A playground quarrel has created tension between the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh and its neighbors in the Schenley Farms section of Oakland, where residents fear that the squeals of kids could disrupt the quiet nights they savor.

Center officials and residents faced off before the city's zoning board of adjustment yesterday, and the three-member panel has about 12 weeks to decide whether to grant the code exceptions the playground would need.

Right now, kids waiting for their parents to finish praying run in the unfenced lawn and play soccer -- a situation that concerns both sides.

"It's been pretty dangerous because obviously it's close to the street," said Angel Arafat, office manager for the center. The playground and a proposed fence are sought "simply just to keep them out of the street and to keep them basically on our property, versus chasing balls out into the street."

"This is a neighborhood that is quiet, that has a lot of elderly people and a lot of young people," many of whom "tend to be in bed at 7:30 or 8 at night," said Carol Kowall, a neighbor of the center who is the attorney for some of the residents opposed to the playground. "It's a noise issue."

Some residents said their property values are already threatened by the busy religious and cultural center.

"The presence of the Islamic Center has already brought significant grievances to the neighborhood," said Jean-Francois Richard, a member of the board of the Schenley Farms Civic Association who lives across Bigelow Boulevard from the center. If he tried to sell his home, a would-be buyer "would see the crowd in the street, would see the parking situation," he said, and that would lower the value.

"Several times, our driveway has been blocked, and there's no way to get the police to remove those cars," he said.

Hader Mansour, vice president of the center, countered that his community has tried hard to work with neighbors. "However, they refuse us to have the playground for the kids," he said. "It is a matter of safety in addition to addressing their needs to play."

He said he could guarantee that children would not use the playground after 10 p.m.

The permanent, largely plastic playground would cover about 990 square feet, or one-third of the center's side yard. It would be surrounded by a 6-foot aluminum fence that would mimic wrought iron.

Mr. Mansour anticipated that it would be used by no more than 20 kids mostly Friday and Saturday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., and during the day in July and early August when the center holds vacation Koran school.

Ms. Kowall said she has already seen an increase in the number of kids around the center "playing wonderful games, but squealing as children do. ... The older children are appearing more frequently and there are more of them."