By JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
NORTH BRUNSWICK — An Islamic-based multipurpose recreational facility planned for Georges Road was met with both approval and criticism from neighbors in the area.
The North Brunswick Cultural Center sits on Block 188, Lot 6 at 445 Georges Road on the former Verizon site. The existing, T-shaped building is currently vacant in the C-1 Neighborhood Commercial Zone.
The applicant sought use and bulk variances from the North Brunswick Zoning Board on Feb. 23 in order to retrofit the existing two-story, 37,100-square-foot building and construct a single-story rear addition consisting of a 20,432-square-foot recreation facility to include a 1,850-square-foot worship room; a 3,335-square-foot reading room; 2,650 square feet of cultural and religious administrative offices; a 9,883-square-foot daycare center; 8,583 square feet of educational classrooms; a 700-square-foot coffee shop; two retail shops totaling 3,125 square feet, one of which will be a Middle Eastern grocery store and the other which has not yet been determined; and a 16,667-square-foot recreational/exercise area with basketball courts, squash courts, exercise rooms with showers and a swimming pool.
“What is interesting is that all of the uses that are specifically listed are inherently beneficial and support the public good,” said the applicant’s attorney, Christopher H. DeGrezia, of the Drinker Biddle & Reath law firm of Philadelphia. “We’re excited about this project. We think that it’s designed to meet the community’s needs. In the end, we hope to create a place the community can come and meet and interact.”
Although there is no specific religion designated and the services will be open to everyone, DeGrezia said the site will be grounded in Islamic values such as a YMCA is Christian-based or a Jewish community center is Jewish-based. The “adapted reuse” will not repurpose the property as a mosque, as residents have been assuming, he said, noting that a mosque is generally 10,000 to 20,000 square feet.
The prayer room in the proposed application would only be 1,850 square feet, with room for a maximum of 370 people per the township’s fire code, according to principal architect Emad Abousabe, president of Land Trust Studio. However, because each prayer mat is eight-square feet, the likelihood would be 230 people occupying 93 parking spaces during high prayer time, he said.
Ahmed El Benni, the son of one of the original founders of this project, said that Muslims are required to pray five times a day, so this center will accommodate their needs while they enjoy social and recreational activities. He also said that Friday prayers last from the morning until 3 p.m., so the center will be occupied only by those in prayer at that time.
“This aims to be an all-inclusive space for everyone, regardless of race, regardless of religion, regardless of background,” said El Benni, who said his family moved to North Brunswick four years ago specifically to build this community center, which initially went before township officials in 2012. “There will be outreach to youth, to families, to everyone in the area.”
The proposed hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week, though the center would close at 6 p.m. on Sundays.
The facility will be a non-profit with the business essentially funding itself, according to the cultural center’s president, Essam El Sherif. He said the recreational components will be membership-based with annual dues, but the prayer chapel, daycare center, retail space and cafe will be open to the public.
The daycare center, specifically, will have a licensed operator for a preschool element, Abousabe said. There will be a 3,600-square-foot playground area and a courtyard area.
El Sherif said there would be a full-day and half-day program beginning at 7:30 a.m. weekdays.
William Pappalardo, a managing partner of JBA Architecture who has a background in public schools, said the center will use the New Jersey Department of Education’s model for daycare centers. There are six classes planned, with a maximum of 15 children per 950 square feet of classroom space, or 90 students total. There will be a minimum of one teacher per classroom with additional classroom aides and administrators, he said.
“I truly believe this has the potential to make a wonderful impact on the community now and far into the future,” Elbenni said of the Lighthouse project.
However, some residents in attendance questioned the future.
Traffic is a main concern, as licensed engineer William Lund said there would be a two-driveway access, with one way in and one way out, and that one- or two-axle delivery trucks would utilize regular parking spaces during deliveries. Although the traffic expert will not testify until a meeting on March 15, residents still voiced their opinions about the information that was provided thus far.
“Bigger trucks and small children are not a good combination,” said Robert Keefe of Jefferson Avenue.
“Since I live here, I know how it is every hour of the day,” said Susan Cipolla, who has lived on Nassau Street for 32 years. “All I know is, it is barely manageable now as it is on Georges Road. This is a horrendous nightmare.”
She said her daughter can sit through five cycles of the traffic light while trying to make a left onto Nassau Street from Georges Road.
Katherine Fenn of Wilson Street said that since the only access point for Lincoln, Jefferson and Nassau residents is Georges Road, they will be “locked in.”
“Left-turn traffic is nearly impossible at this point,” she said. “Rush hour is extremely difficult.
“I don’t see how this is not going to impact traffic on that road and make things extremely difficult for the people in my neighborhood.
“I’m trying to get my head around why we would approve something like this when in the past there was a recognition that the neighborhood and traffic was bad already,” she said.
Michael Proietti, deputy director/zoning officer for North Brunswick Township, said he drives in the area daily, and agreed with Fenn’s observations.
“It’s a terrible intersection. The alignment of it is cockeyed, number one. Number two, it is in deplorable shape in terms of potholes and everything else. It functions horribly,” he said.
In relation to noise concerns, Proietti said that the township recently adopted state standards for its noise ordinance and trained two noise control officers.
“I’m kind of used to a nice quiet backyard. I can be out there at 10 o’clock at night, have my fire pit going, my dog by my side, and it’s lovely. I’ve enjoyed not having anybody back there all these years, and I still want to have a good quality of life,” Cipolla said.
Kearney Kulthau, past president of nearby Elmwood Cemetery, asked that a buffer or landscaping be placed on the border of the property, especially near the daycare center, to ensure that funeral services are quiet and undisturbed.
DeGrezia said the daycare center is on the opposite side of the property, but Abousabe said the applicant will maintain additional landscaping on the cemetery’s side.
Certain residents also called the applicant “bad neighbors.” Cippola and Bibi Baksh, also a Nassau Street resident, said trash and trees have been dumped onto their properties. There are also buses sitting on the vacant property which are continuously idling, residents claimed.
“You’ve been very bad neighbors to us,” said Richard Dugan of Nassau Street. “Walk out there. Clean it.”
El Sherif said since one of the cultural center’s members owns the buses, he will have them moved.
“It certainly would make a statement to your neighbors if you paid attention to the impact of what happens to your property as it relates to them,” said Zoning Board Chairman Mark McGrath.
Residents also felt that the underlying purpose of the cultural center was being misrepresented.
“In other words, it’s really a mosque, but you didn’t want to say,” said Ann Heuer of Newton Street.
“This sounds like a house of worship,” Cipolla added. “Just call it what it is. … It sounds like it’s really not a North Brunswick Cultural Center, but a North Brunswick Islamic Center, which is not really how you initially represented yourself. And I don’t have a problem with that. I believe in inclusiveness … but I just believe in honesty, you know? No smoke and mirrors. Let’s just be honest, and I think everybody will be a lot happier and get along better.”
Yet local Muslims expressed their appreciation for the project.
Mamoun Sakar of Plains Gap Road said for his five sons, “This is better than staying at home and playing games on the TV.”
Dina El Abbadi of Wood Avenue shared the same sentiments about her four teenage sons.
“Today, when I hear about all the details, it brought me to tears,” she said, because she has spent a lot of time driving them to similar centers in Piscataway or South Jersey.
However, she did note that the project needs to overcome its obstacles in order to comfort the neighborhood at large.
“Neighbors have to come first in our belief,” she said.
The next Zoning Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 15 at the North Brunswick Municipal Building, 710 Hermann Road. Residents will not be re-noticed, but a sign will be posted on the applicant’s property.
Contact Jennifer Amato at jamato@gmnews.com.
