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 A notice of appeal was later filed, but that was finally withdrawn last Friday, according to The Real Deal.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
Adam Leitman Bailey strode into the lobby of his lower Manhattan law firm dressed in a dark blue suit and blue shirt, his extended cuffs all but dangling from his jacket. No sartorial misstep, Mr. Bailey would explain. The cuffs protruded noticeably beyond his jacket sleeves for a reason.
“It’s essential,” said Mr. Bailey, the attorney who last year garnered national attention as counselor for the Ground Zero mosque developer Sharif El-Gamal. “I’ve studied everything about the court room. It’s a subconscious thing, but this shows a jury you have nothing to hide.”
As if to prove his point, Mr. Bailey awkwardly tucked the sleeve of his shirt back inside his jacket. “See?” said the attorney, who takes the nuances of his dress code so seriously that every new associate at the law firm shops for their first suit with him so that he can personally give them a lesson in proper courtroom attire. “You’re hiding something.” Read More
It’s funny how a rent-dispute can change plans.
No sooner was it revealed that Park51, the so-called ground zero mosque and Islamic community center, was facing an almost $2 million rent tab from Con Edison than Sharif El-Gamal, the developer behind the nascent project, revealed that maybe a condo or a hotel might be better than a glorified Y. 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 on the horizon, things are chugging along at the World Trade Center site in preparation. On Friday, the mayor announced both President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush will be joining him at the ceremony. Two blocks away, two very short blocks, Sharif El-Gamal is rushing to meet his own September deadline. Read More
When a controversy surrounded plans for the Park51 Islamic Community Center this summer, the project a few blocks from the World Trade Center site came under assault from all sides: 9/11 families, politicians, firefighters, construction workers, priests, you name it. Yet now it seems the greatest threat to the controversial would-be-Y comes from within, as the Read More
Despite the occasional hiccup, it looks like the controversial Park51 Islamic community center downtown has weathered the furor that consumed it last year and will get built some day if the ambitious project can find $100 million.
That has not stopped a firefighter and a conservative legal group from continuing to Read More
Developer Sharif El-Gamal just can’t catch a break. Ever since he exploded into the national consciousness with the proposal for Park51, the so-called Ground Zero mosque, it’s just been one problem after another.
First there were all the threats from preachers and right-wing bloggers. Then El-Gamal was pursued for back-rent at his old Read More
Just when it looked like the controversy surrounding the Ground Zero “mosque” was finally behind us, a furor has errupted yet again over the developer of Park51′s decision to apply for 9/11 rebuilding grants from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
The news first broke this morning at The Daily Beast, where writer John Avalon Read More
