking space requirement. Since the property can't accommodate the parking requirement, the opposition thought they'd be able to block the mosque on a zoning technicality.

The opposition has been fighting with the mosque developers in court as well; and the developers have fought back with counterclaims malicious prosecution, defamation and abuse of process, seeking at least $56,000, plus punitive and other damages. However, a September court ruling dismissed all those claims by both sides although both sides have appealed.

This isn't the last we'll hear of the mosque project

Sheepshead Bay Mosque Project Clears Another Hurdle

Despite complaints from the usual suspects including Pam Geller, a judge has cleared the way for the mosque project on Voohries Avenue in Sheepshead Bay to move ahead.

On Tuesday, Judge Mark Partnow dismissed a lawsuit filed by the anti-mosque organization Bay People and neighbors of the as-of-right project on Voorhies Avenue between E. 28th and E. 29th streets, ruling that the mosque wouldn’t adversely effect the neighborhood.

The ruling came shortly after the lawyer for mosque builder Ahmed Allowey accused opponents of the plan of acting like racist terrorists.

“This is entirely motivated by racism,” said attorney Lamis Deek. “[The Bay People] has forced my client to expend his resources for no good cause and terrorize people with the vitriolic rallies that they hold.”

She added that the anti-mosque group would never have complained if a church or synagogue was being constructed.

“[They] claim that the mosque will be a nuisance and will be out of character with the neighborhood,” she said. “They’ve held rallies, protests and filed repeated complaints with the city, but have never done anything like this to a nearby church that doesn’t have any on site parking or a nearby synagogue that’s twice the size of the mosque.”

The Bay People do have a reputation of holding protests laced with anti-Muslim sentiment. Some protestors have even claimed that the Muslim American Society — which will take over the operation of the community center once it’s built — has ties to terrorism, although no direct evidence connecting the two has ever surfaced.

On top of that, the decision comes on the heels of a vandal spray painting a “happy face” and the words “He is dead” on the fence surrounding the mosque site in an apparent attempt to taunt mosque supporters over the death of bin Laden.

The opposition had further claimed that a lack of on-site parking would have been a burden to the local community, but the backers of the mosque project noted that many of the congregants lived in a 10 block radius around the mosque and there was little evidence that they would be driving to the mosque.

Four Brooklyn Businesses Hit With Felony Charges For Dumping Raw Sewage

Manager/owners of four Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn businesses were arrested and face up to four years in prison and fines of $75,000 per day for dumping raw sewage into Shell Creek, which runs into Jamaica Bay. They had been warned since 2003 to repair sewer lines but had resisted such efforts for years despite their private sewer system regularly breaking down and leaking into neighboring streets.

Investigators used a green dye to trace the dumping of raw sewage, including toilet waste, into the creek:

Craig Novoa, manager of the United Artists Sheepshead Bay Stadium 14 movie theater; Simon Shin, manager of Knapp Street Bagel; Alex Spivak, landlord for the TGI Friday's, and David Matalon, manager of Deuville Marina, were arrested.

The criminal complaint accuses the shops - all in or near the same strip mall - of dumping human waste, restaurant grease and other refuse into the creek.

Neighbors of the shops had complained for years about noxious odors coming from the creek, which is home to bluefish, crab and striped bass.

"I've been living here for 12 years. That creek stinks," said Minnie Colon, 36, who had just bought a ticket to see "Burlesque" at the theater.

"It smells like a backed-up toilet. On a rainy day, forget about it. You have to carry Febreze," said Colin, who added that she was shocked to hear about the allegations.

Jamaica Bay is home to a segment of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is home to one of the East Coast's most important migratory birding habitats. It is habitat that has been under tremendous strain and pressure - with researchers trying to figure out why marshland was disappearing at a frightening pace over the past decade.


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What makes this dumping all the more odious is that these businesses are located just blocks from the Coney Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and that it took so long to trace the source of the problem. The movie theater denies the charges, and points to the fact that it repaired a section of the sewer line in 2009.