Over 500 people packed at 401 West Main St., Islip Town Hall, on July 21, to express concern over the newly proposed Muslim boarding school in Bay Shore. Unlike the prior resistance to the site being sold to Sunrise Senior Living, the Town Hall meeting attracted members from all corners of Islip Town.
The vacant Catholic Montfort Seminary, a 13.59-acre property at 26 South Saxon Ave. in Bay Shore was sold for five million dollars to The United American Muslim Association, which has been at the center of a misinformation campaign from locals in the surrounding communities.
Attorney Steve Bertolino, representing residents of the surrounding community against the school, said, “My clients and I disagree with the interpretation of the zoning code as to whether a boarding school is a committed use either directly or as an accessory of the AAA zoning. I am requesting that the board issue a decision that the AAA zoning does not permit a boarding school of any kind.”
William Wexler of the board of appeals then asked where within the code the restrictions or required town board hearing for the dormitory are.
Bertolino stated that it does not exist, but this is an inference of the town code because it cuts off the language of dormitories, so it reserves for itself the sole right to determine it.
The next attorney representing the opposition was Andrew Campanelli, who argued that “dormitories are not customary for parochial schools. There are 157 parochial schools in New York State and 97% of them have no dormitories, which means it’s not customary.”
In his second point, Campanelli stated, “This application leans towards the boarding school and other activities, like an 8,000 square foot social event center on the roof of the building. This points to a commercial use of this facility, which dwarfs the alleged parochial. You don’t need to have weddings out of school.”
In closing, Campanelli said, “I want to make this clear: This application has absolutely nothing to do with religion.”
The next lawyer to be heard was for The United American Muslim Association, Samuel Bifulco. “I want to identify what this proposal is not. The application before the board is not for assembly at all. It is not for a wedding venue. We are proposing only 120 students at the structure; I just confirmed this with our architect today, that the occupancy alone has a capacity of 1,300 individuals.”
“The tuition for the 7-12 grade, ten-month school year would average $750-1250 a month. The school will have a rule that no students will be allowed to have a car on campus and all deliveries to the school will be made only during business hours. Housing is for the students, faculty, and a few rooms for out-of-town guests.”
After the attorneys for both sides presented their arguments at the meeting, community members were allowed to address the members of the Zoning Board of Appeals. A woman who identified herself as Joann, who lives in the Windcrest 55 and older community next to the proposed site on South Saxon Ave., expressed, “The house on the site was not used for years, and it was peaceful; this is a dramatic change from what we are used to. This was our Gold Coast of our town; is this what we are going to become? What door is this going to open for the future?”
Another person who introduced himself as Corey from Islip stated to the board before he was cut off, “I want to remind everyone in this room that we are actively at war with Iran, and these Islamic centers…” Despite the board stating his point was irrelevant, he continued to protest that it was relevant until public safety officers threatened to escort him out, at which point he shifted his concern to its impact on affordability.
Many prior to and after the board meeting, local community Facebook pages expressed their biases that stated, “Islam is an infestation and is a stronghold for the destruction of America”; other posts argued that it was an attempt for Muslims to colonize America.
However, this opposition is not lost in the irony of the community resistance 100 years ago against the Montfort Seminary on the same site. When first proposed in the early 1920s, local community members and a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan protested and held rallies throughout Bay Shore, which attracted hundreds of locals in surrounding communities, who affirmed, “Catholic church teaches disloyalty to America,” and “Catholics accumulated weapons in the columns of their churches and were conspiring to commit random acts of terrorism.” In contrast, others argued the seminary would destroy the peacefulness and character of the community.
