Suffolk Legislature committee tables vote on Muslim cemetery sought for Bellport

A vote in the Suffolk County Legislature to approve a Muslim cemetery in Bellport has been postponed due to what a lawmaker called "flaws" in the project's application to county officials.

The 18-member legislature had planned to vote on the graveyard — one of the first cemeteries on Long Island reserved exclusively for Muslims — at a meeting on Tuesday next week. The cemetery also requires approval by the Brookhaven Town Board.

Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said Thursday the town board won't vote on the cemetery until after the legislature approves it.

The legislature last month had approved a separate plan for a Muslim cemetery in Calverton.

At a meeting Thursday, the legislature’s Ways & Means Committee tabled a resolution authorizing and approving acquisition of the 13.78-acre Bellport property by the Hillside Islamic Center in New Hyde Park. The cemetery will have room for up to 12,000 plots, mosque officials have said. 

Legis. Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue), the bill’s sponsor, said during the meeting the petition requesting permission for the approval “has flaws in it” and could not be voted on yet.

In an interview, Thorne said the petition, filed with the county last August, refers to block names in Bellport “that are not correct,” among other errors.

He said they are “simple things” that need to be fixed before the legislature can vote.

Thorne said he’s hopeful the resolution can be voted on early next month. The resolution must be approved by the committee before it can advance to the full legislature for final approval.

“We had a public hearing [in April] and heard nothing but pluses for it,” Thorne said.

Legis. Chad Lennon (C-Rocky Point), the committee chairman, said the resolution would be brought back “once we get everything amended.”

Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan, chairman of the Hillside Islamic Center, said he was surprised by the postponement but remained hopeful that the cemetery ultimately will be approved. He said cemetery sponsors already had cleared environmental and other approvals.

"There’s no reason it should not be approved," he said.

Residents at a Brookhaven public hearing last month were split on the cemetery. Some expressed concerns that drinking water wells could be affected by embalming fluids and decomposing bodies, though officials said Muslims do not use fluids to embalm bodies.

Supporters said Muslims deserve their own burial grounds and added a cemetery is preferable to industrial uses. 

Meanwhile, Akhirah Islamic Center & Memorial Grounds is set to open within months at a site on Route 25A near the Calverton National Cemetery.

The Riverhead Town Planning Board approved the Muslim cemetery last July 3, town records show.

Aibtesam Chaudhary, the cemetery's founder, said in an interview Thursday he is seeking building permits for the 3,600-plot graveyard and hopes to open in a month or two.

Newsday's Tara Smith contributed to this story.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.com,joe.werkmeister@newsday.comCarlMacGowan,

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.