Zoning Board considers East Meadow mosque enlargement

<p>The Hempstead Town Board held a public hearing today on the Long Island Muslim Society's plan to add a second story on their East Meadow mosque.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Aug 17, 2017, 5:49 PM

Updated 2,604 days ago

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The Long Island Muslim Society asked the Hempstead Town Zoning Board to allow them to enlarge their mosque in East Meadow from one story to two - making more room for female worshippers.
"It's just going upstairs so our sisters have a little more comfortable place," said Muslim Society vice president Hussein Ahmad. 
Some neighbors said they are concerned about traffic, but the Muslim Society said they will provide a shuttle service in an effort to ease the parking and traffic concerns.
That didn't please some opponents at Thursday's public meeting. Speaker after speaker complained about how crowded East Meadow Avenue is during Friday Muslim prayer services. 
"If they're going to build a second floor, it's going to attract that many more people, and it is over-saturated and the community unfortunately just can't handle it," said Ted Rosenthal. 
The Muslim Society and their supporters said the mosque will comply with occupancy requirements and that they have no plans to expand the building any further. 
The Zoning Board announced that it reserved its final decision until a future date.