The city of Oyster Bay fell from an agreement to settle a federal trial with the Muslims of the Long Island Inc. group about its expansion of the mosque proposed in Bethpage.
The city’s decision, issued Thursday, cited traffic problems, and fractures an agreement which it had accepted less than two weeks ago to pay the Masjid al-Baqi The legal costs of the mosque, Green-Light, a new mosque and modify the city code, among other concessions. In a legal document filed on Thursday evening, Moli lawyers qualified the move of the city as “superb” and a reversal of a regulation which was signed by both sides “.
Oyster Bay was required under the regulations to hold a meeting of the municipal council within 10 days of its agreement, for approval. The city told Newsday of its plan to withdraw from this pact on Thursday afternoon. Moli lawyers said they had been informed of the city plan via Newsday and asked for a trial to start at the end of October.
“During more in -depth analysis and legal advice, the municipal council chose to defend its zoning authority and to withdraw from the proposed settlement agreement,” said city prosecutor Frank Scalera in a statement sent by email.
What Newsday has found
- The city of Oyster Bay fell of an agreement to settle a federal prosecution with the Muslims of the group on Long Island Inc. about its expansion of the proposed mosque.
- Oyster Bay had agreed two weeks earlier To pay $ 3.95 million in the group and Green-Light, its proposal, but has never organized a meeting of the board of directors to adopt the regulations.
- Lawyers of the mosque asked for A judge of the Federal Court to maintain a date of trial of October 27.
“This case between the city of Oyster Bay and Moli focuses on traffic safety and parking – not religion,” said Scalera. “The facts are clear: high accident rates at the intersection” of the central and Stewart avenues “are worrying, and more than 4,775 violations of red lights are issued here each year.”
Moeen Qureshi, a volunteer at Masjid al -Baqi, and one of the complainants, said that “the mosque is not only a building – it’s a house for our children”.
“The refusal of the city to keep its promise is painful, but it only strengthens our determination to see this through the trial,” said Qureshi in a written declaration.
Long and controversial battle
The managers of the mosque tried for six years to overthrow two buildings by one floor on the site and create a single installation which almost triples the imprint there. The plan included a larger prayer room and new Wudu stands to meet the needs of the congregation.
In December, the city’s urban planning advisory council denied the group’s request, Newsday reported.
Moli filed a federal complaint against the city in January, alleging that the city had violated federal laws on the use of land. The pursuit cited a law that the city adopted in 2022 which changed the calculations of parking requirements for worship homes, arguing that the city treated the mosque differently from other buildings.
The legal battle has become controversial in recent months.
Lawyers from the Civil Rights Division of the United States Ministry of Justice filed a “declaration of interest” of 17 pages in April which said that the owners of the mosque would likely have succeeded in succeeding. The press release indicates that the new city parking code deals with religious institutions “less favorably than comparable secular uses such as theaters, libraries and museums, and that the city cannot and does not show that such an unequal treatment is justified”.
Last month, the lawyers of the mosque said that the city had made the testimony of a grandmother who had been used to strengthen the denial of the planning council. The city later said that the grandmother was real and is Nassau Legis. Rose Marie Walker (R-CHICSVILLE), a leading element in the politics of the County of Oyster Bay and the county of Nassau.
Town reverse race
The lawyers for Oyster Bay submitted a letter of August 14 to the Federal Court which indicated that he was approaching a settlement with Moli.
A few days later, the two parties published joint declarations alongside an agreement which forced the city to pay $ 3.95 million in Moli to cover lawyers for lawyers and other expenses. The city was also to issue permits necessary for the approval of the mosque and upside down The law of 2022 was implemented when examining the mosque proposal.
This law had increased the obligation of parking spaces of the worship house from 86 to 155. The Moli proposal requested 88 parking spaces, according to deposits.
As part of the agreement, Moli said that she would work to help the faithful through the central avenues and Stewart during the point of prayer. The two parties would also explore a request to the county of Nassau for a level crossing.
At the time, the city supervisor, Joseph Saladino, said that the regulations allowed the parties “to go from before in good faith as a community”.
However, the city did not keep a meeting of the board of directors to devote the regulations.
The lawyers of Moli, in the file of the court on Thursday, said that the city had received “a new wave of anti-Muslim agitation of local residents” after the announcement of the agreement. A petition entitled “Stop The Mosque” collected nearly 2,000 signatures and included “a flood of racist comments”, according to the court of the court.
Friday afternoon, in a judicial file, the lawyers of the city called it “inappropriate and carefree for the applicants to confuse their claims and disputed allegations against the city with random internet publications by foreigners,” adding “, it is out of the daring to suggest that all these random internet publications had anything with the simple fact that the City Commission does not close random.”
Scalera, the city’s lawyer, said: “The municipal council will not compromise when it comes to protecting everyone in the public, and they will not accept development plans which fail to respond adequately to these serious concerns.”
Muhammad Faridi, a Linklaters lawyer, who represents Moli, swore in a press release: “This trial will go forward.”
Lawyers asked a judge of the Federal Court to maintain a hearing date on October 27.
