Paterson reaches $140K settlement in anti-Muslim discrimination case

PATERSON — The city has agreed to pay $140,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by three former members of Paterson's Board of Adjustment who claimed they were discriminated against because they are Muslims.

The settlement brings to a close a bizarre controversy that unfolded five years ago when the Muslim members began boycotting their public meetings over allegations of bias, causing delays for construction projects that needed the board’s approval.

At one point, the City Council tried to intervene by scheduling a series of public hearings about the zoning board problem, but then the council aborted the hearings after the first session. The council ended up removing two of the protesting Muslim zoning board members over their “excessive” meeting absences and opted not to re-appoint the third.

The former zoning board members who sued the city were Montaha Deeb, Aheya Khan and Alaur Khondokar. Deeb, a longtime city employee, got $400,000 in a separate settlement in 2016 from a lawsuit claiming she was discriminated against in her municipal job.

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The City Council approved the $140,000 settlement during its Tuesday night meeting. Councilwoman Ruby Cotton cast the only vote against the settlement.

“I just felt it should have went to trial,” Cotton said during an interview on Thursday.

Cotton said she believed the three people who sued the city were creating some of the problems on the zoning board. She questioned their boycott.

“How are you going to be appointed to a board and then boycott the meetings?” Cotton asked.

The lawyer representing Deeb, Khan and Khondokar didn’t respond to a message seeking comment. City administration officials declined to comment.

Mayor Andre Sayegh was on the council when the two zoning board members were removed. Sayegh abstained from that decision, saying at the time that he thought the council should have finished its public hearings on the situation before voting.

The Muslim former zoning board members said their colleagues suggested they not participate in decisions on variance applications from builders named Mohammed or Ahmed. In one instance, an accused board member made derogatory comments about an application for a poultry slaughterhouse that was going to follow Islamic food preparation procedures known as Halal.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com