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Mosque Near Ground Zero Faces One Last Challenge
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 8, 2010
Modified Jul 8, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 8, 2010
Modified Jul 8, 2010
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Last night the landmarks committee on Manhattan's Community Board 1 voted against recommending landmark status for the old Burlington Coat Factory building at 45-47 Park Place. This address is where Cordoba House is planning to build a mosque and community center, a project that has some people up in arms because it would be two blocks from the WTC site. It's unclear how many blocks away the mosque would need to be to appease the opposition, but last night the plan won a key victory from CB1, and on Tuesday it faces the final hurdle at a Landmarks Commission hearing about the building.
That's open to the public [pdf], so opponents will have all weekend to prepare for what's sure to be a civil, rational exchange of ideas. Of course, the mosque has become a talking point for the gubernatorial election this fall—Rick Lazio says Attorney General Andrew Cuomo should investigate the legality of the mosque's funding sources but he (Lazio) won't comment on whether he opposes it. For his part, Cuomo agrees with the Community Board's approval and points out that this country was founded on "religious freedom."
Tagged
andrew cuomo
election 2010
ground zero
islam
mosque
religious
rick lazio
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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