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.
What is your reaction?
42 comments
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Elizabeth Jane Erbe Wilcox
You’ve got to be kidding! What a load of crap. Shame on Oyster Bay. Get educated! Freaking christians are NOT the only religion. I’m a non-believer and am no longer surprised at any of the fake outrage the so-called christians manufacture to stir up hate.
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Wesley Richard Hunt
You are an idiot. Suffer no fools.
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James Riggle-Johnson
Why would a city council use a fake grandma as cover to deny this permit? Did they not have any real residents complain about the mosque’s expansion? And would they have done the same thing if this had been a Christian church asking for an expansion?
This is why people say there is still rampant discrimination in our country. The city council could have simply expressed concern about parking in the area and requested that the expansion plans include a parking lot. Instead, they chose to use a lie—and got caught. Now it looks like they just didn’t want to approve it because it’s a mosque and they don’t like Muslims.
It makes it worse when they admit they knew the complaint was fake, yet still don’t want to approve the project based on the parking situation. Now, whether or not that was their intent, they’ve left the appearance that this is about more than parking. Once you knowingly use a false complaint to justify your decision, you’ve undermined trust in the process. The community is left wondering if the real issue is the building plans—or the people inside them.
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Patricia Ann Gross
When I first saw this, and before reading the article, my mind went immediately to "another AI gone amok" story. After reading it, I was disillusioned that the Oyster Bay officials weren't that creative, they just made it up using HI (AI of the human kind, no machines required).
As a grandmother who has been dealing with urban expansion in my neighborhood for the last 18 months constructing a new apartment building across the street, often shutting off access or departure to/from my building, if this grandmother actually existed I could understand her issue. Right now we, as a country, are having enough problems with having to sort out fact from fiction in anything we hear, see, or experience from our elected officials (and I mean all of them), that blatantly lying about the existence of this person, when the "truth" of civic/community sentiment would have been a more compelling story only shows how much they are willing to go too far. They put themselves at risk for lawsuits and their credibility has been ruined. Nobody will believe anything they say anymore (perhaps those that are deeply imbedded in the same rhetoric would be an exception.)
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Joseph Grieco
To me, the irony is they are on a four-lane divided boulevard and have a larger parking lot than many strip malls. This is more of a case of the town moving the goal posts.
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Patricia Ann Gross
I realize all of that, and that only makes matters worse. It's also not the first time the zoning law changed immediately before the permit was to be decided.
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Najah P Tamargo
Najah Tamargo-US
Shame on those people!!! Straight up, SHAME ON YOU!!!
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John Albert Daniel
Fake Grandma being racist, let the cartoon be racist no reflection on the council.
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Colleen McAllister
I agree with Minister Don. My own church has outgrown our small parking lot and many have to park on the street. Muslim or not this is a center for Worship not a night club. Parking is a problem in most areas so I see no reason to reject the Mosque's request.
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Rev. BH
In some Boston neighborhoods there are intersections of narrow streets with churches on one or two corners. Parking can be a nightmare. (especially during funerals!) But these folks always find a way to park or drive through without major fuss. Yet I'd guess if a mosque or temple was built in these busy communities the cries of congestion and lack of parking spaces would abound.
It's not about traffic, parking, or a big new place of worship. It's about a religion that worships the same god (though with different names) in other ways
There are several beautiful Buddhist temples near me. We have no problem with them. Peace to all.
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Robin Anne Hannon
If everyone else can park, synagogues, churches, etc, so should the Muslim community. Period. Fake Grandma ...wow. Racism with a very odd touch that's for sure.
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Reverend Paula Copp
I’m so damn tired of stupidity. And lies. As long as I’m not hurting you or anyone else, just let me live my life!
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Martin L Stigleman
Okay...the FIRST thing that should happen here is that, EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE!!! What they did was PUBLICLY LIE TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION! Creating a false testimony is bad enough, but they attributed it to "a local grandmother" in order to push public sympathy into agreeing with their decision. Also, after 4 years of modifying zoning requirements to stop the construction, this pushed the entire situation into what is clearly a matter of Religious discrimination...a CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION, knowingly and purposely committed by elected officials.
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Roy S. Thorpe
People always fear something they don't understand or care to understand! Unfortunately most of the world is filled with uneducated or undereducated people! Intolerance is rooted in stupidity!
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Brother Peter
I grew up in the Town of Oyster Bay (actually went to high school with Billy Joel) and can tell you the actual Village of Oyster Bay has very narrow streets and a small commercial section so I can see where folks are concerned about parking. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Haven't been there in many years though.
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Joseph Grieco
It's on Central Ave and has a huge parking lot. This is a case of Oyster Bay moving the goal posts.
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Ari Joseph Bertine
Yep, that's islamophobia all right. Lying to stop them from doing what other religions get to do. Disgusting. I hope they win their case against the city. I find it interesting, however, that this is being attributed to "the city". Clearly, one or more human beings made the decision to do this, and this is on those people. I also hope those people get fired.
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Paul Edward Nunis
Meanwhile, there are other places where mainstream churches have public and private police block traffic on major streets, to accomodate the arrival and departure of their congregations.
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Delight Phillips
Faith based discrimination is as old as time. If everything is done above board and all local laws and regulations are followed, then what is the problem? I don't care what religion or house of worship goes up near where I live. I respect their right to worship as they see fit and I would hope that they would give me the same respect.
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Keoni Ronald May
I have had many problems with the Muslim mosques and public parking areas, because of the hostile confrontations with the Muslim community, who seemed to strongly believe that they have a stronger right to adverse possess parking stalls.
Their security people can be very hostile also. I am a retired NY Law Enforcement Officer and I feel that too many people give the Muslim community too many liberties, that are not given to the rest of society at large.
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Joseph Grieco
Just for your information, this facility is on a main street - not some side street. It's on a four-lane divided boulevard with street parking on both sides. In addition, the Mosque has a substantial parking lot. These guys are NOT taking over a neighborhood. They are applying for a permit to expand their services by putting on an addition. The town made up this "grandma" and her fictional SUV in order to move the goal posts. If you had noted in the article, the town has continually denied them the permits needed to expand, usually justifying it by claiming "insufficient parking", not "Granny can't negotiate her SUV down a four-lane boulevard. Both cases are BS, and they are likely going to lose big time when the Mosque sues the town.
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Wesley Richard Hunt
Got that right.
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Steven Ferrell
Exactly. The muslim community get away with much more and given much more than any other religion.
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Patricia Ann Gross
I guarantee you that if it was a Catholic or Presbyterian church (especially if one that a town council member attends), then the permit would fly through.
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Joseph Grieco
"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." This is an example of what is wrong - they are citing an issue that doesn't exist. Guess what - in just about every neighborhood there is a house of worship, be it a Church, Synagogue, Mosque, Temple or whatever whose attendance exceeds whatever parking facilities they own, and have to park on the streets or in lots friendly to them. Every Sunday (and this makes me feel good) I drive by a smallish church that has a largish congregation. Their lot can fit ten cars on a good day, with expert valets. So, they park on the street. They all park along only one side of the street (it's a two lane street that can sort of accommodate two lanes of traffic if cars are parked along the side. Residents in the area are used to this and don't see it as a problem. When the original church moved out, and a new church moved in, the pastor went door-to-door to ask if it would be a problem with his folks parking on the street! So, this non-existent Granny driving her non-existent SUV was used as an excuse for Islamophobia. Gee I wonder what their reaction would have been if the local Chabad wanted to expand? What if the local Evangelical Church did? Would they say no?
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Tom Herman
To create a false statement to justify opposition to a religious group seeking to expand it's facility is blatant discrimination. It's not like the number of church goers will increase. These people already live here. They just want to go to their services.
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Rev.J.Buchanan
Just wondering, would we be able to build a Christian Church in a Muslim country and would we be allowed to ring church bells? Will North America allow prayers be sung 5 times a day, throughout our cities? Would that be the next provision? Parking can always be solved with good planning, but how far do we go to accomodate people who would not accomodate others in their lands. What they did was Wrong! It's a parking problem, fix it!
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Ahmed Abduljabar Al-Hujazi
In fact there are many churches, and synagogues, in Muslim countries (Saudi Arabia notwithstanding because they're self-aggrandizing snobs.) Iraq, for example, was 14% Christian in pre-war days. The foreign minister under Saddam Hussein was Christian.
And another point of clarification: The call to prayer is not a prayer itself. Look up the translation if you're curious. It's a matter of tradition, not really a reminder. -
Paul Edward Nunis
Mosques play the loud call to prayer where they are surrounded by Muslims to hear it.
In non-Muslim neighborhoods, they use this new fangled thing called the 'internet' to remind the faithful. -
June Whalen Gonzalez
Wrong is wrong. Period. They have a legitimate zoning proposal that should have been approved.
Asking if a Christian church would be tolerated in another country? Imagine .... IF all countries had the same rules. But, alas they don't. And so we try to make rules that benefit the majority of the people under our constitution.
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Walter J. Holbrook
We must remember that the prophet Muhamad was born 1000's of years after Jesus death. A lot in the Quran Bible, mirrors the Holy Holy Bible (about 80%). I do not judge others beliefs. I focus on what God has laid out for me.
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Rev. Carol M Anaski-Figurski
We are living in modern times & all faiths are welcome. "Let them Build" it. They can't discriminate.
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Daniel Todd Kamm
That city is screwed. Unless High Orange D sticks his big nose into it. There are ways to work these concerns out...there is a mosque near me that is very busy on Fridays despite most people walking to their services; but the mosque is directly across the street from TWO public schools, located side by side, and the traffic up there is a nightmare... but it's not the mosque... it's the never ending lines of middle class and seeking to be parents picking up their kids in cars, when many could walk, and jamming up that entire area... I don't even bother driving that way on Fridays... but its not the mosque that is the problem.... Would bet good money the mosque has made more than sufficient efforts to satisfy these people in this Long Island town... and the town comes back with an amalgamated character, a grandmother no less, to represent neighborhood concerns. Please... whatever is going on in that town is scary. And I hope the mosque can build a great big addition with a huge minaret that signals to the town: you tried to F*** us, so feel free to sit on this!
Peace, Out...tk
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Cathy Johnson
If you let people build Christian churches, Methodist churches, Catholic Churches, in your community why not a Mosque? Do people think they are going to start shootings or something. Just because they don’t believe the same way you believe? I know a place in Georgia there is a Mosque a Catholic Church and a Mormon Temple on the same side of the street almost next to each other. No problem at all. GOD IS LOVE.
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Leslie A. Hulberg Née Tomasura
I believe that everyone should practice their faith without ostracism. There is absolutely no reason for the people of the Islamic faith to not be able to expand to meet the needs of their community. I would be especially upset that the city denied their expansion based on a falsehood. Everyone has a right to practice their faith anywhere within this country regardless of whether or not the community leaders follow that faith or have chosen some other faith or no faith at all. For the city leaders to do that is inherently wrong and for the governor to decline calls from the Islamic community regarding the matter is also wrong. I believe those people have a lawful right to worship and to be heard by their representatives in government. If the representatives refuse to hear them, unfortunately they will have to take the issue to a court of law.
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Warren Calvin Wall
Just a question. What is the Jewish population in Oyster Bay?
Hello All, LET THEM BUILD!!! If the only issue is parking, look at any church and you will see that a lot (in my area I am talking about) have people parking in the street. So what? If it's such an issue, make it so parking is only legal on one side of the street, not both. How about this... Do what our local car dealer did for more parking, they offered the neighboring house owner a good deal on purchasing the house next door. I know it would be expensive, but for a beautiful expansion to a house of worship, it might be worth it. I don't know... To me, let the wonderful people park. It's for only a few hours. I am a minister, a follower of the teachings of Jesus. I have no issue with ANYONE that worships the Great One, the All Mighty, in any way that is peaceful and respectful.
The best thing would be to eliminate all houses of worship. Let the people live in peace without having to put up with insensitive arrogant religionists claiming that their way is the One And Only Way.
Your a Liar
It is claimed by some that Muhammad is identified as the false prophet mentioned in the Book of Revelation, allegedly allied with the Beast (666 - Antichrist, representing secular powers) in a quest to conquer world.
You are prevaricating sir! No, the name Muhammad is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. While some Muslims believe certain verses in the Bible may refer to Muhammad through prophecy or interpretation, there is no direct mention of his name, according to various sources. Whenever I hear some people say I know it's not true.
Well, Muhammad is dead and has been for quite some time, so it's not likely he is going to lead the end times. Maybe look at those presently in positions of power who are already pushing us down that road toward the end...