MAS Staten Island Center

Organization Name: Urban Architectural Initiatives

Project Title: MAS Staten Island Center

Project Location: Dongal Hills, Staten Island

Project Description:
Muslim American Society (MAS) is a dynamic charitable, religious, social, cultural, and educational organization with a mission focused on the development of individuals and communities through a comprehensive Islamic educational curriculum, service, interfaith initiatives, youth programs, and civic engagement. MAS Staten Island’s existing one story with cellar community center located at 180 Burgher Avenue, Staten Island, NY operates beyond the facility’s capacity, dealing with overcrowding and insufficient infrastructure. After several years of planning, MAS Staten Island proposes to build a new community center through a two-phase construction. Following a series of rigorous community outreach workshops and feedback process, the building programming was established to address the community’s current and future needs. The community's vision is to expand the MAS SI Center to house a new, larger prayer hall, multipurpose rooms for lectures and events, youth lounges, classrooms, a library, cafe, commercial kitchen, conference room and admin offices. The new center, currently under construction, will be a beacon of community activity, hope, and transformation.

Community Impact:
The MAS Staten Island Center currently gives youth a safe and engaging Islamic environment where they build the foundation of a community within their hearts. MAS SI provides youth with the skills, knowledge, and tarbiya needed to develop strong bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood, and the collaborative spirit to bring positive change to the wider Muslim and non-Muslim community through educational, spiritual, recreational, and social activities. With a new state-of-the-art community center, MAS Staten Island will be better able to meet its mission to serve its growing community membership and their cultural and spiritual needs.

Organization Description:
Founded in 1996, Urban Architectural Initiatives, RA, P.C. (UAI) is a minority owned, vibrant and diverse group of professionals united around the idea that great architecture is not only for the privileged few. We believe in the foundational power of architecture to help all people lead a healthy, happy and dignified life. Our work is inspired by a desire to create beautifully designed, warm, efficient and sustainable buildings that respect the needs of our clients and strengthen our overall community, one building at a time.

Team Members:

AN Consulting Engineer, PLLC
EMTG Consultants, Inc.
Krypton Engineering, PLLC
Tarek M Zeid PE, PLLC
EPAC Building Consulting, Inc.