07-19-2008, 06:51 PM
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...751C1A965958260
Hindu Temple Plans Stir Concerns in Community
*
E-MAIL
* Print
* Save
* Share
o Digg
o Facebook
o Mixx
o Yahoo! Buzz
o Permalink
Published: December 30, 1993
When word got around that the boarded-up Y.M.C.A. here, complete with outdoor pool, was destined to become a Hindu temple, some residents were less than pleased.
Though the Sayreville Planning Board has moved to resolve the issue by permitting the temple if certain conditions are met, the question remains whether opposition to the temple springs from parking problems or prejudice.
"Our community has been tarnished by this," said Regina Strauss, a longtime Sayreville resident who says that traffic concerns are uppermost in her neighbors' minds.
David Frizell, a lawyer who represents the Shri Bhaktinidhi Trust, which is trying to buy the property, said critics erroneously claimed that the sect refuses to salute the American flag and presented a petition with 500 signatures objecting to the temple in part because it might encourage worshipers to relocate here. Lawyer Cites Racial Motives
"I think it would be a short leap to infer racial motives," said Mr. Frizell, adding that a nearby Catholic church "gets 3,500 worshipers every Sunday and doesn't have a single off-street parking space." The old Y has 84 parking spaces.
If the building becomes a temple, it would potentially serve some 300 families of the Vaishnav faith living in northern and central New Jersey whose nearest temples are in Queens and in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., near Philadelphia. Between 1,000 and 1,500 worshipers could attend services at each of the three major Vaishnav religious observances during the year.
Based on objections to the amount of parking available, the planning board of Sayreville, a borough of some 35,000 a few miles southeast of New Brunswick, rejected the trust's site plan on May 24. The trust then sued the planning board and the borough in Federal District Court in Newark, claiming religious discrimination. Concessions by Board
Monday night, as part of a court-brokered mediation effort, the board approved a new plan that would provide for shuttle van services on the major holy days and the creation of 60 more parking spaces, many of which would be created by filling in the swimming pool.
The trust is no longer pursuing its suit against the planning board. But it still wants the borough to cover about $100,000 of its legal costs arising from delays in acquiring the property.
Mr. Frizell said the trust has waived punitive damages, saying, "It's not in my clients' nature to pursue that."
Carmine R. Villani, the lawyer representing Sayreville, said the site plan changes made by the trust were "an acknowledgement of the sheer volume of traffic that could come to the site." He said the borough would continue to fight the lawsuit because "the discrimination claims were baseless." Traffic Problems Remain
Some townspeople complain that the traffic and parking issues still have not been addressed.
Laurie Soluri said it was difficult to drive in and out of the Post Office lot across the road from the old Y.M.C.A. "and there's nothing happening now." She said that extra traffic on Vaishnav high holy days could cause "total chaos."
Mrs. Strauss said that although some citizens speaking at Monday night's often-heated planning board meeting made "stupid" comments that might be interpreted as biased, the real issue is not discrimination.
"I'm a woman, I'm Jewish and I have multiple sclerosis," said Mrs. Strauss. "I know what discrimination is."
The issue, she said, is the narrowness of Washington Road. Even now, it sometimes takes her 20 minutes to travel the three miles to the Garden State Parkway entrance, she said.
Gurmeet Gill, an Indian-American who lives on the outskirts of Sayreville and does not belong to the group that wants to build the temple, said that parking concerns may indeed be motivating much of the opposition.
"I don't think it's discrimination," said Mr. Gill. "Washington Road with its traffic does have a problem."
Hindu Temple Plans Stir Concerns in Community
*
* Save
* Share
o Digg
o Facebook
o Mixx
o Yahoo! Buzz
o Permalink
Published: December 30, 1993
When word got around that the boarded-up Y.M.C.A. here, complete with outdoor pool, was destined to become a Hindu temple, some residents were less than pleased.
Though the Sayreville Planning Board has moved to resolve the issue by permitting the temple if certain conditions are met, the question remains whether opposition to the temple springs from parking problems or prejudice.
"Our community has been tarnished by this," said Regina Strauss, a longtime Sayreville resident who says that traffic concerns are uppermost in her neighbors' minds.
David Frizell, a lawyer who represents the Shri Bhaktinidhi Trust, which is trying to buy the property, said critics erroneously claimed that the sect refuses to salute the American flag and presented a petition with 500 signatures objecting to the temple in part because it might encourage worshipers to relocate here. Lawyer Cites Racial Motives
"I think it would be a short leap to infer racial motives," said Mr. Frizell, adding that a nearby Catholic church "gets 3,500 worshipers every Sunday and doesn't have a single off-street parking space." The old Y has 84 parking spaces.
If the building becomes a temple, it would potentially serve some 300 families of the Vaishnav faith living in northern and central New Jersey whose nearest temples are in Queens and in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., near Philadelphia. Between 1,000 and 1,500 worshipers could attend services at each of the three major Vaishnav religious observances during the year.
Based on objections to the amount of parking available, the planning board of Sayreville, a borough of some 35,000 a few miles southeast of New Brunswick, rejected the trust's site plan on May 24. The trust then sued the planning board and the borough in Federal District Court in Newark, claiming religious discrimination. Concessions by Board
Monday night, as part of a court-brokered mediation effort, the board approved a new plan that would provide for shuttle van services on the major holy days and the creation of 60 more parking spaces, many of which would be created by filling in the swimming pool.
The trust is no longer pursuing its suit against the planning board. But it still wants the borough to cover about $100,000 of its legal costs arising from delays in acquiring the property.
Mr. Frizell said the trust has waived punitive damages, saying, "It's not in my clients' nature to pursue that."
Carmine R. Villani, the lawyer representing Sayreville, said the site plan changes made by the trust were "an acknowledgement of the sheer volume of traffic that could come to the site." He said the borough would continue to fight the lawsuit because "the discrimination claims were baseless." Traffic Problems Remain
Some townspeople complain that the traffic and parking issues still have not been addressed.
Laurie Soluri said it was difficult to drive in and out of the Post Office lot across the road from the old Y.M.C.A. "and there's nothing happening now." She said that extra traffic on Vaishnav high holy days could cause "total chaos."
Mrs. Strauss said that although some citizens speaking at Monday night's often-heated planning board meeting made "stupid" comments that might be interpreted as biased, the real issue is not discrimination.
"I'm a woman, I'm Jewish and I have multiple sclerosis," said Mrs. Strauss. "I know what discrimination is."
The issue, she said, is the narrowness of Washington Road. Even now, it sometimes takes her 20 minutes to travel the three miles to the Garden State Parkway entrance, she said.
Gurmeet Gill, an Indian-American who lives on the outskirts of Sayreville and does not belong to the group that wants to build the temple, said that parking concerns may indeed be motivating much of the opposition.
"I don't think it's discrimination," said Mr. Gill. "Washington Road with its traffic does have a problem."