SerpApi.Org
There was a public hearing on Tuesday night over a proposed Islamic boarding school and mosque in the Long Island hamlet of Bay Shore.
Many neighbors say the facility shouldn't be in a residential neighborhood, while others say houses of worship should be welcomed anywhere.
The proposal
The United American Muslim Association recently reached an agreement to buy the 13-acre devotional space on Saxon Avenue with plans of turning it into an Islamic boarding school and mosque.
The existing structure is a three-story, 73,000-square-foot property that housed a Catholic boarding school from the 1920s until 1972, and more recently served as a home for Catholic priests.
"I think it would be atrocious for the community"
There has been strong pushback from residents who live on the same Bay Shore block, with many even putting signs on their lawns that read, "No Boarding School."
Those who oppose the religious complex and school say it's strictly a zoning issue.
"We don't want 120 high school kids living here, roaming the area," one person said.
"It's gonna be too much traffic right here on the main road," resident John Elmonuc added.
"They wanted to put a senior center here, and we didn't want that due to the density and the more traffic and all the problems that came with it. This is a boarding school. It has the same problems," David Cerpone added.
"I think it would be atrocious for the community, environment, bird sanctuary, [and] comprise the integrity of the community," another person added.
On Tuesday, the town of Islip said it had no comment on pending land use applications, per its policy.
"They don't need to be afraid of nothing"
Members of the association say it's the ideal place for worship and educating children.
"Everything my kids know about their religion [is] because of them. They trained them," the UAMA's Erol Akyurek said.
"I didn't live here in the 1960s when it was a boarding school. I'm sure [it's] more traffic. Ten years living here, traffic has not been that bad here," another resident said.
According to the Bay Shore Historical Society, the only thing that will change about the property is the faith of those using the religious center.
Meanwhile, supporters say the complex will build community and promote religion and culture.
"They don't need to be afraid of nothing. People come here to pray," Akyurek said. "This is for our future generations. [It's] good for kids."
