City backtracks on Brooklyn mosque OK

Two days after the Department of Buildings signed off on the design of A New Islamic Community Center Planned For Voorhies Road in Sheephead Bay, officials balked Friday, ordering another one-to-five-month review of the proposal, the Brooklyn Paper reported. While the project — slated to accommodate 120 worshippers in its three-story structure — hasn’t been as high-profile as Lower Manhattan’s Park51, it, too, has been the subject of a significant amount of controversy, which began with neighbors who worried about potential traffic issues but has since devolved into unabashed anti-Islamic sentiment at several protests. Last week’s initial approval of the project would have given property owner Allowey Ahmed the go-ahead to break ground, and the Brooklyn Paper opines that “the delay smacks of a back-room deal, especially since the neighborhood political leaders are support the city’s stunning turnaround.” [Brooklyn Paper]