Plan to expand mosque in Selden raises tensions

An Islamic congregation's plan to demolish its 29-year-old mosque and build a bigger facility has inflamed tensions in Selden between mosque members and neighbors who say the proposal is too big for the neighborhood.

Leaders of the 400-member Islamic Association of Long Island, located since 1981 on Park Hill Drive, say their congregation has outgrown its 5,600- square-foot mosque and they intend to build a modern 8,000- square-foot house of worship in its place. Leaders said the new mosque will have one large prayer room, while prayer in the current mosque - formerly a Christian church - is inconveniently divided between several small rooms.

But neighbors said the area is already choked by traffic caused by the mosque, and they fear a larger facility would make the area inaccessible to school buses and emergency vehicles and dangerous for children on bicycles.

Both sides pleaded their cases Monday in an emotional hearing before Brookhaven's planning board. Mosque members said they are asking for acceptance from the community, while neighbors said they are merely concerned about safety.

"The mosque to me is a place of central worship. It symbolizes unity and diversity," said member Immy Vesamia of Setauket, who said opponents were using traffic concerns to "derail the application."

Resident Jim Leonard said the neighborhood simply can't support more traffic. "This has nothing to do with the mosque," he said. "If it was an 8,000-square-foot bowling alley, I'd be here."

The planning board could decide on the Islamic Association's proposal on Oct. 13. Chairman Vincent Pascale said he understands "there are a lot of concerns on both sides of the aisle."

The mosque is located in a thickly settled residential area just off Middle Country Road. Strip malls are dotted with signs of an established Muslim community.

The mosque has made strides recently to mitigate traffic, such as holding prayer twice a day on Fridays so not everyone is there at once, said J. Timothy Shea of Hauppauge, an attorney for the Islamic Association.

Shea added the footprint of the new mosque would be smaller since it would be split between two floors, which also would allow it to gain one parking space. He described the current mosque as "outmoded."

The new mosque "will come out to be a win-win situation when compared to the existing situation," said mosque president-elect Iqbal Chaudhry, adding the new facility will also be aesthetically more pleasing, with improved landscaping.

Anthony Agostino, who lives in the neighborhood, was not convinced. "I could care less if they build a mosque," he said. "A school bus cannot get up there."