Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Lazio Clinging To Ground Zero Mosque Like Crackhead To Rock
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 27, 2010
Modified Jul 27, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Briana Parker/Gothamist
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 27, 2010
Modified Jul 27, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Right-wing politicians just loooove their Ground Zero mosque! (And by "Ground Zero mosque" we mean the "multi-use complex with a space set aside for prayer two blocks from the World Trade Center site.") Republican gubernatorial wannabe Rick Lazio may be down in the polls, and his fund-raising may, as Clyde Haberman puts it, "make anemia look robust," but he knows this mosque controversy is his ace in the hole.
After demanding that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (the presumptive gubernatorial frontrunner) investigate the proposed mosque's financing, Lazio is now challenging Cuomo to a debate over the issue, which Capitol Confidential piquantly describes as "the single most important statewide issue of the summer, if not our generation." In an open letter to Cuomo, Lazio rants:
You have called those of us who oppose building this mosques racist and bigots. You should be ashamed of yourself. To get real answers I suggest that we debate this issue in an open forum to be covered by the news media. Your position on this issue is so wrong and I recognize you may not want to defend it but all the same I am asking you to do just that. I am sending a copy of this request for debate to all television stations and all newspapers in New York. I believe the debate should be held where the audience can watch and respond as well as ask questions of us.
Cuomo has not responded to the challenge, which comes less than a week after Lazio's Republican rival, Chuch Paladino, promised that, if elected, he would use eminent domain to seize the proposed mosque property and include it in "a war memorial district" around Ground Zero. Not to be left behind, Newt Gingrich continues to chime in that the group behind the mosque explains where the $100 million to build it is coming from. In an interview with "Inside City Hall," Gingrich declared:
There are over a thousand mosques in the United States. There are over a hundred mosques in New York City. I defend the right to have mosques in America. I defend the right of people to worship as they want to worship. This is a political act designed to establish a 13-story building two blocks from the World Trade Center for the purpose of saying worldwide, we're winning, the Americans are losing, and they're too dumb to even know they're in a war.
Ha, how could the terrorists possibly think we're dumb when we're engaged in such a rational, insightful debate?
Tagged
9/11
andrew cuomo
carl paladino
ground zero
ground zero mosque
islamophobia
mosque
muslim
newt gingrich
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.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani names re-entry specialist as chair of Rikers oversight board
Christopher Watler will help the department that a federal monitor says remains in crisis.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 3:52 p.m. ET
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Legionella found in Staten Island building's water system after 2 positive cases
By
Catalina Gonella
Legal 'loophole' helps NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman raise millions
By
Jon Campbell
Police identify 2 men wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .