"Fake NIMBY Grandma" Mosque Scandal Hits Long Island Hamlet

Call it Islamophobic NIMBYism with a creative touch.

It's not unusual for a city in America to attempt to block the construction of a mosque in their community. But this latest example features perhaps the most creative strategy yet.

It all started when a group of Muslim leaders sought to upgrade their mosque in the Long Island town of Oyster Bay, perhaps best known for being home to singer Billy Joel. 

However, the city rejected the proposal, citing testimony from a local grandmother who said upgrading the mosque would seriously diminish the living standards in her neighborhood.

The grandmother said that she already struggled to drive her SUV down the cramped streets due to the parked cars of local mosque-goers. Using this testimony as justification, Oyster Bay refused construction permits to upgrade the mosque, citing crippling blows to local residents’ quality of life.

The only problem? This grandmother doesn’t exist.

The Mysterious Case of the Non-Existent Grandmother

The mosque's initial request to upgrade was filed with the city all the way back in 2018. At the time, the house of worship met all the zoning and regulatory requirements for expansion, but construction was ultimately delayed.

Then, in 2022, as the mosque was about to get the green light, the city abruptly changed zoning requirements for parking, doubling the amount of neighborhood parking spots necessary for expansion. This sudden change put the expansion all but out of reach for the mosque, and their request to expand was again denied.

In their rejection letter, the city specifically cited a local grandmother who had trouble driving her SUV down neighborhood streets narrowed by overcrowded street parking for mosque service. 

The upgraded mosque would be too disruptive to the lives of local residents like this elderly grandmother, city officials said, and the construction plans were dismissed.

Here Comes the Lawsuit

Later it was revealed that there was no such woman. 

“This grandmother doesn’t exist,” alleges Peter Vogel, an attorney for Muslims of Long Island. “She is a figment of [Oyster Bay’s] imagination.” 

The activist group Muslims on Long Island is suing the city, alleging the town discriminated against them by violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

They say that the parking requirement changes are targeting houses of worship and their mosque specifically, alleging that the city changed zoning requirements every time the permits were close to potential approval. Their attorneys are calling it “blatant Islamophobia,” and the fictitious resident cited in initial testimony only adds fuel to that fire. 

“An Amalgam” of Truth

The city has conceded that the grandmother indeed doesn't exist, but says that the fake testimony is still representative of local sentiment… even if it’s not exactly true.

Town Planning Board Chairman Angelo Stanco explained that the grandmother’s statement is “partially an amalgam of testimony and written submissions,” though he admits they “departed from its normal practice” to “invent the fake witness.” Other city officials now say they should probably remove the fake testimony from the official city complaint.

The city may be in hot water; The Department of Justice recently filed a statement of interest in the case, and US attorneys are actively investigating the situation. 

The incident comes amid tensions both in New York and elsewhere around Islam and Muslim communities. Despite immense popularity, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has faced criticism over his Muslim faith. And in Texas, a planned Islamic community was protested and eventually blocked by the state's governor.

In the meantime, in its bid to stop the mosque expansion, Oyster Bay may need some very real lawyers to defend claims made by a fictitious grandmother.

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