On a quiet, tree-lined residential street in Brooklyn, the Muslim Brotherhood front, MAS, is building a mega mosque, despite the fierce opposition from the neighborhood and in violation of zoning ordinances and stop work orders. Why there?
Voorhies Avenue is a beautiful little street in Sheepshead Bay. Small, pretty, well-cared for homes line the street. There are no stores, churches, synagogues or businesses there. So why would the Muslim Brotherhood want to build a beachhead there? There are no Muslims who live on the street and not many in the neighborhood. Why there?
MAS has ignored procedure, flouted the law and violated stop work orders. They respect the sharia (Islamic law), American rule of law? Not so much. Check out the video -- why are they yelling to stop filming? What else are they hiding from the neighbors? Thanks to Logan for the video.
The neighborhood coalition that opposes the mosque wants to keep the street residential and quiet. Hardly unreasonable. The idea of a giant mosque, out of all proportion to the other homes on the street, is offensive. The traffic, congestion, noise, call to prayer changes the landscape of this otherwise quiet street. Don't neighborhoods have a say on what can or cannot be built? Don't neighborhoods have a right to preserve the sanctity of their streets and their homes? The MAS Islamic supremacists have been consistently dishonest. Their obfuscation, misrepresentation of the project and morphing mosque design hardly instill confidence that they are being straight about anything. And more to the point, why there?
They are ignoring DOB inspectors, complaints by neighbors and a stop work order, and are furiously building the massive structure in violation of code and certain requirements.
The NY Post here:
The proposed Voorhies Avenue mosque violates city law because the plans do not include at least 13 parking spaces, opponents charged this week as they began a legal challenge to the controversial house of worship.
Bay People, the main opposition group, filed a challenge with the Department of Buildings claiming that mosque, which would be built between E. 28th and E. 29th streets, is required to provide parking spots for congregants. But the plan for the house of prayer and community center doesn't allocate any.
According to city law, an off-street parking spot must be built for every 15 people expected to fill a house of worships largest room of assembly.
Yet mosque builder Allowey Ahmed received a waiver from the city after showing that less than 10 parking spots would be needed for the 138 people expected to fill the prayer area on the first floor — the largest room in the three-story structure.
But attorneys from GoldmanHarris, the law firm retained by the Bay People to challenge the city’s approval of the mosque, claim that the occupancy numbers for the second floor should be added to the first, since it’s all “one room.”
That’s because diagrams for the new mosque indicate that up to 61 female worshipers could occupy the second floor — watching the service through a window looking out onto the first.
“Were the main and secondary places of worship properly counted together as a single place of worship, off-street accessory parking would be required under the zoning,” attorneys at GoldmanHarris wrote in its challenge. “By circumventing off-street parking requirements [the mosque] will endanger the health, safety and welfare of neighborhood residents by increasing traffic congestion, noise and air pollution and interfering with the movement of fire and other emergency vehicles.”
This latest challenge is in lock-step with ongoing complaints that the proposed mosque will create a parking and traffic nightmare on Voorhies Avenue — an argument that’s been often overshadowed by a disturbing anti-Islamic sentiment shared by protestors. Earlier this year, neighborhood residents and Brooklyn Tea Party members waved signs reading, “Islam not welcome here,” “New York is not Islamabad” and “Do not forget 9-11!”
[...]
Through it all, there has been repeated assertions that the Muslim American Society, which is backing the mosque, is connected to Muslim extremism, though no direct link has been shown.
That is patently untrue. The Muslim American Society is the public face of the Muslim Brotherhood, established in 1993.
Yet parking is the only issue Bay People members have harped on so far. Last month the group said it was poised to begin a multi-pronged attack against the mosque.
“There are numerous errors, miscalculations and compliance issues with the applicant’s Department of Buildings filing,” the group said in a recent e-mail to supporters, claiming that the city approved “incomplete plans” for the mosque and that the proposed building’s rear wall was dangerously close to a neighboring co-op.
Ahmed has always admitted that the mosque will be on the first two floors of the three-story building. The top floor will be reserved for classroom space.
The entire building will accommodate up to 120 worshippers, but less than 20 will be coming to worship on a daily basis, Ahmed claimed.
It’s unclear why the city didn’t count both floors. A Department of Building spokeswoman said the Bay People’s challenge is currently being investigated. If it finds some validity to the complaint, the city could file a stop-work order and revoke all permits.
The government and building departments have turned a blind eye to the violations and the lies of the supremacists. Once again the government has failed the people.
Dear neighbors, residents of Sheepshead Bay, and Bay People supporters:
We urge you to keep fighting the ill-conceived project at 2812 Voorhies Avenue. The DOB is dragging its feet reviewing multiple Public Challenges associated with the property, while construction crews are rushing work at the site, ignoring DOB inspectors, complaints by neighbors and a Stop Work order. After multiple complaints, letters to local politicians, demonstrations and media reports, city administration is still trying to ignore the obvious violations associated with the project in question. Just like the Sanitation Department abandoned you when you needed help the most, other city agencies are not doing much to protect your quality of life. The Community Center designed to accommodate hundreds of people on a daily basis is bad for the neighborhood, and creates “objectionable influence” as stated in our zoning laws, and endangering our lives as emergency vehicles
New variations of the paperwork get submitted to the Department of Buildings (DOB) by the project architects on a regular basis, and despite obvious omissions and mistakes, like absence of dates and signatures, wrong addresses and floor counts, the city signs off on all of them almost instantaneously.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued construction permits for parking, roadway and sidewalk blockages, without taking into consideration the specific location of the site. Voorhies Avenue, which has only one lane in each direction, becomes very dangerous when one of those lanes is occupied by several parked dump trucks and motorists have to drive against traffic. Announcements were made at PS 52 informing teachers that cars parked in front of 2812 Voorhies would be towed away. But there is no extra parking available in the neighborhood. Each spot counts, and when teachers and parents are forced to circle around dump trucks looking for parking, our kids are endangered as they walk to/from school, especially since they can’t use the southern side of Voorhies Avenue sidewalk, which is also blocked by dump truck/excavator.
Fortunately, the evidence of violations provided by lawyers and engineers working with Bay People is so overwhelming, that City Council member, Lewis A. Fidler, realized that his constituents really need help and contacted the DOB asking for explanations. He specifically urged the DOB to make sure the architectural plans are accessible, no mistakes are made while reviewing the plans, and 311 complaints don’t go unanswered.
We don’t expect every politician representing the neighborhood to be familiar with building/zoning laws, but we do hope that, just like Councilman Fidler, other elected officials will look at our findings and take a stand.
We will hold the City of New York responsible and urge you to email/call/write your elected officials and every relevant city agency.
Very Truly Yours,
BAY PEOPLE INC.
Bay People was created by a group of Sheepshead Bay neighborhood residents. We are not affiliated with any political party and our activists do not share common religion, race or heritage. We voluntarily dedicate hundreds of hours of our time to preserving the quality of life in our neighborhood, and cover most expenses ourselves. We welcome every resident who wants to participate, and always look forward to hearing from you.
Please visit us at www.BayPeople.org or write to info@baypeople.org
The good people have been fighting the good fight for months. I have posted on their protests previously here. Here are some snaps from a protest last summer.
The protest was organized by the Bay People Inc., the organization created by the people living in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn, NY. Between 200 and 300 people showed up.
Part of the general view of the protest.
In 1994-1996, I used to live just a few blocks away from the place of the proposed mosque the construction of which is pushed by the MAS, the radical Muslim American Society, a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization which fathered Hamas and CAIR. Most of the area's residents are Italians, Jews and Russians.
One of the speakers at the protest said that according to the latest census, only around 400 Muslims live in this entire zip code, but the proposed mosque is meant for up to 1,500.
The Bay People Inc. hired a group of attorneys to help them fight the Islamization of the area, and according to one of the protest organizers, they have already won the first battle -- the construction of the minaret was banned.
Much more coverage here.
The Mosque Will Destroy Our Community
When my wife and I learned that we were expecting a baby, we knew that we needed a home for our growing family. The search for a home was difficult. I knew little about real estate, had no idea how much my family could afford. Thankfully, my wife decided to look in Sheepshead Bay.We fell in love with the neighborhood: quiet streets, shady trees and beaches, great shopping and delicious restaurants just blocks away. When we entered our future house, we knew that we found a home for our growing family.
Many years and two more kids later, we still have the same home: small and quirky, but warm and cozy. We never imagined moving, and certainly never expected to be pushed out. Unfortunately, the ill-conceived plan to build a huge mosque and community center just feet from our house turned our lives upside-down. For instance:
1) Our bedroom window will be facing a large structure meant to accommodate hundreds of people. According to reviews on CitySearch, the Bath Beach chapter of the same Muslim organization is said to be “busy day in and day out … parties and classes are always there.”
2) We have no driveway or garage, and expect people coming to the community center to take up every available parking spot.
3) It will be harder to drive somewhere because the street is one way in each direction.
4) There will be constant noise: amplified calls to prayer, honking cars, people coming to worship five times a day, and parties.
5) Twice a day all the activities at the community center happen at the same time as teachers and students arrive and leave a public school which is less than a block away. This leads to more noise, traffic, and less parking.
6) Finally, as my quality of life deteriorates and I can’t take it any longer, I’ll decide to move, but — surprise! — nobody will want to buy my house. Why? Because of the noise, traffic, lack of parking, crowded sidewalks, etc. Have you heard of a Catch-22? Welcome to my reality!
Am I bitter? Sure I am! This is my home we are talking about! Can you honestly say that you wouldn’t oppose this particular construction? I beg every reader to imagine themselves in my position and please answer the following question: “What would you do?” Please, be honest with yourselves!
Proponents of the mosque are trying to convince everyone that our concerns are ungrounded. Moreover, anyone opposing the project is called an “Islamophobe.” That characterization is unfair and very painful. I would oppose any type of large building, synagogue, church, mosque, or any other non-religious structure that would threaten to destroy my family’s right to quietly use and enjoy our property.
Fortunately, hundreds of Sheepshead Bay residents realize that this enormous project, on a quiet residential street, would be a tremendous nuisance for everyone, regardless of religion. As a result, we came together as Bay People. We will protect our rights and we will make sure our American dreams and our quality of life are not sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.
UPDATE: Help them.
Please support our legal team -contributions to our cause can be made online via PayPal (www.BayPeople.org) or by sending a check or money order payable to:
BayPeople Inc.
1421 Sheepshead Bay Rd.
Post Mail Box 288
Brooklyn, NY 11235
