The Muslim American Society of Brooklyn and Staten Island (MAS) has been awarded $85,000 in taxpayer-funded discretionary grants from the New York City Council for the current fiscal year. This funding comes after the organization faced scrutiny in January for a fundraiser where merchandise promoting Hamas and other designated terror groups was sold.
Council members Kayla Santosuosso and Alexa Avilés allocated $70,000 and $15,000, respectively, to MAS for community safety, educational, youth-mentoring, cultural, and job-training programs. Both council members represent districts with significant Muslim populations.
The controversy arose from a Jan. 18 event, labeled Thrift4Sudan, held at MAS's Brooklyn youth center. Vendors at the event offered items such as keychains, stickers, and pins supporting Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Some merchandise reportedly featured images of terrorist leaders or slogans critical of Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces.
Following the January incident, City Council Speaker Julie Menin expressed concern and indicated that $80,000 in previously allocated funds would be withheld pending an investigation by city lawyers. The Council's Office of the General Counsel subsequently conducted an investigation.
According to Council spokesman Yoav Gonen, the investigation found no affiliation between MAS and the vendor that sold the controversial merchandise. MAS has reportedly ended its relationship with the vendor, identified as Thrift For Gaza. The nonprofit's leadership also committed in writing to implementing enhanced screening and prevention protocols for future vendors using its facilities.
"The nonprofit's funding was restored after its leadership committed in writing to enhanced screening and prevention protocols for all future vendors using its space," Gonen stated. This decision led to the restoration of the previously withheld funds.
Councilwoman Inna Vernikov criticized the decision to fund MAS, stating that such allocations by individual members should not support organizations that "appear to flat out support designated terrorist organizations and spread radical, Jew-hating propaganda." She questioned the justification for providing taxpayer dollars to groups she described as "America-hating jihadis."
MAS has previously received substantial funding from the City Council. Under former Speaker Adrienne Adams, the organization was awarded $265,000 over three years. Councilwoman Santosuosso also previously served as deputy director of the Arab American Association of New York, which received $124,500 in Council funding this fiscal year, including $5,000 from Santosuosso's discretionary funds.
The recent funding for MAS aligns with a broader political landscape shift following the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor. Key personnel in Mayor Mamdani's transition team, including the executive director of MAS's New York chapter and the political director at its youth center, have ties to the organization.