Bay People In Their Own Words


by on Jul 9th, 2010

Mosque opposition group Bay People sent a representative to last week’s Community Board 15 meeting to again press their case against the religious facility. The group has repeatedly criticized media reports that play up the appearance of bigotry, and say that their main objections pertain to zoning. Since Sheepshead Bites has been among the list of media outlets they’ve claimed sensationalize the story, we’re posting this unedited video of the representative from Bay People making their case.

We have additional video from speeches made at Bay People’s June 27 rally that require some editing and cleanup. If you’re interested, let us know and we’ll bump it up on our priority list.

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  • BMB

    To get away from the bigotry accusations… nobody has explained, where I've seen, exactly how the mosque project violates zoning laws. I keep hearing that said (and it was said in the video) but I don't know precisely which laws it would be in violation of. Does anyone know what laws the BayPeople think it would violate? Or is that something that is just said/assumed, without a specific basis?

  • arizona immigration law for ny

    best part of this is his heavy accent… hahaha only in american can you have people without out papers protest an american right …. i mean come on now 80% of you people come from russia without papers student visa for 30 years come on now i can't even walk down a street in south brooklyn hearing english if you really care about parking why not protest the 5000000 condos in sheepshead without a damn garage and noise is in issue now at 3 am i hear fire trucks garbage trucks police sirens loud music all day all night dont get me started on hatzolah if you really dont like the noise and parking move….. this is brooklyn not a quiet little town never has been never will be and i mean you guys say your gonna hear the call to pray i hear that jewish siren i hear church bells i hear the b train i hear buses one more little sound isnt gonna kill me or you if you really gave two shyts about brooklyn you would clean up your damn sidewalks once in a while you would try to get to know your neighbors DAMN HOW I MISS THE DAYS OF OLD SHEEPSHEAD BAY IT was like cheers everybody knew your name now i have no idea who my neighbors are just they are filthy 700 2 one house red bags all over the corners of ave u what have we become having a 50 year old man taking about zoning laws lmao but all in all we should ban every religious buliding in the u.s and have laws more like the u.s.s.r while we wait 5 hours for a loaf of bread my passport is blue born here right in sheepshead bay i really think we should put that arizona immigration law right here in new york maybe one day i could hear that sweet sweet language of english once in a while lets see how many bay people really belong here

  • Abu Aymen

    I like the Bell that rang,,,, LOL

    Bell of Freedom,
    Allows any one to RECITE ,, But it can stop anyone who oppose rights of others..

    Bell of Right…

    Allows any one to express their concern, but in a limited way.. No more than that..

    A Bell of courtesy

    Allows any one to say what ever they want.. But in a way that is fair to all people…

    I notice the bell ringing where remind me of an event that just happened last Soccer game,, when they team who loose the game just to leave the Mondale.. .

    God Bless all you and Bless this great nation….

  • Abu Aymen

    Exactly!!!

    in the video, I really thank him,, to explain that it is a right,, and he stated that the mosque will be built as of Right” Unlike what the one of the fliers says said,, Variance,, where is the variance now????

    see the pic ..

  • JanMatvanGuilder

    I took a slow pedal past to get my own feel for the proposed project. Brooklyn does not have as strict zoning laws as other east coast communities, but a four story cultural center does NOT belong on that site. It should be a residential building with at least a little airspace/garden border to maintain the quality of the neighborhood. There are places not so far from here that limit the colors you can paint your window frames. Freedom ends where someone else's rights begin.

  • resident of Southern Brooklyn

    Just to educate you a bit, most or a very large number of the Russian-speaking residents of Southern Brooklyn are not from Russia, but rather from the Ukraine or any of the 15 countries of the former Soviet Union. A large majority of us are citizens (majority of Russian-speaking immigrants came to the US in the 70's, 80's or early 90s).
    You seem to be upset about the fact that people often speak foreign languages here in Brooklyn, however, your English writing skills with an abundance of run-on sentences and lack of commas indicate you are in a need of learning to PROPERLY write in English.

  • Good Morning America

    LOL,
    You must be in a suberb area,

    Sir, we are in an Urban area,, hows to house, maximum dictance is 16 feet, and that is the MAX…

    Think about it..
    you should visit New York and then with all respect, give your opinion….

    Thanks

  • JanMatvanGuilder

    I do not live in a suburb (correct spelling), in fact I live not far from this neighborhood – in a brick row house. What I tried to say was that the character, the size and placement of the homes in Sheepshead Bay has a certain style that should be maintained, and a four story cultural center would not be appropriate for that plot of land. There is more room for individual expression in this neighborhood than others I have visited, but still there should be some zoning limits. My English is quite clear, your understanding needs a little work.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    If it is 4 stories then I have a problem. But my understanding is that it is a three story construction. We have a lot of those here, and much as I'd rather see 2 stories houses a third doesn't ruin the neighborhood dynamics too badly.

  • bagels

    I'm fairly certain that the mosque is going to be four stories with a minaret. The minaret is a balconey that is used for the traditional call to prayer. Will the mosque be doing this five times a day and, if yes, will they be using loud speakers?

  • Local Broker

    I wrote this comment on another post about this subject and feel the same way so i just copied and pasted.
    Forget about religion for a second lets talk real estate. This development makes no sense being in this location. they are only a few blocks away from Nostrand Ave. which would have been a much better location to build a community facility. It might be as of right but logically doesnt make sense to be on that block. If they really cared about the immediate existing community and their neighbors they would have done some homework first to find out if others wanted something like this to be built there. I am sure that if someone wanted to build a medical facility there which is also as of right no one would be happy with that either. For the record I dont live anywhere near this site and it makes no difference to me personally what happens there.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    As you and I know very well lots of buildings are going up in this area which are out of place, and while some people grumble they don't set up web sites and organize demonstrations. They certainly don't raise $30,000 in an attempt to stonewall (pun terrible but useful) the project.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    The mosque does not intend on having audible calls to prayer. Perhaps one of their pokespeople will verify this.

    I'll be starting a religion myself soon. We intend on using Vuvuzelas to announce services. And since Slim Whitman is our patron saint, the intercession music will consist of his recordings played through 30 foot high loudspeakers.

  • bagels

    Please, not the Vuvuzela! Viva Espana!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    That's one “instrument” that sounds more annoying after repeated hearings.

  • Local Broker

    How this group is going about protesting this development does not interest me. Im not going to get into politics. If others in the past took this much interest in trying to control the growth and condo development that has happened in the last 5-7 years maybe they wouldn't be bitching about it now. Again take away the politics and religion and think about it, is this a good location for a community center? NO. The people that are against this are going about it the wrong way and makes them look dumb. The zoning allows it and bringing race into it isnt going to help anyone. At the same time the people who want to build are not really taking others in the community into consideration. They should all get together and try to make a deal to buy the lot at a profit for the developer at the same time all look for a more appropriate location near by on a commercial street.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    Two blocks from where I am is a Jewish Center on a side street that built a year and a half ago. They have had event there where the street was closed offically for the duration. No one thought to complain when it was being built. The simple and unavoidable fact is that if they sell the Voorhies Avenue property NO ONE will dare to sell them another piece of property. As a broker you can imagine the crap that could happen to some one who offered to broker such a deal. This has gotten really ugly. The real purpose in getting them away from this property is to ensure that they can't get another.

  • Good Morning America

    yes we are not tending to from day one, not because of this nonsense opposition.
    because it is not important to do so.

    Also Minarets is not a mandatory item in Islam, it is architecture, nothing else.

  • Good Morning America

    “is this a good location for a community center?”

    it's in the absence of place to be found in the commercial area.
    no other place to go!!!!

    You are a broker,, give me a location that was listed on 2007 , when we bought the properties.???

    If they found they will not take this place from day one.. think about it!!!

  • Good Morning America

    well, Look 3 stories can be as tall as 100 feet…

    4 stories can be as tall as 35 feet, and that is what we are doing…
    do the geometry.

    next door the one in the corner is 35 feet, and zoning would not allow any one to get higher than 35 feet at that area…..

    By the way , I heard that the they still have 3,000 square feet, allowed to be built, even if it is 4 stories,,, but higher restrictions,
    and if they file for variance , they will include these 3000 square feet to the building,,
    but no variance was file,, they should,,,!!!!! they are qualified i guess.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    My understanding is that they originally submitted plans for a larger structure which was rejected. They could have appealed, but chose not to.

  • Tim

    Is the urbanization of Sheepshead Bay unavoidable? How about a stronger local government working for the residents. Community Board 15 represents Sheepshead Bay residents, let's hear from them.
    How did a residential lot 2409 Avenue Z get rezoned for a gas station? When, who and why did this happen? Where was Community Board 15? I have searched, no minutes, no correspondence. Just a quote telling the Sheepshead Bay residents to do more then talk.
    Well, I'm doing just that… After seeking information from a large Commercial Real Estate in Manhattan this is what I was told in our meeting.

    According to the Buildings Dept, the Dept of Finance has the lot zoned for a Gas Station. Zoning has it as residential. Plans submitted are for 4-story place of worship. There's no certificate of occupancy and the last plan examination as of 8/2009 was disapproved. The Compliance officer says there are too many discrepancies and all that documentation should be presented to the community board and elected officials.

    Check it out. Go to nyc.gov. and search the Building Information System.

    Better check. This zoning problem may not be yours…. Yet!

  • Barmaley75

    street could have been closed to to security precautions.
    I've seen cops patrolling / blocking off side streets in Gravesend, near the main Syrian Jewish Synagogue there.
    Doesn't matter what religion it is – Nostrand Avenue is a much much better location than Voorhies Ave, especially as Emmons Avenue took off in recent years and became a much more popular spot, full of nightlife and restaurants.
    Just try to park there in the summer and you'd have to agree with me.

  • BMB

    Tim, I think you misunderstood the information on the BIS system. That's not a zoning issue – the property was never “rezoned for a gas station.” The zoning for that property is R4 (or some variation thereof), which is a residential zoning (and residential zoning allows community facilities, such as houses of worship).

    The gas station item in the BIS system is a Department of Finance, not Department of Buildings, classification. And it includes the following note: “Please Note: The Department of Finance's building classification information shows a building's tax status, which may not be the same as the legal use of the structure. To determine the legal use of a structure, research the records of the Department of Buildings.” So this refers to tax status not zoning. Seeing as there is no gas station/garage and there never was (as far as I can recall), this seems to be a mistake.

    If you follow this up by looking up the property on the Dept of Finance's public system then you'll see it's tax status is listed as “V0 – ZONED RESIDENTIAL; NOT MANHATTAN”…. So, what it basically looks like is, DOB has an error in their records. An error which doesn't seem to effect anything since it's NOT the zoning for the property and it's NOT the tax status used by the DoF when determining taxes for the property.

  • Tim in the Bay

    Let's try again…
    Is the urbanization of Sheepshead Bay unavoidable? How about a stronger local government working for the residents. Community Board 15 represents Sheepshead Bay residents, let's hear from them.
    How did a residential lot 2409 Avenue Z get rezoned for a gas station? When, who and why did this happen? Where was Community Board 15? I have searched, no minutes, no correspondence. Just a quote telling the Sheepshead Bay residents to do more then talk.
    Well, I'm doing just that… After seeking information from a large Commercial Real Estate in Manhattan this is what I was told in our meeting.

    According to the Buildings Dept, the Dept of Finance has the lot zoned for a Gas Station. Zoning has it as residential. Plans submitted are for 4-story place of worship. There's no certificate of occupancy and the last plan examination as of 8/2009 was disapproved. The Compliance officer says there are too many discrepancies and all that documentation should be presented to the community board and elected officials.

    Check it out. Go to nyc.gov. and search the Building Information System.

    Better check. This zoning problem may not be yours…. Yet!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    It was closed for an event. Period. There were no security issues involved.

    What happens on Emmons Avenue is of little consequence to a usage issue concerning a property on Voorhies and East 28th Street. The highway forms a separation between the two, and development on Emmons is not going to affect Voorhies one way or the other.

  • jlaz

    Local Broker,

    You said, “At the same time the people who want to build are not really taking others in the community into consideration.”

    On the next block is St.Marks Church and School, Across from them is a Jewish Synagogue and Jewish Center. The block in question is surrounded by worship facilities and centers and a stretch of houses. In other words, by the logic that other places of worship that are already in the vicinity and the area should shut themselves down as well to accomodate the 10 agnostics who live in a building on X. Do you see how ridiculous you sound?

    Come the hell on people! I grew up in Sheepshead Bay and never have I seen such a mask of righteous indignation and hypocrisy about a place of worship then with this. On top of that, lead by a man who cannot speak English, who does not identify himself (what's this dude in the videos name?) and “speaks” for Bay People? Are you kidding me? Take a hard look at yourselves. This is a John Waters movie complete with the foreign racist leader of the hate-movement against another foreign group and assorted Sheepshead bay Transexuals. Someone make this fiasco a movie, please!

  • Local Broker

    Im not going to waste my time explaining anything to you. Your a moron. Talking all types of shit about russians in a previous post. You should just stop commenting here no one cares about you internet tough guy.

  • EVABLESSP23

    it has NOTHING to do with zoning rules. it’s the fact that they’re building a mosqe there. You can see the hatred in their eyes. I bet all that i have that if it was a catholic church or even a synagoge it wouldn’t have been a problem. I see why they hate americans, it’s because we are the most IGNORANT set of ppl in the world.