The Midland Beach Civic Association ended tonight’s tense meeting about the proposed sale of a former convent to the Muslim American Society (MAS) when a Brooklyn man was shouted down by an audience member while he was speaking favorably about a MAS mosque in Bay Ridge.
The Brooklyn man was a guest speaker, invited by MAS to address the audience as the meeting drew to a close, but audience members were upset that the guests took up the speaking opportunities of residents who had waited in line for their chance to address the crowd. One audience member began screaming when the Brooklyn man was speaking, and the civic association decided to end the meeting 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled 10 p.m. conclusion.
No arrests were reported.
Observers said the packed-to-capacity crowd was short-tempered during the meeting in the Olympia Activity Center, and grew frustrated by the nuances of some of MAS representatives’ answers as the group denied any ties to terrorism.
A Marine who said he recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan received a standing ovation from the crowd as he spoke to the audience. According to a meeting attendee, the Marine asked MAS members if they were willing to work with the community. They said they would. He then turned to the audience and asked if the community was willing to work with the Muslims, and the crowd jeered.
Not a single Staten Island elected official attended the meeting. Several sent representatives.
The crowd directed their fury toward the Archdiocese of New York, and toward Rev. Keith Fennessy, St. Margaret-Mary’s pastor, who stepped down recently as the controversy grew, saying he wished to spend time with his 98-year-old mother, who has since died.
Check back for more updates later this evening.