Mosque on Steinway Street Getting Supersized

A one-story mosque at 24-30 Steinway Street in Astoria has been demolished (or not quite demolished, it seems, as there are only alteration permits as opposed to new building permits on file) to make way for a five-story structure that will house a school in addition to religious facilities, according to DOB permits. Based on this DOB violation, it seems safe to surmise that the Al Iman Center (aka the Al Marwa Center) has been operating in one form or another since the mid-1990s. There are several other violations from around that time for the illegal excavation of the basement. One of the complaints at the time alleged that 15 20-yard containers of dirt had been removed! Let’s hope this new construction will be more by the book! GMAP