Long Island residents fume over all-boy, Muslim boarding school in residential neighborhood

Fuming Long Island residents are fighting to the opening of a Muslim boarding school for boys that’s expected to house 120 teenage students — claiming it will destroy a quiet suburban neighborhood.

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A group of Bay Shore homeowners claims the proposal for an overnight dorm is illegal under codes for the suburban Saxon Avenue, on a 13-acre waterfront property that housed a Catholic seminary years ago.

“The proposed use by the new property owner is far more intensive than what is appropriate for a quiet residential neighborhood,” Kevin Colgan, an Islip resident and leader of the anti-boarding school movement in the neighborhood, known as “Saxon Says No,” said in a statement. 

“This is about protecting the integrity of our zoning laws — not opposing any individual or organization — zoning laws exist to preserve the character, integrity, and quality of life within our neighborhoods while ensuring that land uses are appropriate for their surroundings,” Colgan said. 

Opponents are pushing the town of Islip’s Zoning Board of Appeals to shut down plans for the property, which was sold in June.

The United American Muslim Association, a group partly based out of the Suleymaniye mosque in Dix Hills, scooped up the sprawling property from the Roman Catholic Montfort Missionaries for $5 million. 

At Tuesday’s zoning board meeting, several members of the board signaled that they think the proposed dorm is legal under town law. The meeting lasted more than five hours as hundreds of angry residents packed Town Hall.

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“When my family chose to purchase this home 10 years ago — we relied on the zoning protections when making one of the largest investments of our lives — a community of single-family homes where the zoning was intended to preserve its residential character,” said Anna Chan, who lives across the street from the proposed school.

Locals speaking at the meeting said they felt the school’s opening would hurt the integrity of the neighborhood, and that their residential area is no place for a school of this scale. 

Most complaints centered around their belief that a boarding school, regardless of any religious affiliation, shouldn’t be opened in a residential neighborhood as it would cause an increase in noise and create traffic jams, as other residents had unanswered questions regarding a daycare center for small children that would be opening with the proposed school. 

“A boarding school with the noise that 120 teenage boys can generate in a recreational area — would you want that in your backyard?” asked Isla Belkitis, who lives near the site. 

Supporters of the school, along with attorney Samuel L. Bifulco, who represents The United American Muslim Association, said the proposal under town code is perfectly legal, and that strict rules on the students would keep them from causing a nuisance.

The nonprofit’s goal, he said, is to open a school on the shuttered property to provide a “comprehensive spiritual and academic training of its students,” including full-time Islamic-centered schooling, early childhood education and community programs.

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