We just heard from a resident of East 28th Street off of Voorhies Avenue that NYPD investigators interviewed neighbors about the alleged bomb threat.
The reader told us that police knocked on his door after 11 p.m. They asked questions about the rally and the identity of the man who told Brooklyn Paper’s Tom Tracy that he would bomb the mosque if it were built. The reader was asked if he witnessed the incident or knew who the man was. They also asked who organized the rally, who spoke, and what the purpose was.
To our knowledge, NYPD investigators have still not found the man.
Traditionally, journalists are expected to protect their sources and not be involved in a story. Most states have laws that protect journalists from revealing anonymous sources, and courts cannot compel reporters to disclose their identity.
Those laws exist to ensure the media is a safe way for whistle-blowers and informants to disclose information without fear of retribution. This case is obviously different, but journalism purists would say revealing a source under any circumstance creates a slippery slope and undermines the trust potential tipsters may have.
Do you think Tom Tracy should help NYPD investigators identify the man that allegedly made threats?
The site of the proposed mosque at 2812/2814 Voorhies Avenue
(UPDATE [12:18 p.m.]: NYPD investigators have interviewed neighbors about the alleged bomb threat.)
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) is calling for the FBI and local law enforcement agencies to investigate a man who said he would bomb the Voorhies Avenue mosque if the proposal moved forward.
The man made his comments to Brooklyn Paper reporter Tom Tracy at Sunday’s anti-mosque rally, organized by Bay People, Inc. Here’s the relevant excerpt from Brooklyn Paper:
“If they build a mosque there, I’m going to bomb the mosque,” said one outraged resident who lives across the street from the proposed house of worship between East 28th and East 29th streets on Voorhies Avenue. The resident, who refused to give his name, identified himself as a former Israeli soldier who had lived on Voorhies Avenue for eight years.
“I will give them a lot of trouble,” he added. “They’re not going to stay here alive.”
According to a press release, CAIR-NY has reached out to the FBI, the New York Police Department (NYPD), New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Brooklyn Borough President’s office about the threat. The group says it parallels a mosque in Jacksonville, Fla., that was recently the target of a bomb attack, as well as an incident in which a Houston radio host called for the bombing of a proposed mosque and community center in New York City.
Keep reading to see how local Muslim-Americans are responding.
The organization seeking to halt the development of the proposed Voorhies Avenue mosque held a rally Sunday afternoon to publicize the predicted quality-of-life issues. But prejudiced and fearful statements from attendees revealed a rift in the group that could be undermining its credibility.
Bay People, Inc., organized the rally to convey a clear message: parking, traffic and noise complaints are at the heart of their opposition to the mosque. Speakers came to the sun-drenched podium, many with prepared statements designed to reinforce their defense that they’re not bigots.
“This demonstration is not anti-Muslim,” said one speaker who declined to give his name to Sheepshead Bites. “We’re here to demonstrate against this specific project … this is about our quality of life. It’s about our peace and quiet.”
Keep reading about the protest’s message, and how some say it’s being undermined by bigots.
An interfaith group held a “Peace Walk” in Sheepshead Bay on Thursday, ending at the site of the controversial Voorhies Avenue mosque as a sign of unity with organizers’ right to build. But the walk drew dozens of critics, who hissed and jeered at participants, braiding zoning objections with bigoted rhetoric.
Sheepshead Bites was on the scene, capturing video and notes during the event. To this point, we’ve held off publishing our report, preferring to digest the happening to develop a more nuanced depiction. There was more than enough mainstream media chronicling the event and turning out predictable narratives hours later.
In a nutshell, the situation is thus: Though the Park Slope-based group behind the walk said they were only there to promote harmony, they were depicted by opponents as carpetbaggers intruding on a community issue. Still, with about 150 Muslim families in the area looking to exercise their right to pray and teach peaceful, moderate Islamic values, a local mosque is a prerequisite for a more comfortable life. But before that can become a reality, mosque organizers are contending with the specter of Islamic fundamentalism, brought upon by the mosque’s sponsor, the Muslim American Society. Compounding the problem, some critics have developed a coherent zoning argument around parking, noise and traffic issues. But, at Thursday’s counter-demonstration, that faction of the opposition was marginalized by a group spouting bigoted and hateful remarks; they even shouted and cursed at a 15-year-old American-born Muslim girl passing by.
For video and further explanation, read on after the jump.
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2812 Voorhies Avenue - the site of the proposed mosque
Advocates for the Sheepshead Bay mosque are hosting a Park Slope group’s annual walk for peace in our neighborhood to demonstrate support for the proposed religious facility.
The Muslim Consultative Network advocates strengthening and unifying the New York City Muslim community. They’ll be holding their 7th Annual Children of Abraham Interfaith Peace Walk on Thursday, June 10th, at 4 p.m. The interfaith march will visit other area religious institutions, including St. Mark Catholic Church and United Methodist Church of Sheepshead Bay. It will kick off at Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z, down to Emmons Avenue, over to Bedford Avenue, then up to the proposed mosque’s site at 2812 Voorhies Avenue.
Organizers of the march are portraying it as a symbol of interfaith solidarity against intolerance.
“We’ll be supporting the emergence of this new faith community while deepening our interfaith connections and spreading the message that here in Brooklyn people from different walks of life experience mutual respect and friendship,” the press release states.
On their website, they write that “participation will be especially meaningful since some residents are trying to prevention the construction of a mosque in that community. Please join us to show support for an inclusive community.”
Read about the opposition’s response to the Peace Walk
Readers say portions of the flier prove that it's fake
If you haven’t been paying attention to the debate raging on Thursday’s post, “In Sheepshead Bay Mosque Debate, Fliers Go ‘Round,” many readers raised questions about the flier’s authenticity. They said the poor wording is something a mosque supporter would never let get around the neighborhood, and that many of the “mistakes” are made to scare community members into opposing its construction.
Well, we heard from Ibrahim Anse, a board member and assistant project manager behind the mosque. He wrote:
We, as sheepshead bay community center and mosque board, did not issue, write, circulate, niether think of making a flier and disterbute it in the area at all. And as, one of the board memebers, I deannaounce it as a whole. We have a cause, and we believe in it, serving the community not raising issues or making problems.
Similarly, a member of the mosque’s opposition has also contacted me expressing doubt that it was real. He suggested a misguided person on their side might have thought it would help, and he has asked BayPeople.org to consider removing it from their website.
Flier being circulated by mosque advocates
Two fliers from opposite sides of a controversial Sheepshead Bay mosque are being distributed around the neighborhood, each packed with heated accusations.
The flier above comes from the mosque’s advocates and calls for support in building the Islamic establishment at 2812 Voorhies Avenue. In it, they call their opponents “local racists [that] are trying to stop us from erecting beautiful Mosque [sic], Muslim school and Muslim Center.”
But mosque opponents don’t seem phased by the accusation. Instead, they’re concerned about other language in the flier that at least one person says hints at their real motivation in the neighborhood.
“In my opinion this flier confirms every fear people expressed about the project,” one opponent wrote to Sheepshead Bites. “I like that they ‘mostly do not support terrorism’. I know what they were trying to say, but the way it came out, it has a completely opposite meaning.”
The opponent also said he’s concerned they’re claiming that “hundreds more will move here soon” and are drawing them in with free breakfasts and more.
“All this is just 30 feet from my bedroom window!” he wrote.
View the opponent’s flier and find out more about the Sheepshead Bay mosque controversy
Below is an e-mail exchange I had with a reader today regarding the controversial plans to build a mosque at 2812/2814 Voorhies Avenue (and here). The reader believed I reported on the issue with a preconceived opinion that supported the plans to build. In reality, the situation is more complicated, and I caution against any knee-jerk responses in any direction. I’m publishing these letters because in my conversations, people who were against the mosque couldn’t believe that I’d defend it, while people who were for it couldn’t believe that we thought the opposition was anything more than racist. I believe the letters below explain, at least in part, the thought process guiding our coverage. I welcome your input.
Continue reading to see the letters >>
Courtesy of GerritsenBeach.net
Approximately 300 people turned up for Tuesday night’s Community Board 15 meeting, where opponents of a Sheepshead Bay mosque were expected to seek the board’s support.
Sheepshead Bites couldn’t make it to the meeting, but we asked GerritsenBeach.net (GB.net) to check it out for us and we’ve also picked up additional details from attendees and board members.
From attendee reports, we’ve learned that of the nearly 300 people who came out, 75 percent were in support of the mosque. GB.net writes, “There was nothing really to report other than this was a show of force. A lot of people who may or may not be from the area in question supporting the mosque.”
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