A Westchester County town violated a federal religious discrimination law when it cited fire, safety and zoning concerns as a pretext to block a Pentecostal congregation from building a new church, a federal appeals court held yesterday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said the Town of Greenburgh ran afoul of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act when it stopped the Fortress Bible Church from erecting a new building in 2004 to accommodate its growing flock.