The Town of North Hempstead appealed the State Supreme Court’s decision in the Hillside Islamic Center case last month, meaning the neighborhood around the center will be turned into a parking lot unless the state undoes the ruling, according to the appeal. The center’s plan, which was rejected by the town before the court ruled in the center’s favor, aimed to expand the existing mosque to provide for its current congregation and ease traffic impacts on the neighborhood, according to court documents.
The center aimed to build a third story and increase its square footage. The plan also included expanding the center’s parking lot onto the three surrounding parcels of land, as previously mentioned, which the mosque purchased in the neighborhood, to provide 63 parking spaces.
In January, Judge Erica Prager reversed the town board’s decision to deny the center’s expansion proposal after nearly a year-long court battle challenging the board’s action. She called the board’s decision “arbitrary and capricious,” according to court documents.
“The board, however, based upon Court of Appeals’ precedent, properly asserted in its Resolution and Findings, and asserts in this appeal, that municipalities are not, and should not be, powerless to prevent expansion of religious uses into residential Neighborhoods,” the town’s attorney Michael Sahn wrote in the appeal.
The appeal argues that affording religious uses a full exemption from local zoning laws with no regard for how offensive, overpowering or unsafe the use is not mandated by law.
Chairman of the Hillside Islamic Center Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan said the organization “trusts” that the appellate court will “recognize the judgment rendered in favor of the community’s rights and will dismiss the appeal.”
“We regret that the town has chosen to allocate taxpayers’ money towards a case against a community that has significantly contributed to the town’s well-being, including enhancing property values and improving school systems,” he said.
The Hillside Islamic Center in New Hyde Park filed a proposal with the town to enlarge the existing mosque by building a third story on the two-story structure and increasing the square footage from 5,428 square feet to 6,600 square feet.
After more than seven months of divisive public hearings, the Town of North Hempstead voted along party lines in January 2024 to deny the expansion plan. The site plan proposal did not require any variances and was compliant with the town code.
The Islamic Center filed an Article 78 in response to the board decision, challenging its action and requesting it be reversed.
The town cited a “concern for safety” in rejecting the plan because the center’s Friday services create traffic congestion in the neighborhood.
Neighbors of the Hillside Islamic Center also opposed the proposal, with more than a dozen urging the board to vote “no” at the meeting, which they ultimately did.
One of the main issues expressed by residents was mosque congregants parking illegally in surrounding areas, sometimes blocking neighbors’ driveways and parking in local shopping center parking lots.
Residents said they were also concerned about public safety as the congregants’ parking could potentially prevent emergency vehicles from accessing the neighborhood’s narrow roads or block residents’ cars in their driveways.
Bhuiyan previously countered these claims, saying there had not been a traffic incident nor a complaint that emergency vehicles could not pass through the streets surrounding the mosque.
At the time of the court’s decision in January, Bhuiyan thanked the court, their attorney Kathleen Deegan Dickson, the community and Allah for what he called a “victory.”
“[Hillside Islamic Center] looks forward to executing our expansion project and to better serve the needs of our worshippers and our neighbors,” Bhuiyan wrote.
At the request of counsel for the Hillside Islamic Center, their time to submit an opposition brief was extended to early December, according to town attorney Richard Nicolello.
