The Muslim faithful in Bayonne may have a new place for prayer and recreation in the foreseeable future if they get approval to build a community center on the city’s east side, the attorney representing the group said.
Bill Finnerty of Hughes & Finnerty in Bayonne said the plans are for his clients, The Bayonne Muslim Community, a nonprofit organization, to open a community center on 24th Street off Avenue F to replace the location where the group now meets, St. Henry Church School on Avenue C.
Finnerty said the group had been using St. Henry’s to worship in for the last six years, and for several years had been eyeing the almost 20,000-square-foot former Controlled Demolition property on 24th Street.
The organization has the property under contract, but has not closed on the title yet, Finnerty said. Finnerty would not specifically call the proposed new center a mosque.
Business Administrator Joe DeMarco said the application plans for the site describes its purpose as being a cultural center.
“It purposes include religious services, but that’s only part of the operations,” Finnerty said. Activities for children would be among the proposed complex’s other offerings.
The facility’s users would almost exclusively come from Bayonne, according to Finnerty.
The back of the property, which is between Avenue F and Halecky Park, abuts the park.
Finnerty said the community center would improve the area, including the old building that has not been occupied for a while.
“No work on it has been done in the last 20 years or so,” he said. “It’s going to improve the look of the neighborhood over what it is today.”
Finnerty said that across the street from the site is “essentially vacant property.”
If the plan is approved by the Bayonne Zoning Board of Adjustment, the group would leave the structure mainly intact, but do exterior cosmetic work. Finnerty said the organization hopes to get on the board agenda for its September meeting.
Since it was previously an industrial site for trucks and equipment, zoning laws would have to be changed. Other variances might also have to be approved.
The group held a technical review committee meeting, one of the first steps in the process, three weeks ago.
“It’s going to improve the look of the neighborhood over what it is today.” – Bill Finnerty
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Second Ward Councilman Sal Gullace, whose ward the center is in, said he had heard about the proposal, though he had not seen anything official yet.
He feels the complex would be a plus for the neighborhood.
“It’s a dump down there now,” he said. “The plan is to buy it, fix it up, and clean up the area.”
Gullace said he is aware that some residents nearby are opposed to the project, though only one person called him personally to voice displeasure about the idea.
“He said to me he’s worried about having a mosque in his area,” Gullace said.
“I understand it’s something new,” he said.
Opposition to project
Joe Wisniewski, who lives on East 23rd Street, said he heard the group wants to create a mosque, school, and community center, and that he is not happy about it because he said no one in his neighborhood had officially been notified about it. He said he had seen a pitch for donations for the project online.
He has concerns about what he says the redevelopment may bring, including possible fighting in public and a shortage of on-street parking.
“They’ll be no parking, nothing,” Wisniewski said.
He also said there are already churches on 22nd Street and Avenue F and 22nd Street and Prospect Avenue, and a school on 21st Street and Prospect, and that he believes this addition would worsen the parking problem.
Finnerty said that the off-street parking plans call for 37 spots, but that the center’s lot would actually hold 50 to 60 cars.
Wisniewski said another issue for him was how the approval of a Muslim mosque and community center would affect Bayonne.
“I’m concerned about the whole city being turned upside down and being radicalized,” he said. “People want the diversity, but the reality is there are a lot of issues that come with that.”
Finnerty could not disagree more.
“There is nothing in the last 15 years of this group in Bayonne that would indicate this is the case,” he said. “To say that Bayonne is being radicalized is so far from the truth.”
Finnerty said the center would mean a centralized place for the organization’s members to come to, and would allow the group to add more programs, especially for children. In the past, some of its members had to go to Jersey City.
Waheed Akbar, secretary for The Bayonne Muslim Community, said his group was a peaceful one, and had no record of complaints from authorities or others about fights or any other matters.
“I think they will benefit from having us as neighbor,” Akbar said. “In my opinion, they will embrace us. We will make the area cleaner and safer. We will be improving the site.”
Akbar said that once settled in, his group would hold an open house for all those with questions about members and their activities.
“We would invite people from the area and let them know what we’re about,” Akbar said. “We don’t want to have an issue. We will invite them to come and have a dialogue.”
Enhancing the neighborhood
Finnerty said he has heard no opposition to the idea.
“Everyone I’ve talked to has received it very well,” he said. “It’s only going to enhance the property on East 24th Street, the whole neighborhood.”
Finnerty said the architect is still working on the plans for the property, after getting feedback from the city. He said that if approved, it is estimated that construction would take six months to a year.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.