Muslim community plans to fight for proposed mosque

The Muslim community in Yonkers has vowed to fight on after the city put up a major roadblock in their drive to create a mosque. The Islamic Community Center of Mid-Westchester purchased a turn-of-the-century

News 12 Staff

May 26, 2016, 1:14 AM

Updated 2,901 days ago

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Muslim community plans to fight for proposed mosque
The Muslim community in Yonkers has vowed to fight on after the city put up a major roadblock in their drive to create a mosque.
The Islamic Community Center of Mid-Westchester purchased a turn-of-the-century mansion on Grandview Boulevard in the Colonial Heights section of Yonkers last year for the purpose of turning it into a mosque.
On Tuesday night, the Yonkers City Council voted 4-3 in favor of designating the site as a landmark. The designation makes it harder for the Muslim group to build accessible ramps and make other upgrades to the building.
"With this landmark, it would take six months to fix this step when something like this should take a few days," says Zaid Nakadar, of the Islamic Community Center.
The council has voted that the only person who could change the status is Mayor Mike Spano.
Members of the Muslim community center say they are weighing their options and looking for a peaceful way to resolve the dispute. If there is no resolution to the dispute, members of the Islamic community could file a discrimination lawsuit in federal court.
Residents opposed to the mosque could also take their fight to court.
 


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