If you thought the Ground Zero “mosque” struggle ended when the courts struck down a lawsuit against the cultural center last July, you are a little off. A notice of appeal was later filed, but that was finally withdrawn last Friday, according to The Real Deal.
Timothy Brown, a retired New York City firefighter, initially filed the suit back in October 2010 to the New York State Supreme Court. Read More
A number of Muslim religious leaders declined the opportunity to participate in Mayor Bloomberg’s annual interfaith breakfast on Dec. 30. The clerics said the boycott was designed to show their displeasure with the Police Department’s intelligence work and the mayor’s support for the NYPD.
Never mind that two of the 14 clerics who signed onto the boycott weren’t actually invited to the event. This piece of political theater was wrong-headed and counterproductive, not to mention ungrateful. Read More
It looks like dreams of a downtown Islamic cultural center could be dashed if Park51 cannot come to an agreement with Con Edison. Dogmatic developer Sharif El-Gamal shares control of the site for the proposed community center with the utility, and Con-Ed now claims Park51 owes $1.7 million in back rent, according to the Post. Read More
With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 just a few weeks away, Sharif El-Gamal has gone on a media offensive. Despite the controversy last summer that consumed him and Park51, the so-called ground zero mosque, Mr. El-Gamal has not shied away from the press this August, talking to various outlets about progress on the project, and even launching a fundraiser despite the potential for it to stir criticism yet again. Now he has gone on Inside City Hall to confront Bob Turner, who attacked the mosque in a recent campaign ad. Read More
With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 just a month away, the firestorm over Park51, the so-called ground zero mosque, has yet to rekindle this year. This despite concerns that it might, even with a 9/10 fundraiser announced and changes in the plans, most of the attention is on the World Trade Center itself and the impressive progress there. There is one place in the city where the “mosque” debate rages once again: the outer-outer boroughs Anthony Weiner once called his political home. Read More
On Friday, the developer of the Park51 Islamic community center kicked off a $7 million fundraising drive, but that does not mean the project is getting off the ground any time soon. Read More
