Hillside Islamic Center eyes spring opening

Noah Manskar
The Hillside Islamic Center is in the final phases of construction in New Hyde Park. (Photo by Noah Manskar)

The Hillside Islamic Center unveiled plans for a new North New Hyde Park mosque in 2012, seeking to build a bigger home for its congregation.

Now, nearly five years and more than $2 million later, the mosque at 300 Hillside Ave. is about two months away from hosting its first services, Abdul Aziz Bhuyian, the Islamic center’s president, said.

If it meets its target of opening in late March or early April, the center will have overcome years of delays in construction and concerns from neighbors to give New Hyde Park’s Muslim community a central place to worship again.

“It’s just a dream come true,” Bhuyian said. “… This is the commandments that we are fulfilling, that where people are living they should have a place to [come] together and pray.”

Construction of the 9,100-square-foot, two-story building started in 2013, Bhuyian said. It will replace the Hillside Islamic Center’s former one-story mosque that had stood on the property.

Meanwhile, clergy have held prayers in a temporary location at 271-01 80th Ave. and at the New Hyde Park Elks Lodge, which they will continue to use, Bhuyian said.

The mosque has seen its membership grow since it was founded in 2002, Bhuyian has said. That growth tracks with the ethnic diversification of New Hyde Park in recent years.

Daily morning and evening prayers draw an average of 50 to 100 people, while Friday prayers, the largest services, attract 600 to 800 people between the two locations, Bhuyian said.

The new building, equipped with a prayer hall, libraries and a basement gathering space, will allow the Islamic center to host other religious groups to strengthen community bonds, Bhuyian said.

“It’s going to help us bring the community, not only Muslims, the entire community of New Hyde Park and the surrounding area, together to share our thoughts and values,” Bhuyian said.

The new mosque was the subject of controversy in North New Hyde Park in the years leading up to the start of construction.

The mosque has a long way to go before it can be declared ready to open, according to the Town of North Hempstead’s Building Department.

Glenn Norjen, a deputy building commissioner for the town, said the department has not given final approval for any of the eight town permits the mosque needs, nor has it received needed approvals from county agencies.

“The pace of this job is totally in the hands of the owner,” Norjen said in an email.

Residents objected to the Hillside Islamic Center’s purchasing of four homes from the adjacent residential neighborhood to expand the mosque’s parking lot, and to the height of the four decorative minarets on the building.

The town’s Board of Zoning Appeals rejected the mosque’s expansion plan in 2010, saying its proximity to homes conflicted with zoning rules. But the center moved forward under a federal law that relaxes zoning restrictions for houses of worship in residential neighborhoods.

The town stopped construction for more than a year in October 2013 because the project was not being built according to the approved plans, Norjen said.

Work on the plumbing, gas and fire sprinkler systems was later stopped again because a licensed contractor was not on site, Norjen said.

Jim McHugh, a former New Hyde Park civic leader who led efforts to temporarily halt construction, said he doubts the building will be ready by this spring.

He and other neighbors still worry about the construction methods being used, he said, as other properties could be at risk if it falls down or is damaged in a major storm. 

“The cake is baked, but we’re skeptical about some of the ingredients that are baked into the cake,” McHugh said.

Bhuyian called McHugh’s criticism of the construction over the years a “blessing in disguise,” saying it helped planners make the building better.

“We actually got, construction-wise, a perfect building,” Bhuyian said.

New Hyde Park civic leaders continue to address issues at the construction site if they see them, said Bill Cutrone, president of the Lakeville Estates Civic Association.

But the fact that past issues were resolved is “the most important thing,” he said.

Cutrone said he would welcome the chance to visit the new mosque and strengthen the communities’ relationship.

“I think that’s a wonderful gesture and we need to be unified, and we need to live with our neighbors,” Cutrone said. “If our neighbors are Christian or Jewish or … Muslim in this case,” people should “realize that your next door neighbor may not have the same beliefs, but they are your neighbors and you need to be good to each other.”

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