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New York City Commission Opens WTC Site for Mosque Construction
KAREN MATTHEWS
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Ignoring jeers and cries of "Shame on you," a city commission on Tuesday denied landmark status to a building near the World Trade Center site that can now be demolished to make way for an Islamic community center and mosque.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission said in voting 9-0 that the 152-year-old building isn't distinctive enough to qualify as a landmark.
"This is not a building of special aesthetic character," said Commissioner Diana Chapin, echoing the remarks of her colleagues.
The proposed mosque has emerged as a national political issue, with prominent Republicans from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lining up against it. The Anti-Defamation League, the nation's most prominent Jewish civil rights group, also opposes it.
Former Rep. Rick Lazio, a Republican who is running for governor of New York, attended the commission meeting and criticized the group that is building the mosque, the Cordoba Initiative.
"This is not about religion," Lazio said. "It's about this particular mosque called the Cordoba Mosque, it's about it being at ground zero, it's about it being spearheaded by an imam who has associated himself with radical Islamic causes and has made comments that should chill every single American, frankly."
Lazio said the group's imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, had refused to call the Palestinian group Hamas a terrorist organization. Rauf also had said in a "60 Minutes" interview televised shortly after 9/11 that "United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened."
Cordoba Initiative staff members did not immediately answer an e-mail seeking a response to Lazio's comments.
Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, told The Wall Street Journal in Tuesday's editions that the center's board will include members of other religions and will explore including an interfaith chapel at the center.
"We want to repair the breach and be at the front and center to start the healing," said Khan, a partner in the building and the wife of the imam.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking on Governor's Island against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty, praised the commission's ruling.
"This building is private property and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship," Bloomberg said. "The government has no right whatsoever to deny that right, and if it were tried the court would almost certainly strike it down as a violation of the U.S. constitution."
Bloomberg said the firefighters and other first responders who died in the 9/11 attacks had done so to protect the constitution. To deny religious freedom to Muslims would play into the terrorists' hands, he said.
"In rushing into those burning buildings, not one asked, 'What god do you pray to? What beliefs do you hold?'" Bloomberg said of the first responders. "We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting."
The commission's decision not to designate the existing building as a landmark means that the developers can tear it down and start from scratch. If the building had been declared a landmark, they could have created a smaller mosque and community center there.
SoHo Properties, a partner in the project, purchased the property for nearly $5 million. Early plans call for a 13-story, $100 million Islamic center, of which the mosque would be a part.
The property is two blocks north of the trade center site. Landmarks Commissioner Stephen Byrns said the building's proximity to the site, and the fact that it was struck by airplane debris during the attacks, does not qualify it as a landmark.
"The debris field around ground zero was widespread, and one cannot designate hundreds of buildings on that criterion alone," Byrns said.
SoHo Properties CEO Sharif El-Gamal said he was "deeply grateful to the landmarks commission and to its staff." He did not respond to a question about the timing of demolition and construction.
Foes of the proposed mosque say it insults the memory of those who died on Sept. 11, 2001 at the hands of Muslim extremists.
While landmarks commission members went over the existing building's architectural features like cornices and colonnades, some in the audience of about 60 at Pace University in lower Manhattan held signs telegraphing their opposition to the mosque.
Linda Rivera's sign read, "Don't glorify murders of 3,000. No 9/11 victory mosque."
She cried after the board's vote. "I lost 3,000 American brothers and sisters, including courageous policemen and firemen, and this is a betrayal," she said.
Others said they supported the mosque.
Zead Ramadan, president of the board of the New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, said Islam is "a religion of peace and justice."
"The people here are trying to connect this vile attack on our nation to the religion Islam, though that exact act stands against everything that Islam stands for," he said.
The Rev. Robert Chase, founding director of an interfaith group called Intersections, called the proposed mosque "a really positive example of how we can move forward from 9/11."
The conservative public-interest law firm the American Center for Law and Justice, founded in 1990 by evangelist Pat Robertson, vowed to fight Tuesday's decision in court.
ACLJ attorney Brett Joshpe said the group would file a petition in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday alleging that the landmarks panel "acted arbitrarily and abused its discretion."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Ignoring jeers and cries of "Shame on you," a city commission on Tuesday denied landmark status to a building near the World Trade Center site that can now be demolished to make way for an Islamic community center and mosque.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission said in voting 9-0 that the 152-year-old building isn't distinctive enough to qualify as a landmark.
"This is not a building of special aesthetic character," said Commissioner Diana Chapin, echoing the remarks of her colleagues.
The proposed mosque has emerged as a national political issue, with prominent Republicans from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lining up against it. The Anti-Defamation League, the nation's most prominent Jewish civil rights group, also opposes it.
Former Rep. Rick Lazio, a Republican who is running for governor of New York, attended the commission meeting and criticized the group that is building the mosque, the Cordoba Initiative.
"This is not about religion," Lazio said. "It's about this particular mosque called the Cordoba Mosque, it's about it being at ground zero, it's about it being spearheaded by an imam who has associated himself with radical Islamic causes and has made comments that should chill every single American, frankly."
Lazio said the group's imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, had refused to call the Palestinian group Hamas a terrorist organization. Rauf also had said in a "60 Minutes" interview televised shortly after 9/11 that "United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened."
Cordoba Initiative staff members did not immediately answer an e-mail seeking a response to Lazio's comments.
Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, told The Wall Street Journal in Tuesday's editions that the center's board will include members of other religions and will explore including an interfaith chapel at the center.
"We want to repair the breach and be at the front and center to start the healing," said Khan, a partner in the building and the wife of the imam.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking on Governor's Island against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty, praised the commission's ruling.
"This building is private property and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship," Bloomberg said. "The government has no right whatsoever to deny that right, and if it were tried the court would almost certainly strike it down as a violation of the U.S. constitution."
Bloomberg said the firefighters and other first responders who died in the 9/11 attacks had done so to protect the constitution. To deny religious freedom to Muslims would play into the terrorists' hands, he said.
"In rushing into those burning buildings, not one asked, 'What god do you pray to? What beliefs do you hold?'" Bloomberg said of the first responders. "We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting."
The commission's decision not to designate the existing building as a landmark means that the developers can tear it down and start from scratch. If the building had been declared a landmark, they could have created a smaller mosque and community center there.
SoHo Properties, a partner in the project, purchased the property for nearly $5 million. Early plans call for a 13-story, $100 million Islamic center, of which the mosque would be a part.
The property is two blocks north of the trade center site. Landmarks Commissioner Stephen Byrns said the building's proximity to the site, and the fact that it was struck by airplane debris during the attacks, does not qualify it as a landmark.
"The debris field around ground zero was widespread, and one cannot designate hundreds of buildings on that criterion alone," Byrns said.
SoHo Properties CEO Sharif El-Gamal said he was "deeply grateful to the landmarks commission and to its staff." He did not respond to a question about the timing of demolition and construction.
Foes of the proposed mosque say it insults the memory of those who died on Sept. 11, 2001 at the hands of Muslim extremists.
While landmarks commission members went over the existing building's architectural features like cornices and colonnades, some in the audience of about 60 at Pace University in lower Manhattan held signs telegraphing their opposition to the mosque.
Linda Rivera's sign read, "Don't glorify murders of 3,000. No 9/11 victory mosque."
She cried after the board's vote. "I lost 3,000 American brothers and sisters, including courageous policemen and firemen, and this is a betrayal," she said.
Others said they supported the mosque.
Zead Ramadan, president of the board of the New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, said Islam is "a religion of peace and justice."
"The people here are trying to connect this vile attack on our nation to the religion Islam, though that exact act stands against everything that Islam stands for," he said.
The Rev. Robert Chase, founding director of an interfaith group called Intersections, called the proposed mosque "a really positive example of how we can move forward from 9/11."
The conservative public-interest law firm the American Center for Law and Justice, founded in 1990 by evangelist Pat Robertson, vowed to fight Tuesday's decision in court.
ACLJ attorney Brett Joshpe said the group would file a petition in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday alleging that the landmarks panel "acted arbitrarily and abused its discretion."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ernest Girardin on
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THIS A SLAP IN THE FACE TO NEW YORK AND ITS PEOPLE > THERE IS NO WHERE ELSE in NYC THAT THIS COMMUNITY CENTER CAN BE BUILT > THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS UNION MANY WHOM WHERE AT GROUND ZERO,WOULD SURPRISE ME IF THEY AGREED TO BUILD IT. DISGRACE HAS FALLEN ON THE COMMISSION AND THEY ALL CAN DO THE RIGHT THING AND MOVE OUT OF NEW YORK OR BETTER YET THE COUNTRY. THE BROTHER FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS ,THE POOR CIVILIANS WHOM WERE JUMPING OUT THE WINDOWS ,DO TO THE SEARING FLAMES ALL MUST BE SCREAMING THE OUTRAGE, WHY IS THE COMMISSIONERS NOT HEARING THEM ,SO MUCH FOR NEVER FORGET .
MAY THE SOUND OF THE PIPES ,MAKE YOUR BLOOD BOIL AND RISE YOU UP MY BROTHERS 9/11 TRUE PATRIOTS WILL NEVER FORGET AND WILL HONER THE SACRIFICE THAT YOU MADE
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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Well, at least I have it on good authority that I'm "truely unamerican."
I guess that nonsense in the First Amendment about freedom of religion only applies to 'good' christians.
Might as well get rid of ALL of the mosques in the U.S. as well.
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Permalink Reply by John on
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Totally sucks for thepeople of NY and for all of our fallen, now granted we are the land of the free...but if they want that let them build it elsewhere not near ground zero.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Tolson on
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im absolutely against that! why would you want to cover up and forget about 9-11? most people forget about it as it is we dont need this now
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Permalink Reply by Duncan James Dube on
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I'm am a Canadian Firefighter, and like every firefighter out there , we all felt a piece taken away from us from the events of 9-11. It just seems that the politicians, community leaders, and money hungry developers, have once again overlooked what needs to be built in New York......a site or monument dedicated to ALL of those we lost that day. A memorial to Firefighters, Police Officers, members of the Port Authority, as well, and never forgetting, Moms, Dads, Spouses, parents, friends, cousins, aunts, uncles....etc. The list could go on forever......but those are the people we owe a monument to......we owe it to them to do everything to never forget the incidents of 9-11. The pain for some will never go away.
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Permalink Reply by Todd on
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The terrorists attacked us because they want to destroy the foundations of freedom that this country was founded upon. Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. Freedom of being persecuted because you are a different race/sex/etc. Freedom to be whatever religion you want to be. If the government at any level steps in here and blocks this mosque without a justifiable legal cause then the terrorists have gained yet another victory because we allowed them to influence us into compromising the beliefs this country was founded on.
No, I don't personally approve of the location, but as an American I will defend their right to build on the site to the end. Nobody said doing the right thing was ever going to be easy or popular.
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Permalink Reply by Avery Dale on
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I am all for Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speach & the Constitutionl Rights of all Americans. However, the terrorist's who launched the attacks on our country & thousands of innocent people on 9/11 based their cause on the Islam Faith, regardless of what it truley stands for. If they want to build a mosque, fine, but don't put it in a place that will forever be a reminder to Americans & New Yorkers of the hate showed by Islam on that day. If anything should be built at Ground Zero it should be a memorial to "everyone" who did nothing more than go to work. Sounds to me the goverment is once again trying to hold the hands of the one's who keep their pockets full. I would really like to know just how many of these Mosque Supporters are American Citizens?
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It's two blocks away from Ground Zero. If that's not far enough then what is?
The Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed by a Christian, Timothy McVeigh. Does the fact that there are three Christian churches within two blocks of the memorial there diminish the significance of that memorial?
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You are correct Todd, guess I need to do my homework a little better. The reports I have read made it sound like it was within the Trade Center Complex at Ground Zero, it was my understanding that the mosque would be built there. If it is blocks away from the actual site as you say, then my views will differ from my original opinions.
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Todd;
Thanks for the insight and sound logic. Too often people react without having any idea other than what they may have heard on some "news" show.
Avery, et al:
I support their building on their site. They've owned the present building (and site) for years, what they want to do is take it down and rebuild. It will be a community center among other things and will include a mosque.
Most people's reaction to this issue is kneejerk and Todd makes a great point about the Murrah Building. No one suggested that christian churches be removed from near that site although an argument might have been made to that effect.
This issue is basically one of prejudice against Muslims, ignorance of the issues involved (they already own and have owned the site for years and that they've spoken out against radical fundamentalist muslims and condemned the attacks).
In my mind this is nothing more than christian ignorance and self-perceived superiority against anything non-christian. And yes, I am a true american. I'm not about to start discriminating against which religion can do what where. It should be either all or none. And we've seen the comments when it comes to xmass decorations on firehouses. Practice what you preach, people.
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