Bayonne Zoning Board approves city's first mosque, a year after being first denied

BAYONNE -- The city will finally see its first mosque built on the east side of town.

The Zoning Board, during a special meeting in the Bayonne High School auditorium Monday night, approved a mosque and community center proposed by the local nonprofit group Bayonne Muslims.

The board had denied the proposal about a year ago, citing traffic and parking concerns. But after a federal lawsuit, open investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, and a potentially huge payout if taken to court, the city and board decided to settle.

"I've tried to keep the focus on zoning, but it has gone far beyond that," said Mark Urban, chairman of the board. "It is now a financial issue ... My opinion has not changed on the application, but based on the legal counsel that has been given to this board, not to accept this agreement is going to cause an extreme financial burden to the taxpayers of this city."

The approval brings closure to a controversial saga that saw years of zoning board postponements and delays, as well as protests among residents, some of whom remain opposed.

"This is not fair to me or my neighbors," Melanie Flora said tonight, adding that the mosque's approval would impact her quality of life because the area would be "subjected to an influx of cars, people and noise coming into the neighborhood seven days a week.

"To my Muslim friends here, I accept everybody for who they are," she said. "(But) I don't want to be discriminated against."

The Zoning Board on March 6, 2017 -- after a burdensome, year-and-a-half long process -- denied the group's proposal for a mosque on property it had purchased in the summer of 2015.

The group had been renting out the basement of the St. Henry's Church since 2008. That lease has since expired.

Officials voted in favor 4-3, but the application needed a super majority so it failed to pass.

Dissenting zoning board officials cited traffic and parking issues in their decisions, but a lawsuit filed two months later by the Bayonne Muslims claimed the board violated federal law because it based its vote on issues it was not legally permitted to consider.

Shortly after, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had opened an investigation into the matter. An email seeking comment from the Justice Department was not immediately returned.

The city opted to settle the suit for $400,000 in late January of this year. It was paid for through a joint insurance fund that the city makes regular payments to in exchange for coverage.

The settlement payout is a windfall compared to similar litigation in the state: $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit in Bernards Township in August 2017 and $7.75 million to settle in Bridgewater in 2014.

The city faced a particularly daunting legal battle, considering the lawsuit cited two similar approvals the zoning board made in 2011 and 2012 for houses of worship.

In 2011, the zoning board granted a variance to the Virgin Mary and St. John Coptic Orthodox Church at 22 West 20th St. despite observing that the applicant did not satisfy any of the three requirements for a conditional use variance, according to the lawsuit.

And in 2012, the board granted Iglesia Ni Cristo church at 280 Ave. E. a variance similar to the one the Bayonne Muslims sought, the lawsuit said.

"Our lawyers came back and said, 'Listen, it would almost behoove you to settle this case and not take it to trial unless you're prepared to pay millions of dollars,'" Mayor Jimmy Davis said previously. "'And have your taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars.'"

But many residents attending the meeting tonight were not fond of the city's decision to settle.

"I do not believe our city should bend to the threat of a lawsuit," said Joseph Basile, a local pastor in town whose house was vandalized with graffiti after hanging signs in his window that read "Save Bayonne" and "Stop the Mosque."

"You did act in good faith when you denied this application, please do not be bullied by a lawsuit," he added.

Other arguments against the mosque's approval, made mostly by residents in the surrounding area of the property on East 24th Street, varied from the lack of parking, traffic congestion, safety of children walking in the streets, and a lack of crossing guards, among other things.

They also pointed to new residential development in the area.

Several residents also suggested there was a level of political collusion occurring between the zoning board and the city amid election season.

But, nonetheless, the application was approved unanimously.

The plaintiffs were represented by Adeel A. Mangi and Muhammad Faridi of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in Manhattan, who also represented an Islamic society in the Bernards Township case.

"We are very pleased to have received a unanimous approval from the Zoning Board and look forward to welcoming Bayonne residents of all faiths to the city's first mosque," Mangi said.

The plaintiffs, Abdul Hameed Butt and Khaled Aly -- the president and vice president of the Bayonne Muslims, respectively -- asserted that the zoning board's denial of the proposed house of worship was influenced by "anti-Muslim community animus."

The suit cites a number of examples, including residents protesting outside City Hall with signs reading "If the mosque comes, the mayor (goes)," and a 20-year-old resident arrested and charged after vandalizing the St. Henry's Church School with anti-Muslim graffiti.

In particular, the lawsuit named Michael Alonso, now a trustee on the city Board of Education, who in June 2016 cited the Orlando night club massacre tragedy as reason to oppose the Muslim community center.

"It's definitely not the right time, with everything that's happening recently and all over the world," he told ABC7. "We have ISIS. We have Christians being beheaded. We have the LGBT community being targeted. This is just not the right time..."

Through his Republican group, Alonso also issued and circulated an advertisement throughout the city which encouraged readers to boycott businesses co-owned by Aly, including Yellow Cab and Judicke's Bakery.

Despite all of this, the Muslim community expressed relief of the community center's approval.

"All I ask for is a chance," said Ali Hassan, a resident of West 50th Street. "We're just here to worship in peace."

Mutasim Hba, a resident who recently moved to Bayonne with his family from Jersey City, said that he and others in the community have continued to invest in the city.

"I have a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old who are going to be heading to the Henry Harris School in the future... I need everyone here to understand that there are individuals who are investing big time in Bayonne," he said. "In order for this town to move forward and be a little more progressive, we have to be open to new development and new institutions."

"We are investing in this city and I feel like enough is enough, he added. "We want to move forward and build a future for everybody."

Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.

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