Owners of Masjid Al-Baqi mosque in Bethpage sue Town of Oyster Bay over effort to expand

Masjid Al-Baqi, a Bethpage mosque, shown on Thursday, is at the center of a lawsuit filed against Oyster Bay Town. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
The owners of a Bethpage mosque have filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of Oyster Bay and members of its planning advisory board, alleging officials created unreasonable restrictions on the group’s attempt to expand the house of worship.
Muslims On Long Island Inc., t
he organization that owns Masjid Al-Baqi on Central Avenue, has for more than six years attempted to demolish two one-story buildings on its properties to create a three-story mosque to better meet the needs of its congregation, according to the 70-page lawsuit filed in U.S. Eastern District Court..The group alleges that during that process, Oyster Bay violated state and federal law by infringing on its right to exercise religion and by overstepping federal land use laws that disallow governments from treating religious assembly differently than nonreligious locations.
The heart of the lawsuit centers on the town’s 2022 passage of a local law that required parking spaces based on a house of worship’s total occupancy, rather than the number of seats in the building or its square footage, the court documents read. That law would require the mosque to have dozens of more parking spaces than the group's initial proposal.
“This case is about standing up against bigotry and protecting the fundamental rights of all Americans, regardless of their faith,” Muhammad Faridi, an attorney representing the mosque, said in a written statement, adding that the group “has endured an unprecedented campaign of discrimination and resistance, all because they sought to upgrade their modest house of worship to better serve their community.”
Town Attorney Frank Scalera said Oyster Bay doesn't comment on the specifics of pending litigation but called the lawsuit's claims "baseless," "unjustified" and an "attempt to divide the community."
"Our town’s policies are applied equally and reflect fairness for all, regardless of faith," Scalera said in a written statement. "The Town takes great pride in its proven dedication to diversity and inclusiveness.”
Muslims On Long Island, MOLI, purchased the property at 320 Central Ave. in the 1990s and established the mosque in 1998. Because the town requires houses of worship to have at least 1 acre of land, MOLI purchased an adjacent property at 300 Central Ave., the lawsuit says.
In 2018, the ownership group submitted a plan to the Town of Oyster Bay to build a single building on the two properties to add more space for religious activities. The current mosque draws about 200 people at peak times and around 150 students for after-school programs, according to the suit.
After filing the plan for the expanded building, the mosque alleges the town required numerous resubmissions for “the most trivial of issues,” including because the town didn’t like the shrubs Muslims On Long Island planned to plant on the site. In total, the lawsuit indicated the town’s Department of Environmental Resources required the group to pay $45,000 to have its application reviewed.
Then, as the application was under review, the town passed a new parking ordinance in June 2022 that required new houses of worship to have one parking spot for every three occupants, instead of basing parking spots on square footage or the number of seats in a building. The alteration changed the number of parking spots needed for the new mosque from 86 to 155. Muslims On Long Island’s proposal had 88 parking spots, according to the lawsuit.
“Under the new ordinance, secular land use applicants — e.g., theaters — receive better treatment than religious land use applicants as they are still only required to have one parking spot for every three seats,” the lawsuit reads
The lawsuit alleges community pressure helped cause the Nassau County Planning Commission to vote 5-1 in July 2024 to recommend to the town’s Planning Advisory Board to deny the mosque application. Because of that determination, the planning board would need a supermajority to approve the application. In November 2024, the board voted unanimously to deny the application, according to the lawsuit, which indicated it was the first application the body denied since 2018.
The planning board's decision indicated the site already has insufficient parking and that the proposed mosque "represents a significant expansion in overall building square footage" when compared with the two structures currently on the adjacent properties.
Imran Makda, a member of the mosque’s board, said in a statement that the congregation has “only ever wanted a place where we can pray, learn, and gather in peace,” adding, “It’s heartbreaking to see our efforts met with such resistance and discrimination.”
A Plainview Sikh temple engaged in years of dispute with Oyster Bay over its expansion, Newsday reported.
In that case, the town board halted construction because of parking issues, and the congregation later filed suit against Oyster Bay in federal court under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 — the same federal law cited in the Bethpage lawsuit. Construction on the three-story temple resumed after the two sides reached a settlement.
“We love this town and want to contribute to its growth and harmony, but instead, we’ve been treated like we don’t belong here,” Moeen Qureshi, a volunteer at Masjid Al-Baqi, said in a statement.
The owners of a Bethpage mosque have filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of Oyster Bay and members of its planning advisory board, alleging officials created unreasonable restrictions on the group’s attempt to expand the house of worship.
Muslims On Long Island Inc., t
he organization that owns Masjid Al-Baqi on Central Avenue, has for more than six years attempted to demolish two one-story buildings on its properties to create a three-story mosque to better meet the needs of its congregation, according to the 70-page lawsuit filed in U.S. Eastern District Court..The group alleges that during that process, Oyster Bay violated state and federal law by infringing on its right to exercise religion and by overstepping federal land use laws that disallow governments from treating religious assembly differently than nonreligious locations.
The heart of the lawsuit centers on the town’s 2022 passage of a local law that required parking spaces based on a house of worship’s total occupancy, rather than the number of seats in the building or its square footage, the court documents read. That law would require the mosque to have dozens of more parking spaces than the group's initial proposal.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The owners of a Bethpage mosque sued the Town of Oyster Bay in federal court as it continues attempts to expand the house of worship.
- The suit alleges the town illegally stonewalled the group's proposal for a three-story mosque.
- The town said the suit's claims "are baseless."
“This case is about standing up against bigotry and protecting the fundamental rights of all Americans, regardless of their faith,” Muhammad Faridi, an attorney representing the mosque, said in a written statement, adding that the group “has endured an unprecedented campaign of discrimination and resistance, all because they sought to upgrade their modest house of worship to better serve their community.”
Town Attorney Frank Scalera said Oyster Bay doesn't comment on the specifics of pending litigation but called the lawsuit's claims "baseless," "unjustified" and an "attempt to divide the community."
"Our town’s policies are applied equally and reflect fairness for all, regardless of faith," Scalera said in a written statement. "The Town takes great pride in its proven dedication to diversity and inclusiveness.”
'The most trivial of issues'
Muslims On Long Island, MOLI, purchased the property at 320 Central Ave. in the 1990s and established the mosque in 1998. Because the town requires houses of worship to have at least 1 acre of land, MOLI purchased an adjacent property at 300 Central Ave., the lawsuit says.

One of the buildings Muslims On Long Island wants to demolish to build a larger three-story mosque. Credit: Rick Kopstein
In 2018, the ownership group submitted a plan to the Town of Oyster Bay to build a single building on the two properties to add more space for religious activities. The current mosque draws about 200 people at peak times and around 150 students for after-school programs, according to the suit.
After filing the plan for the expanded building, the mosque alleges the town required numerous resubmissions for “the most trivial of issues,” including because the town didn’t like the shrubs Muslims On Long Island planned to plant on the site. In total, the lawsuit indicated the town’s Department of Environmental Resources required the group to pay $45,000 to have its application reviewed.
Then, as the application was under review, the town passed a new parking ordinance in June 2022 that required new houses of worship to have one parking spot for every three occupants, instead of basing parking spots on square footage or the number of seats in a building. The alteration changed the number of parking spots needed for the new mosque from 86 to 155. Muslims On Long Island’s proposal had 88 parking spots, according to the lawsuit.
“Under the new ordinance, secular land use applicants — e.g., theaters — receive better treatment than religious land use applicants as they are still only required to have one parking spot for every three seats,” the lawsuit reads
The lawsuit alleges community pressure helped cause the Nassau County Planning Commission to vote 5-1 in July 2024 to recommend to the town’s Planning Advisory Board to deny the mosque application. Because of that determination, the planning board would need a supermajority to approve the application. In November 2024, the board voted unanimously to deny the application, according to the lawsuit, which indicated it was the first application the body denied since 2018.
The planning board's decision indicated the site already has insufficient parking and that the proposed mosque "represents a significant expansion in overall building square footage" when compared with the two structures currently on the adjacent properties.
Imran Makda, a member of the mosque’s board, said in a statement that the congregation has “only ever wanted a place where we can pray, learn, and gather in peace,” adding, “It’s heartbreaking to see our efforts met with such resistance and discrimination.”
Previous suit cited
A Plainview Sikh temple engaged in years of dispute with Oyster Bay over its expansion, Newsday reported.
In that case, the town board halted construction because of parking issues, and the congregation later filed suit against Oyster Bay in federal court under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 — the same federal law cited in the Bethpage lawsuit. Construction on the three-story temple resumed after the two sides reached a settlement.
“We love this town and want to contribute to its growth and harmony, but instead, we’ve been treated like we don’t belong here,” Moeen Qureshi, a volunteer at Masjid Al-Baqi, said in a statement.
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