Tag: bethpage

A proposed settlement between the Town of Oyster Bay and Muslims on Long Island (MOLI), over a federal lawsuit tied to plans for the Masjid Al-Baqi mosque expansion in Bethpage, has collapsed.

Earlier this month, the town had reached a $3.95 million settlement with MOLI, agreeing to approve its plans for a new mosque on the site of an existing house of worship at Stewart and Central avenues in Bethpage and resolving a lawsuit over the project.

Under the settlement agreement, MOLI could demolish the two current buildings on the property and build a single new structure with on-site parking and design elements that were aimed at mitigating the town’s traffic and safety concerns in the surrounding area. The $3.95 million settlement was to reimburse MOLI for legal fees and associated expenses. The town was also to repeal a 2022 law that required significantly more parking from new places of worship.

Thursday marked the deadline for the town to approve the proposed settlement for it to move forward.

Yet on Thursday, attorneys on behalf of MOLI, in a federal court filing, said that the town “repudiated its own agreement,” adding that the town was faced “with a fresh wave of anti-Muslim agitation from local residents.”

“All we want is the chance to worship in peace, like every other faith community in this country,” Imran Makda, a plaintiff, said in a written statement. “We believed the town when it signed the settlement, and we are devastated that the town leaders gave in to hate instead of honoring their word.”

A “Stop the Mosque” petition on change.org had garnered 1,878 verified signatures urging the town board to vote against the mosque, saying the location “is not a place to add congestion.” But statements on the petition brought “a flood of racist commentary online,” stripping away “any pretense that this dispute was about parking or traffic,” according to the court filing.

“Upon further analysis and legal guidance, the town board has chosen to defend its zoning authority and withdraw from the proposed settlement agreement,” Frank Scalera, the town’s attorney, said in a written statement.

“This case between the Town of Oyster Bay and MOLI centers on traffic safety and parking — not religion,” Scalera said. “The facts are clear: high accident rates at the intersection are concerning, and more than 4,775 red light violations are issued here annually.”

The federal lawsuit was filed in January in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York by MOLI. In the lawsuit, MOLI claimed that the mosque project had been opposed by town officials and some community members. The town maintained it had planning concerns.

In July, the mosque’s attorneys said that the town referenced testimony from a “grandmother” that they argued did not exist and was included solely to strengthen the planning board’s denial. The town later confirmed the grandmother is Nassau Legis. Rose Marie Walker.

In January, Walker told LIBN that “Masjid Al-Baqi mosque has been a wonderful part of the community and excellent neighbors. The expansion plan, however, does not account for the significant need for additional parking and impacts to traffic on the surrounding roadways. I am hopeful that Masjid Al-Baqi will be amenable to working with the local municipality to reach a compromise or to identify an alternate location in the Bethpage community that would allow for continued growth.”

Scalera said that the town board “will not compromise when it comes to protecting everyone in the public, nor will they accept development plans that fail to adequately address these serious concerns.”

Now MOLI is requesting that the Oct. 27 trial date that was established before the settlement agreement would remain.

“We have lived in Oyster Bay for decades as good neighbors,” Moeen Qureshi, a plaintiff, said in a written statement.  “This mosque is not just a building—it is a home for our children.  The Town’s refusal to keep its promise is painful, but it only strengthens our resolve to see this through at trial.”

The trial, MOLI’s attorneys said in the court filing, is the “only path forward.”

“The town signed an agreement that was filed in federal court, and then—under pressure from bigoted voices—refused even to bring it to a vote,” Muhammad Faridi, an attorney representing MOLI, said in a written statement.

“By walking away from a signed settlement, town officials have all but guaranteed that their insurers will deny coverage,” Faridi said. “That means it won’t be the insurers paying for this discrimination—it will be the taxpayers of Oyster Bay, who now stand to pay millions more so that elected officials can protect their own political futures.”