One by one, the congregants, in puffer jackets and beanies, entered the tent, slipped off their shoes and stepped onto the frigid mat. Three space heaters did little to warm the 26-degree air inside. But it was the 14th night of Ramadan, and it was time to pray. The white tent, set up beside the Hillside Islamic Center in New Hyde Park, is a physical manifestation of the mosque’s yearslong struggle with the Town of North Hempstead, which rejected its expansion plan in 2024. During Ramadan, the holiest month in the Muslim calendar, Hillside’s facility becomes so packed some congregants pray in the tent, where the service is streamed from inside the building. “It breaks my heart,” Omar Kazi, 20, said outside the tent. “We actually need the room. It’s pretty upsetting.” That legal battle follows a contentious dispute between the Town of Oyster Bay and a Bethpage mosque, Masjid Al-Baqi, that also sought to expand. Link in bio for more details. (Photos: Steve Pfost, Jeff Bachner and...